On Thursday, June 25th, FuturePorts held its annual conference "Strong Ports=Strong California: Unbundling Challenges and Targeting Opportunity" at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, CA. Six Master of Planning students from USC Price School of Public Policy assisted as conference volunteers, and enjoyed both the panels and the valuable networking opportunity. “I enjoyed celebrating FuturePorts’ 10th Anniversary with people from across the region”, said Yanlin Zhou, a 2^nd-year MPL student concentrating in Transportation and Infrastructure Planning. “It’s interesting to see both agencies and the private sector sitting in the same room, talking about their goals and accomplishments, and moving together towards a brighter future.”

Established in 2005, FuturePorts serves as a voice for its members in the goods movement supply chain, advocating for balance between business, environment, and community concerns at the San Pedro Bay Ports. Through annual conferences and educational seminars, FuturePorts helps to educate the public and private sectors as well as the general public about important issues in the goods movement industry, while working to ensure a healthy economic and environmental future that supports green growth at the ports. “It is eye-opening to hear about the magnitude of efforts the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles made to clean the environment with advanced technology and management”, remarked USC MPL student Helen Jadali.  “The presentations and panels gave a comprehensive overview of the objectives, challenges, and opportunities related to goods movement.”

Conferences are a valued opportunity for students who are interested in transportation to become involved in the industry outside of their formal education, make connections, to stay current with the latest trends and advancement in the transportation field, and to bridge the gap between their studies and the real world, and they greatly appreciate the opportunity to attend and to contribute their time and talents to the event and the sponsoring organizations. “Attending conferences keeps me updated about what’s going on outside of the school, which helps me discover my own interest and strengths”, said USC MPL student Ling Feng, “ and I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to practitioners; through their life stories I learn a lot.  These are things I would never learn in the classroom.”

More information about FuturePorts can be found at http://www.futureports.org/