Robert F. Cross

Robert F. Cross, author of the presidential biography, Sailor in the White House: The Seafaring Life of FDR, and Shepherds of the Sea: Destroyer Escorts in WW II, is a trustee of the USS Slater, the last destroyer escort still afloat in the United States. The museum ship is fully restored to its original WW II configuration and is moored on the Hudson River in Albany, New York. Cross retired in 2015 as Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of the Port of Albany, a 240-acre year round seaport located on New York's Hudson River. He had served 17 years. He retired December 31, 2013 as Commissioner of Water for the City of Albany, the second longest serving Water Commissioner in the history of Albany. He previously was an Assistant Environmental Commissioner for New York State in the administration of Governor Mario M. Cuomo.

A former award-winning newspaper correspondent, Cross has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and a variety of Dow Jones community-based newspapers, along with several magazines including the Conservationist, Historic Nantucket, Offshore and Seaport, among other publications. He has appeared on C-Span's Book TV and American History TV. He has been involved in environmental and historic preservation affairs for many years. Cross, a native of Port Jervis, New York, received his bachelor of science degree from the State University of New York at Albany and his master of arts degree from the State University College at New Paltz. He lives in Albany, New York and Nantucket, Massachusetts with his wife, Sheila, a physician, and Fala, their West Highland White Terrier. He currently is at work on his third book.

Visit the author's webpage at www.robertfcross.com