TRANSCRIPT - The Nation’s First Goods Movement Training Campus at Port of Los Angeles with Gene Seroka, Executive Director of Port of L.A Episode 163

Gene Seroka [00:00:00]:
We also have an MOU, a Memorandum of Understanding, which is an agreement to work together between the California Community Colleges and the Port of Los Angeles to help build curriculum, to help guide education for certification and training. Those who can build syllabus and classwork as a profession can bring that here to the port so we can work on these various training modules and career progressions for our workforce.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:31]:
Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cummo, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals: more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us— you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is The Future of Work.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:17]:
Hi, welcome back to The Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo. Today I am joined by Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles. As chief of America's top port, Gene is responsible for managing a $2.6 billion budget, advancing major capital projects, growing trade volume, and promoting innovative sustainable practices that strengthen the region's economy. Under his direction, the Port has taken a leadership role in adopting cutting-edge technologies to improve cargo flow at the San Pedro Bay Port Complex and throughout the supply chain. Gene has been named one of the most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and featured on the LA 500 list each year since it was created in 2016. In our conversation today, we'll talk about the rapid changes occurring in trade policy, tariffs, and technology, and how developing communication across the industry is key, along with developing new workforce training programs to ensure the industry can stay competitive, innovative, and navigate important initiatives like zero emissions.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:30]:
Gene, it's a pleasure to have you here today.

Gene Seroka [00:02:33]:
Thank you, Dr. Cummo. Great to see you.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:35]:
Great to see you too. One of my favorite questions to ask in the upfront of these conversations is what led you here. And what I've learned earlier in your career is that it's taken you all over the globe. You've had a huge mark on goods movement sector and in the industry, but you started off in marketing and sales. Tell us a little bit more about that and kind of what led you to lean into this industry and the leader that makes you today?

Gene Seroka [00:03:00]:
It was kind of a winding road. I received my MBA from the University of New Orleans just after a stock market crash when oil was at $9 a barrel. And the economy in New Orleans was built around the energy sector, tourism, and banking to support those first two. Yet no one was hiring. I wound up getting with a boutique personnel firm who had a relationship with American President Lines. I then further interviewed with the company because my dad worked for American Airlines and I could fly for free to get to these interviews. While in the air, I thought to myself, what kind of company is going to ask me to, you know, fly for free just so I can get an interview? But it turned out to be a 26-year career, including 11 years in Asia and the Middle East, and prepared me to earn the job here at the Port of Los Angeles 12 years ago. So it was through a lot of, a lot of phone calls phone calls, letter writing, and just meeting some people with decent connections that I was able to enter into this shipping and supply chain industry.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:04:05]:
Thank you. Was there anything that stood out early on in your career that you felt was a key element to, to securing your, your role in leadership now?

Gene Seroka [00:04:15]:
Hard work and trying to find mentors who shared the same beliefs and values I had. When I started, even with an advanced degree, at a good company, I was picking up dry cleaning, getting sales reps' cars washed, running errands, doing rate requests, a lot of clerical work. And I worked hard, but I also paid attention. What made the company tick? What made people pursue careers like they did? And I spent a lot of time trying to think of next level. What do you do and how do you prepare yourself for that? And it was just through that continued ability to make sure that you paired yourself with folks who had been down a path before, and those that were willing to help folks a little bit less tenured like me.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:02]:
Excellent, excellent. You know, I've heard you, um, in other interviews, and as I prepare myself to this next question, I wanted to set the stage of 2025. 2025 was incredibly turbulent for many different reasons across the globe. One of the things in, in your interview is about trade policy changes and tariffs and other announcements like this. How does this influence strategy and planning within supply chain management when it comes to navigating that level of ongoing change? We've certainly have experienced change in higher education, and we will continue to experience change as we should. 2025 was, was a tough one for us as well, and it's going to continue to be, I think, for the next couple of years. But I'm really curious about, for supply chain, everything that you've experienced in 2025, how that's influencing strategy now.

