May 21, 2026 · 55 min · 11 segments
Send us Fan Mail The Port of Los Angeles is one of those places most of us only notice when something goes wrong, yet it quietly touches nearly everything we buy, build, or ship. I sat down with Gene…
You know, I thought I knew a lot about the industry, but I was not prepared for this job.
He asked, just run the business of the port, get this place humming again, and I'll take care of the politics and the policy and all that kind of work.
Mayor Garcetti, Ana Guerrero, Kelly Bernard, as I possibly could, just to learn from them.
Equally as important, how you work with the federal and state government, because they're such important partners to us as well.
And the community also has a number of layers, from small to big business, to folks that are faith leaders, to people that just are really well known in town that have a way to amplify the message of a broader constituency.
There were days when I was a little nervous about how you get things done because you have to work with so many different people, and there's a lot to it.
It's just one of those situations where it's this aspect that I picked up at the University of New Orleans where some of our professors told us right away, it's like, if you do this properly, it's going to be lifelong learning.
And you're always going to feel like you can read something new, you can observe something, you can interact with people, and you're going to be a little bit smarter every day for the people you've come in contact with.
And you manage how many people work for the actual port, not for the terminals, but the actual port?
I report directly to Mayor Karen Bass, and we've got a five-member Board of Harbor commissioners appointed by the mayor, approved by city council.
Lucille Roybal Allard, a recently retired 30-year member of U.S. Congress and a former assemblywoman, is our board president, and she has been just our North Star.
You know, I thought I knew a lot about the industry, but I was not prepared for this job.
He asked, just run the business of the port, get this place humming again, and I'll take care of the politics and the policy and all that kind of work.
Mayor Garcetti, Ana Guerrero, Kelly Bernard, as I possibly could, just to learn from them.
Equally as important, how you work with the federal and state government, because they're such important partners to us as well.
And the community also has a number of layers, from small to big business, to folks that are faith leaders, to people that just are really well known in town that have a way to amplify the message of a broader constituency.
There were days when I was a little nervous about how you get things done because you have to work with so many different people, and there's a lot to it.
It's just one of those situations where it's this aspect that I picked up at the University of New Orleans where some of our professors told us right away, it's like, if you do this properly, it's going to be lifelong learning.
And you're always going to feel like you can read something new, you can observe something, you can interact with people, and you're going to be a little bit smarter every day for the people you've come in contact with.
And you manage how many people work for the actual port, not for the terminals, but the actual port?
I report directly to Mayor Karen Bass, and we've got a five-member Board of Harbor commissioners appointed by the mayor, approved by city council.
Lucille Roybal Allard, a recently retired 30-year member of U.S. Congress and a former assemblywoman, is our board president, and she has been just our North Star.
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