Alumni Spotlight

Elizabeth Warren is the Executive Director of FuturePorts, a membership-based advocacy group that represents business interests at the San Pedro Bay Ports in Southern California. FuturePorts advocates for balance between economic growth and environmental stewardship on behalf of its members.

 

Elizabeth is the creator and designer of FuturePorts’ Supply Chain Game™.  The game is an interactive, educational tool that teaches about the types of jobs created by goods movement.  Both the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles incorporate the Supply Chain Game™ into their respective educational and community outreach programs.  The game has been used at the Port of Long Beach’s Green Port Fest as well as at conferences and other events. 

MAGL Alumnus Brian Weiss, is currently a Logistics Operations Administrator with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, as well as a US Navy Supply Corps Commander in the reserves.  Before completion of his MAGL degree in June 2007, Weiss was chosen by the US Navy Commander Fleet Industrial Supply Centers (COMFSICS), to lead the Global Shore Infrastructure Project for Warehousing (GSIP).  This assignment was interesting and in line with all he was learning in the MAGL program.  During the project, Weiss and his team determined that the Navy owned 78M square feet of warehouse space on paper.  By the time he left they had verified that 13M square feet no longer existed and that the required footprint was 48M square feet.  The team further established a decision tool to prioritize the reduction and establish guidelines for future requirements.  The one year position required him to set up flag level conferences (Admirals/Generals in attendance) at the Washington Naval Yard in Washington DC, and various states across the nation. Upon completion of his assignment, Weiss was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding efforts.

 

 

Master of Arts in Global Logistics (MAGL) alumnus Roger Wu has more than 10 years experience in the shipping industry. He currently serves as one of the two Marketing Managers for The Port of Long Beach.  Wu's responsibilities include maintaining contacts with the port's terminal operators and shipping lines, analyzing trends, evaluating cargo projections, planning trade missions and representing the port in industry organizations. Wu was with NYK Line, one of the world's leading shipping companies, for seven years both with its headquarters in Secaucus, NJ and sales office in Torrance, CA. While at NYK’s headquarters, he first worked three years as a westbound pricing analyst in charge of exempt commodities, Midwest and Pacific Northwest exports.  Following that, he worked at its Torrance, CA sales office as a sales representative for four years and was responsible for major accounts in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Riverside counties, and Phoenix, Arizona. Prior to working with NYK Line, he worked for Evergreen America’s headquarters in Jersey City, NJ and supervised cargo operations for EVA Airways at Los Angeles airport.

Named President and CEO of the San Diego World Trade Center (SDWTC) in February 2002, Bella Heule has earned a reputation as “one of the best connected people in San Diego County.”  She brings extensive experience in international business to her position with a unique energy and drive that inspires those around her to excel.  As President and CEO, Bella is responsible for strategic planning, fundraising, community liaison and overall management.

George Cummings is the Director of Homeland Security for the Port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest, most successful seaports in the nation. In this position, he assesses port threats and vulnerabilities and coordinates appropriate response actions. He manages homeland security infrastructure development projects and directs emergency preparedness activities and port recovery planning. He is also a 2001 alumnus of the GLS program. George is also an instructor for the GLS face-to face program and previously taught in the GLS online program.

GLS Alumna Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D., is the first female executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.  She oversees the daily operations and internal management of the nation’s number one container port.  Moving the Port of Los Angeles forward with an agenda that focuses on responsible port growth and environmental leadership is an aggressive goal that Dr. Knatz has tackled from day one. Reducing air emissions, eliminating health risks and expanding capital development programs to accommodate the port’s future growth as a premiere Pacific gateway and national economic engine are top priorities at the Port of Los Angeles under her leadership.

GLS Alumna JoAnne Davis (formally Suess) is employed at Pioneer Electronic (USA) Inc. in the Strategic Business Services division, as the International Logistics Manager.  This division provides international logistics and customs compliance support to the other Pioneer North America divisions.  She has been with Pioneer for a little over a year.  This is a high visibility position which reports directly to the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain management.  Her passion is her job.  She loves international trade and its complexities, changes, and diversity.

Kerry Cartwright is the Director of Goods Movement at the Port of Los Angeles.  He was appointed to the director of this newly created division at the Port in October 2007.  Prior to joining the Port of LA, he was the Manager of Transportation Planning at the Port of Long Beach for over 10 years.  His duties and responsibilities include: the planning and conceptual design of landside access improvements, regional transportation planning, funding, and transportation policy.  He has 22 years of experience in traffic engineering and transportation planning, and is a registered Traffic Engineer in the State of California and a registered Professional Engineer in Canada.  He serves on numerous regional and statewide transportation agency technical and policy committees.

Tony Williamson feels his job horizons are completely open these days, thanks to completing two CITT programs, the Global Logistics Specialist® (GLS® ) and later the Master of Arts in Global Logistics (MAGL). Williamson started his career in the hazardous materials disposal field, but his eyes were opened when he enrolled in GLS®.

Richard Hollingsworth is a GLS graduate of the inaugural class in 1997.

President of the Gateway Cities Partnership, Inc. an economic development corporation and Gateway Cities Community Development Corporation a new venture dedicated to creating workforce housing and eliminating blight in inner cities residential neighborhoods.