USC ITE and METRANS Kick Off Fall Speaker Series with Leaders from Port of Long Beach and Metro

On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, USC ITE and METRANS co-hosted the semester’s first speaker series event featuring Dr. Noel Hacebaga, Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Long Beach, and Michael Cano, Interim Senior Executive Officer of Multimodal Integrated Planning at LA Metro. Together, they represented two different perspectives of Southern California’s goods movement industry. METRANS director, Professor Marlon Boarnet, moderated the discussion.

Dr. Hacebaga began by addressing the container incident that occurred just hours before the event, where roughly 70 containers fell into the ocean at a Port of Long Beach berth. He stated that the affected berth would be closed until an investigation was complete, costing the industry about two billion dollars each day it remained inactive. Students marveled at the expensive closure.

Moving past the day’s breaking news, Dr. Hacebaga gave an insightful presentation on the importance of both planning for and investing in the Port’s future. His discussion included themes of resilience, citing continued operational growth despite unprecedented trade barriers, and the Southern California trade corridor’s role in supporting the nation’s economy. Dr. Hacebaga also highlighted the Port’s legacy of leadership, sharing how the Port of Long Beach was the first to adopt a “Green Port Policy” in 2005. Since then, particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions have significantly decreased, demonstrating that sustainable growth is possible.

Mr. Cano followed with a detailed discussion about LA Metro on the tension between being a crucial stakeholder to facilitating goods movement and protecting community health and wellbeing. This idea was the crux of Metro’s 2021 County Goods Movement Plan, which Mr. Cano authored. The plan outlined ways in which Metro can invest in transportation that is both community-centered and operationally strategic. Students responded enthusiastically to this discussion. Kelsy Kurfist, a second-year Master of Urban Planning student, remarked, “Michael Cano’s passion and expertise were evident throughout his presentation–his discussion of LA Metro’s strategies and priorities was comprehensive, thought-provoking and very informative.”

The intermodality of goods movement was a common theme throughout the evening. From ships and ports to trucks and trains, their presentations revealed how goods movement is deeply interwoven into daily life. They stressed the significance of cross-sector collaboration in planning and multidimensional thinking. They emphasized that connecting sustainability, digitalization, equity, and economic development is not only possible but essential to addressing planning’s most complex challenges.

Understanding their audience, Dr. Hacebaga and Mr. Cano sprinkled elements of professional development and encouragement in their presentations. By sharing examples from their own careers, they stressed the importance of first impressions, becoming a knowledgeable expert in one’s field, and being an effective communicator.