Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police Captain Michelle Mount and Maryland Port Administration (MPA) Director of Security Kathleen Bowen at the Dundalk Marine Terminal last month. (MDTA)
There is always something happening at the Port of Baltimore, and Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police Captain Michelle Mount and Maryland Port Administration (MPA) Director of Security Kathleen Bowen know that better than most. We recently spoke with the pair leading the Port of Baltimore’s safety and security efforts at the Dundalk Marine Terminal.
“We have a saying ‘as the Port turns,’” Mount described the never-ending supply of surprises that have accompanied the command role she assumed in June 2023.
Bowen, who joined the MPA just weeks after agrees, “Often the first statement we make to each other is, ‘you’re not going to believe this.’”
The Port of Baltimore is an economic beast with impacts reaching far beyond the 800-foot tall cranes that shape the Baltimore Harbor. The Port generates more than 20,000 direct jobs, and 273,000 jobs are linked to Port activities. In 2024, the Port handled 46 million tons of cargo valued at $62 billion and almost 500,000 passengers set sail from the McComas Street Cruise Maryland Terminal. Those cargo numbers are expected to climb even higher with the completion of the Howard Street Tunnel Project in 2026.
With activity like that, it is no surprise that Mount and Bowen find themselves busy. Bowen described their roles as full of nuances.
“If a guard or officer catches a person sneaking in on a truck, you have to figure out if this is a breach, human trafficking, human smuggling or something else; and each of those are different,” Bowen said. Mount agreed, adding that homeland security is always in the back of their minds when confronting an incident.
And there have been incidents. Since Mount and Bowen took command in 2023, the two have tackled bomb threats, traffic jams and a labor dispute. They have also handled major events, including a presidential visit, Maryland Fleet Week and Flyover Baltimore, and challenges connected to the collapse of the Key Bridge in March of last year—in addition to the Port’s everyday operations.
Mount and Bowen attribute the success of their teamwork to respect and collaboration.
“From the start, Kat and I have been accepting of one another, respecting each other for our life achievements and striving for unity,” said Mount.
Bowen emphasized a shared commitment to flexibility, adding that the pair excel in coordination and communication. Even during the interview, Mount and Bowen made plans to visit a new development at the Port’s Cox Creek site.
But it has not always been easy. Mount described her position as the commander of the MDTA Police’s Port of Baltimore Detachment as one of the most challenging positions she has ever held. The role comes with a steep learning curve; both Mount and Bowen had to decipher complicated federal regulations, develop new partnerships and learn the layout and innerworkings of the Port’s Dundalk, Seagirt, North Locust Point, South Locust Point, Fairfield and Masonville marine terminals.
Both bring impressive resumes to the job. When Mount was 18 years old, the Marley Station Shopping Center was under construction. She applied for a few positions, and the mall’s security director was the first to call her back. Mount spent fifteen years as a security officer with the Taubman Company, progressing through the ranks to sergeant and lieutenant. A self-described people person, Mount loved helping customers and fondly remembered opening the mall’s doors at 7:30 a.m. and joining the mall walkers for their morning rounds. As Bowen described it, Mount was practicing community policing before the concept had a name.
But then, in her own words, Mount started “growing up” and began looking for new opportunities. Many of her fellow security officers at the mall were full-time police officers with agencies across Maryland. Glenn Francis, a former mall security officer who made the jump to the MDTA Police, encouraged Mount to do the same. One day, while driving on I-895 near the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, Mount saw MDTA Police Officer Lorraine Meyett at the truck checkpoint and decided to stop and ask about the agency. After successfully completing the application and background process, Mount began the police academy in May of 2002.
Mount had prepared for the academy (after finishing her security officer shift at 11 p.m., she would run laps around the mall), but it was a challenging experience. At 34, Mount was the oldest member of her academy class and one of only five women. She described her academy graduation as one of the proudest days of her life.
In her 23 years with the MDTA Police, Mount has stayed busy. She has been a member of the Collision Reconstruction Unit, the Honor Guard and countless agency workgroups and committees. In addition to the Port, she has served at BWI Airport, the Key Bridge, the Nice/Middleton Bridge, the Hatem Bridge, the Intercounty Connector and the Training Unit. As the MDTA Police accreditation manager from 2010-2018, Mount was critical to the agency’s successful accreditations by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
According to Mount, the best parts of her experience with the MDTA Police have been the people and the challenges. “The relationships that have been developed throughout the years, the opportunity to grow, and the chance to pass along lessons that were bestowed upon me have been incredibly rewarding,” she said.
For Bowen, the path to the Port included stints in the military, corrections and law enforcement. She describes her current role as one of the best decisions she has ever made. Following a tour in the United States Air Force, Bowen was a young mom looking for a career with stability, and the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center in Virginia provided that. Bowen was one of few female correctional officers, and she loved the position and the camaraderie of her team. At 24, Bowen was a young corrections sergeant leading other officers.
But corrections had always been a step toward another goal—a career in law enforcement. Bowen’s father and two brothers were officers with the United States Capitol Police. And in 2001, following the September 11 attacks, she joined the ranks with her family members at the police department tasked with defending the U.S. Capitol and Congress.
Bowen traveled to Georgia to complete police academy training and balanced life as a police trainee and a mom. “I was on the phone every night,” she said. “I was tucking kids in, singing songs and reminding them to brush their teeth from afar.”
The hard work and distance were worth it. Bowen graduated from the police academy and went right to the midnight shift. She began a 22-year career with the Capitol Police that would take her across the country and abroad. Following the 2011 attempted assassination of United States Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Bowen implemented the congresswoman’s security plan, forging effective relationships with dozens of public safety partners.
Like Mount, Bowen climbed through the ranks, earning promotions to sergeant, lieutenant, and in 2015, captain. She served as the Hazardous Incident Response Division Commander and became the first woman to lead a federal bomb squad in the United States. In 2022, Bowen was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal after leading her division’s response to the January 6th insurrection.
After more than two decades patrolling the Capitol, Bowen was ready for a change. She saw an advertisement for the Director of Security at the Port of Baltimore and viewed it as a new opportunity. Almost two years later, Bowen says she is very happy with her decision, describing an improved work-life balance and greater personal satisfaction.
Mount and Bowen have each overcome unique challenges along their paths to success, but both share experiences as women navigating male-dominated fields. According to the National Policing Institute, women account for only about twelve percent of police officers in the United States. That number was even lower when Mount and Bowen began their policing careers in the early 2000s.
During the conversation, Mount and Bowen traded personal stories describing the hurdles encountered over their careers, including those specific to women in law enforcement. But despite the challenges, the pair expressed appreciation for their experiences and the opportunities.
According to Mount, the path to overcoming hurdles is to communicate, build relationships and work through challenges to a new day. “Give yourself grace; you don’t have to do everything,” she said.
When asked what advice she would share, Bowen encouraged women in corrections, law enforcement and security to be authentic while at the workplace. “When I first got promoted, I thought I had to be the tough guy,” she said. “I got lost. With time and experience, I learned there were times to be tough, times to embrace being a woman and times to do both.”
Mount described an evolution in her perspective. As a young officer, she did not want her gender to separate her from colleagues. “I have come to learn through the years that, despite not wanting to shine light on the differences, differences exist,” she said. “As a woman with more life experience, it is incumbent on me to set an example and provide support. I’m hopeful that I inspire others to take the challenge and that they can look at me and my career and say, ‘If she can do it, so can I.’”
1st Sergeant Brady McCormick is the commander of the MDTA Police Media Relations & Community Outreach Section.