Gene Seroka [00:05:57]:
You can't get too high or too low. You have to keep a steady hand on the tiller. And although people say expect the unexpected, I think that was an understatement if we look at year 2025. More than 110 announcements emanating from Washington on trade policy and tariffs alone. Making it difficult for the most seasoned person in our industry even to keep pace with all these announcements, some that were walked back in 2 hours, 2 days, or 2 months. So that was a real tough part. And I think the industry and its people leaned on each other just to try to make sense out of it, try to compare notes, make sure that we weren't the only ones feeling like we were feeling. And that was part of how we continue to advance.

Gene Seroka [00:06:45]:
The other thing I took away from last year is that as a port, and a major infrastructure agency, we have to play the long game and we have to be able to invest in our people, our facilities, and this port through budget cycles, through economic cycles. And now I think it's very clear we have to have a mindset of investing beyond election cycles.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:07:12]:
And tell me a little bit more about that. Is How does that process work when we say we need to keep a steady pace and invest in those areas that you mentioned now? What does that look like? Those who are not familiar with operations within supply chain management?

Gene Seroka [00:07:31]:
Sure. Well, I'll give you one example. In the month of April, the administration in Washington announced sweeping tariffs across 110 different countries. That to the casual observer would be really impactful— tariffs of 100% or more. And at that time, we started to see many U.S. importers cancel their shipments because, again, they weren't going to pay those kind of taxes and at the same time didn't know when the next announcement was going to come out to have a changing policy. So at that moment in time, even though it was dire, The stock market dropped almost 1,000 points. People in our industry got really nervous.

Gene Seroka [00:08:14]:
I couldn't make a decision on how many people we were going to hire, not hire, or even look towards for future employment at that snapshot in time. And that's why keeping a steady hand and playing a little bit longer game, knowing that the U.S. economy at $30 trillion is going to move in a good direction over a longer period of time, I didn't need to make any snap reactions. But that took quite a bit of patience from myself and others around me. And I think we were super proud that we demonstrated that level of patience because it was such an unusual time. But realistically speaking, there were going to be ups and downs, and you have to be able to weather the storm. These were more stormy days than probably we had seen in some time.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:09:04]:
Now talk a little bit about the Port Optimizer. You oversaw the launch of this digital information portal. And from what I understand, it's so that the ports around the world can share critical supply chain, you know, data and analytics. How has that played a role in planning strategies, etc., for 2026? And what you just shared now in the decision-making processes and, and playing the long game.

Gene Seroka [00:09:32]:
No, there's a few things here, Dr. Cummo. I think number one, on the investment side, you got to keep investing. Two, as you just mentioned, play the long game. And thirdly, for most of your listeners out there, they've used a ride-sharing service, they've taken a train or a bus, they've gone to the airport— one of the three, or maybe all the three. And from those different transportation methods, you could kind of see when you have to leave, when you're going to get there, how quick it's going to be, or if there's traffic or something that slows it down. The port business never had that before. This year we're, we're commemorating the 10th year of the Port Optimizer, which was an effort to just get all this disparate data together under one pane of glass and show importers, exporters, transportation companies alike what was coming our way.

Gene Seroka [00:10:24]:
How to get ready and what to do if something was a little off schedule. And to me, that's been the most important thing. It was meant to be a conversation starter around developing efficiencies, being able to handle more business with confidence, and most importantly, create more jobs. For every 4 containers we bring through this port, it creates 1 job. The more containers mean more employment opportunities for people who want to work here in and around the port complex. It really is very powerful when we boil it down to that one important fact.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:56]:
To me, when I hear that, I hear more containers, more employment. And also, how does technology play a role in that? I mean, we've— you've just mentioned that the, the industry has never really kind of felt this rapid change before until maybe about— would you say a decade, about a decade? It's kind of the last decade has felt a little bit stronger than usual. And so I'm kind of curious. Yes, the Port Optimizer technology tool, but technology is emerging at a rate that we cannot keep up with. So I'd like to kind of spend some time, if you can share a little bit about the work you're doing in partnership with the Port of Long Beach and the California State Workforce Board to build the nation's first goods movement training campus. What is that? Tell us more.

