Six candidates will be interviewed Thursday for the job of executive director for the Port of Coupeville.

Nineteen people applied for the job, said interim director Jan Marc Juoas.

A special meeting to publicly interview the candidates is set for 8:45 a.m. Thursday, April 27 at the port office at the Greenbank Farm.

Juoas took over as interim director of the port in November. His contract ends May 10.

Juoas said he intentionally made the application process difficult as to weed out any less than exemplary candidates.

Being interviewed are five Whidbey Island residents and one out-of-state candidate.

Bryan Beecher is an of Oak Harbor resident and retired military.

“With over 20 years of various assigned leadership, management and fiscal oversight roles; my comprehensive experiences and diversity within the Navy and professional civilian settings will allow me to bolster the Port of Coupeville’s many successes,” Beecher wrote in his cover letter.

“I have a firm understanding of the importance of public service, community/government/military interfacing, and the effective utilization of cross-functional teams to achieve success.”

Chris Michalopoulos is a Freeland resident and has more than 12 years of “progressive directory level experience” in sales, personnel management, marketing and customer experience. He previously worked for Whidbey Telecom as the director of customer experience and as the director of member relations for Molalla Communications Company.

Michalopoulos said the positions gave him experience is managing fiscal plans, budgeting and large projects. He also managed policy and compliance standards.

Peter Milnes, of Colorado Springs, Colo., is retiring later this year as an active-duty Naval officer and moving back to Coupeville.

“I am drawn to the job because it directly serves the community of beautiful Central Whidbey — the place in which I have resided during four military tours duty,” Milnes wrote.

Mohammad Mostafavinassab, of Greenbank, has 26 years of experience as a park ranger and park manager but currently works for Senior Services.

He said he built his career in a variety of roles as an economic driver to the local community. He’s used to wearing many hats and enjoys it.

Nicholas Vande Griend, of Port Townsend, has background in the Navy’s shoreline installation management enterprise.

Timothy Voss, of Greenbank, has 30 years experience in the maritime industry and 11 years experience in executive management.

He has experience working with government regulatory agencies, managing projects, creating and implementing budgets and managing teams.