Danny W. Wan Of Counsel (510) 451-3300 dwan@donahue.com Download vCard LinkedIn

Danny W. Wan

Of Counsel

(510) 451-3300

dwan@donahue.com

Download vCard

LinkedIn

Danny Wan has dedicated his career to the economic development of communities, particularly of Oakland and the East Bay region.  Most recently, he served as the general counsel and then Executive Director of the Port of Oakland, overseeing a portfolio including the maritime port facilities, the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport and over 875 acres of waterfront properties.

Mr. Wan began his legal and public service career as a public finance attorney, advising numerous municipalities and nonprofits on infrastructure and enterprise financing. In 1996, he was elected to the Board of Directors for the East Bay Municipal Utilities District, overseeing the public water and wastewater utility serving the greater East Bay. In 2000, he was appointed to the Oakland City Council to represent the Chinatown/Grand Lake district, becoming the first openly LGBTQ council member in Oakland, and was elected to the position by voters two years later. As a council member, he led a successful bond initiative to fund clean-up and capital improvements to Lake Merritt and the Oakland Estuary that has resulted in a revitalized and restored Lake Merritt. He chaired the Council’s finance committee, advocating a budgeting strategy that focused on public safety, streets and parks and recreation.

He returned to the legal profession when he was appointed a deputy port attorney at the Port of Oakland in 2004, focused on land use, CEQA, leasing, and airport regulations.  From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Wan was the City Attorney and Risk Manager for the City of Morgan Hill with a majority of his work dedicated to land use, development agreement negotiations, and municipal governance.

In 2012, he returned to the Port as the general counsel or Port Attorney directing a legal department of over 10 attorneys with work focused on port operations, land use regulations, leasing of port properties, development agreements, regulatory and grant compliance governance, and ethics.  In 20219, the Port Commission appointed Mr. Wan to the position of Executive Director.  During his tenure, Mr. Wan navigated the Port through the COVID-19 pandemic. He also led the Port’s successful negotiations with the Oakland A’s on a lease and development agreement with the Port.  (The A’s, however, failed to reach agreement with the City of Oakland on a financing and land use agreement).  Under the leadership, the Port developed a 5-year strategic plan to bolster business, maximize real estate development, and convert to clean energy operations.

He also understood leadership positions in the Port industry. He was elected to the Board of Governors of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) in October 2022. The AAPA is the unified voice of the seaport industry in the Americas, representing more than 130 public port authorities in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. Danny Wan, who is also President of the California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA), will serve as the U.S. South Pacific Ports delegate on AAPA’s governing board.

Mr. Wan is an avid volunteer to bolster the region’s economy and community. He served on the Executive Committee of the Bay Area Council from 2021 to 2025. In 2017, Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to serve on the Sierra Nevada Conservancy overseeing state grants for the purpose of economic development in the Sierra Nevada region.  In 2024, he served on the transition team for then Mayor-elected Barbara Lee.

Mr. Wan received a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and master’s in education from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Juris Doctorate from the UCLA School of Law. He lives in Oakland with his husband, Oliver.