Gene Seroka [00:11:44]:
Right. So there's probably 3 pieces of technology and I'll loop back around on this. One is information technology. The second is cleaner energy technology. And then thirdly, robotics or automation. And in part, all 3 played a role in us coming up with this idea of building a goods movement training campus. There is not a training facility in the United States today that's geared specifically to ports or supply chain.. And while we've seen really great examples of this in Antwerp, Belgium, Vancouver, British Columbia to our north, nothing been done here in the United States.

Gene Seroka [00:12:22]:
So we work very closely with California Governor Gavin Newsom, his administration, the legislation here in California to see what we could put together that would get us started. So we've donated 20 acres of land. We received from the California legislature $110 million of a $150 million project to get it off the ground. We've partnered with private sector interests who do business around the ports, including the Pacific Maritime Association, the employers group that works directly with our dockworkers union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, across 29 ports on the West Coast and here in Southern California's twin ports. And the idea then was really twofold. And I keep talking in numbers because that's kind of how people remember things. Three big technology areas. One training campus and two focal points, or two customers, as we would like to say.

Gene Seroka [00:13:19]:
One is the ILW dock worker that needs to be upskilled or reskilled to work in those three new areas of technology. And they may be somebody a little bit younger that's got some runway, and maybe because of gaming or education or pure tech savvy growing up in the 2000s and 2010s, These folks have a little bit more perceptivity around how to work computer systems and coding, etc. But let's get them into a port environment. The second is maybe that somebody my vintage that for the balance of their career need to be competitive and go up against others for good jobs. That training and reskilling, upskilling as we call it, can help that segment of our workforce as well.. And quite honestly, there are folks my age that are plain scared of this new technology because they don't know how to go out and harness it. This training campus can be a part of that. There'll also be a career center or a storefront where folks that don't really know how to get into the port business can go and talk with a counselor and get advice on what's possible.

Gene Seroka [00:14:29]:
If you're just coming out of high school, if you're in community college, going for a 4-year degree, or you want to change what you're doing as a profession, you could talk to experts and see how maybe you could enter this workforce. We also have an MOU, a Memorandum of Understanding, kind of government speak, which is an agreement to work together between the California Community Colleges and the Port of Los Angeles to help build curriculum to help guide education for certification and training. Those who can build syllabus and classwork as a profession can bring that here to the port so we can work on these various training modules and career progressions for our workforce. So it's an exciting objective with a lot of work ahead of us. And as I usually say, I don't know what I don't know. We've got a premise and a North Star out there and some really bright minds coming around. But when I look across this Harbor community, our existing workforce and the people that might be interested in joining us tomorrow, that keeps me motivated to the highest level.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:37]:
What I really appreciate about what you just said is— there's a lot, but one of the two key things that I really appreciate what you said was the partnership with the community college system, California community college system, as the number one training accelerator— I'm going to call it accelerator— training facilities across California. And the second part that I really appreciated or appreciate about the training campus is the involvement of the existing workforce. We as an industry forget sometimes that it's not just about developing the new talent, but it's also about infusing the existing talent. And infusing the existing workforce so that they can upskill, so that they can move and have a trajectory within their careers and be aware of what is possible in their existing occupation. And, and, and if with a little bit of training, I can go in this direction, not even knowing that that direction even existed. Right. So I, I generally appreciate the training campus objective. I love all of the components to it.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:16:47]:
PCC is here for you. Anything you need, you let us know. But let's lean in a little bit about the community colleges as like the number one training provider for California. My opinion, it's not stated anywhere, but that's my opinion. What skills and training should we as a community college, Pasadena City College, and the rest of us, the rest of LA 19 here in the LA region, should be focusing on in order to partner more effectively and support the education needed in the maritime industry? And/or with the training campus? What specific skills and training should we be focusing on?

