About the Alliance
Built by working forwarders, run by practitioners, member-funded since 2014.
A response to consolidation.
The Digital Forwarders Alliance was founded in 2014 in a small office on Pfingsten Road in Northbrook, Illinois. The founding board — six independent forwarders and one retired CBP officer — had watched a decade of mergers reshape the industry. The biggest 4PLs had legal teams, lobbyists and rate-benchmarking departments. The five-person customs houses that handled half of America's port volume did not.
The Alliance was created to close that gap: a member-funded, non-profit body that would advocate for fair rulemaking, publish honest compliance guidance, and give independents a place to compare notes without lawyering up.
A decade later we represent more than 1,240 member firms, host the largest non-vendor logistics summit in the Midwest, and our model contract templates are used in customs houses from Anchorage to San Juan.
People who have done the work.
Every board member is a working practitioner — not a consultant. The Alliance is run by the trade, for the trade.
Vasiliki Peroulas
Founder & CEO
Twenty-six years in customs brokerage and ocean forwarding. Former operations director at a Great Lakes NVOCC. Greek-American, born and raised in Chicago.
Hector Ramirez
VP, Membership
Eighteen years at a Laredo-based cross-border forwarder. Leads our Texas-Mexico working group and member onboarding.
Jasmine Okafor
Director, Programs
Former CBP entry specialist. Built the Certified Forwarding Specialist curriculum from the ground up in 2017.
Kenji Tanaka
Director, Advocacy
Transpacific specialist with a quarter-century at Long Beach and Tacoma. Represents members in FMC consultations.
Five values, written down in 2014 and still on the wall.
Independence first
We do not accept vendor sponsorships above 5% of operating revenue. Our advocacy positions are not for sale.
Practitioner-led
Every program, checklist and policy paper is written or peer-reviewed by working forwarders or licensed brokers.
Open to all sizes
From sole-prop OTI licensees to 200-person customs houses, the same vote and the same voice.
Plain language
Compliance is hard enough. We publish in English a working broker can actually use.
Quiet competence
We measure success by member retention and audit outcomes, not press releases.
Community over conference
The relationships built in our regional meetups are worth more than any keynote.
How the Alliance is run.
The Alliance is incorporated as a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade association in Illinois. We are governed by a nine-person board of directors elected every two years by the membership. Day-to-day operations are led by the CEO and a staff of fourteen, based in Northbrook. Audited financial statements are made available to members annually each March.
Get in touch with leadership