Gene Seroka [00:17:23]:
Yeah, two different layers. One, I mentioned when it comes to this training campus, it's about help bridging the gap on technology with our workforce, current and future. On the technology side, information technology and how it's shared, what it's used for. Again, some young people today that I interact with are super interested in coding. Others are trying to take an institutional knowledge approach and saying, look, there's a lot of data points out there for the supply chain, just like there are on other transportation networks. But I've been around this business for a while and I know how to read that data. So there's a couple areas there that I think are super intriguing. Then when it comes to the green technology, I need to look at a landscape of mechanics who currently work with a wrench on a fossil fuel or a diesel piece of equipment and how they may work on a computer for an electrical vehicle or a hydrogen fuel cell power locomotive, etc.

Gene Seroka [00:18:27]:
So there's going to be a transition in skill sets. It's still the person that knows how to take apart a machine and put it back together better than anyone, but with different methodology. And then thirdly, on the automation side, And robotics, this is probably the most polarizing conversation in our industry. And the City of Los Angeles, Port of Los Angeles has one statement: technology is moving faster than ever before, but we cannot leave the workforce behind. And in the 12 years that I've been here at the Port of Los Angeles, longshore jobs are up 21% in the face of this technological renaissance. So with all of that, How do we use information better and get people trained up, use that great knowledge that we already have? How do we work with newer equipment and those manufacturers to train the trainer, to bring a new level of knowledge to the people who are going to be managing, operating, and repairing that equipment? And then when it comes to the robotics side, how do we keep pulling everybody together to make sure that more cargo still means more jobs? But maybe the multiplier is a greater effect using robotics, but not at the— to the disadvantage of a declining workforce.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:19:44]:
Absolutely. Well said. Well said. And I'm going to point something out here and take a moment and pause and point out that I can tell immediately that you have a very thoughtful and empathetic approach to your leadership. Just the way you explained the existing workforce and the new talent. I'm going to ask if you can share why this approach is important to you. I can tell because of the way you're responding to my questions, but also I've done some research on you, Gene. Oh, I'm sure of that.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:20:15]:
Help myself and the audience really understand your approach to this empathetic and thoughtful leadership.

Gene Seroka [00:20:20]:
Well, I think number one, it's the way you were raised. Two parents, close family, making sure that you were brought up and you shared kindness. Yes. Number 2, it's a long game. Life, business, family, whatever the case may be. And while you can go into a job as a big boss with a fancy name title and tell people what to do, that'll only last so long. I wanted to be in business for a long time. When I joined the port, I thought I found just utopia, and I wanted to make sure that I could add value for a long— as long as the city leaders would would want to keep me.

Gene Seroka [00:20:56]:
And I knew that had to be done through a collaborative leadership effect. And again, it doesn't take much just to be nice to people, work together. And we've got an environment now, I think, at this port which predated me, but maybe I just helped it move along a little bit in that when things go right, everybody gets credit. And when they don't necessarily go as planned, there is a clear understanding of who takes responsibility. And I think that takes a lot of pressure of other outside forces away from the conversation. And it allows people to flourish. We try to make sure that our colleagues are empowered, that they have the ability to make recommendations. This is never a yes factory.

Gene Seroka [00:21:40]:
You know, we go in a room and we debate. We talk about ways to do things. I have colleagues here that are less tenured than me that give me critique on my own performance in certain areas. Which I've learned a tremendous amount from. And at the same time, if we go through all of this discussion, we come out with one voice and we don't look back. And that's been really, really great to be a part of as well. So I think you get more with honey than you do with vinegar. And that's the way we're going to keep running this program because it's shown to be great, greatly successful.

Gene Seroka [00:22:14]:
We've taken an organization that didn't look so good financially was kind of waning in the market. And we had people that maybe weren't as excited about coming to the port every day as I thought they should be. And all three of those areas have shown improvement over time. There's more to do, but I sure like the trajectory that we're on.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:22:32]:
Yes, and certainly about the work of the collective. It is— all of our work is about the collective. It is certainly not about oneself. Thank you for sharing that.

Gene Seroka [00:22:42]:
Absolutely.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:22:42]:
As our listeners, for our listeners, what is one thing that you would like for them to carry forward about the future of work specifically within the goods movement sector?

Gene Seroka [00:22:51]:
Yeah, you know, I thought this would be the toughest question to go back and forth on, but just from my experience, I would say that the world is really hard out there, no matter which way you slice it. And I would humbly recommend 3 things. Be visible, right? Whether it's in the classroom, in the workplace, as you try to enter into a career, it's really easy for most of us, and even folks that came from my era, I love texting and email and being able to message in short video clips. It just gets me to do more. I mean, when I first started, we didn't even have mobile phones. I had to pull off the road as a sales rep go to a gas station and make phone calls from a payphone just to get my messages back at the office, right? So we're so much more productive today, but that doesn't mean we should lose the visibility. People still want to hear from you. They still want to talk to you, and they still want to know what your ideas and ideals are.

Gene Seroka [00:23:58]:
That's really important, whether it's your boss, your customer, your peer, your instructor, your professor. Doesn't matter. They want it. They want to hear from you. Second is you got to be mobile. And whether it's the mobility aspect of, you know, going to work in a different town that you're in right now and coming back home at night for dinner, or maybe it's a different region, a different state, be mobile. This supply chain has a lot to offer. It is global by its definition, but it's also got pockets right here in the Los Angeles area.

Gene Seroka [00:24:31]:
In Southern California, across the great state with so many different industries and segments. There may be something for everybody right here in California. And if not, the broader country can offer that too. So be mobile. And then thirdly, be, be durable. It's a long road. We've said it now several times. It's a long game across the board.

Gene Seroka [00:24:53]:
Family, friends, career, education. It's not just a moment. Microwave society. It really is a long game that's relationship built. But please remember that when you first get out there and you start making decisions, people are going to take shots at you. They're going to second-guess you. They'll have their own critiques about you, etc. Just have thick skin and keep going.

Gene Seroka [00:25:16]:
Believe in yourself. And with a little bit of that tenacity, thick skin, and self-confidence, you can achieve anything you want to do. So those are the 3 things, just simply visibility, mobility, and durability. And that's a great foundation to begin and then let your skills rise from there.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:25:34]:
What a beautiful way to sunset this conversation, Gene. That was, that was well said and well received. While we think about those that are listening, thinking about their existing careers, or would like to learn more about the maritime industry or learn more about yourself, where is the best place that listeners can connect with you or follow you on the work that's being done at the Port of LA?

Gene Seroka [00:25:58]:
We've done so much to enhance our communication and connectivity. Everything on our social media channels is @PortofLA. On LinkedIn, it's LinkedIn Port of Los Angeles. If you'd like, you could send me a message at [e-mail], and we've got a whole team including myself that looks at that messaging. And then the content that we put out on those social media channels, whether it be a new project that we're working on— we're hiring summer interns right now, so that's of great interest across the community college system here in the state of California, and those of us in the LA district as well. And also we do monthly press briefings to the media and talk a little bit about the supply chain and what's happening. We usually have a spotlight guest that's very interesting from our industry as well. So there's a lot of content out there.

Gene Seroka [00:26:57]:
There's also the social media channels where you can sign up and get regular updates. And then if, if all else leads to it, send me a note directly and we'll, we'll get with you. But just proud to hear that people will have, you know, a, a look at the Port of Los Angeles after this podcast that could be helpful and maybe a little different than it was before they listened. Excellent.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:27:19]:
We'll be sure to enter all of that into the show notes so that our listeners have direct access to all the things that you've just shared here today. Gene, thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure to have a conversation with you. And again, if Pasadena City College or LA19 can be of service to the Port of Los Angeles, please do not hesitate.

Gene Seroka [00:27:38]:
We'll be happy, happy and glad to be a partner. We'll definitely stay in contact, Dr. Kumho. And thank you for the opportunity to speak to your audience today.

Dr. Salvatrice Cummo [00:27:49]:
You're very welcome. Thank you for listening to the Future of Work podcast. Make sure you subscribe on your favorite listening platform so you can easily get new episodes every Tuesday. You can reach out to us by clicking on the website link link below in the show notes to collaborate, partner, or just chat about all things Future of Work. We'd love to connect with you. All of us here at the Future of Work and Pasadena City College wish you safety and wellness.