Monday, September 15, 2025

Reception: 6:15PM

Town Hall: 6:45PM

A free in-person Town Hall Meeting 

and the presentation of the Domenick Miretti Award.

Click here to view the Town Hall program!

For more information, please contact:

[email protected]

This year’s Town Hall, entitled “Port Town Resilience: Thriving in Uncertain Times,” took place at the Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School Auditorium in West Long Beach only a short drive from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Cabrillo High School is also the home of the Academy of Global Logistics (AGL), a career pathway sponsored by the Port of Long Beach in partnership with CITT, Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). The coalition of industry and educational partners that have supported AGL students over the last decade reflect Port Town Resilience and the sage words of founding CITT member Domenick Miretti to bring “the university to the docks, and the docks to the university.” 

This year's expert panelists included:

• Dr. Tom O'Brien (moderator), Associate Dean of the College of Professional Continuing Education, California State University Long Beach and former Executive Director of CITT
• Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Chief Operating Officer, Port of Long Beach
• Robert Loya, Chief Executive Officer, Harbor Trucking Association
• Sal DiCostanzo, Port Liaison / Labor Relations Representative, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 13
• Bonnie Lowenthal, Member, Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners

About CITT Town Halls:

The Center of International Trade and Transportation State of the Trade and Transportation Industry Town Hall Meeting is organized in an attempt to foster information exchange that positively contributes to resolution of port-related conflicts. In its infancy, the Town Hall approach was designed to make sure that the rank and file members of the longshore union were included in any debate surrounding port growth. While this is still the goal, the Town Hall has evolved to include a wide array of stakeholders interested in the relationship between the ports and the community.

The Town Hall meetings have received wide recognition in the goods movement industry. The event has received support and financial sponsorship from the executive directors of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, and Long Beach City College Office of Economic Resource Development and others. The event has also received formal endorsement by the board of directors of many trade associations.

After the 10th anniversary Town Hall in 2009, the series was renamed “Point/Counterpoint” to reflect the broader goal of offering an educational forum in which different perspectives on a pertinent issue are presented.  However, the Town Hall brand was so established and powerful that stakeholders continued to refer to the series as “the Town Hall.”  In 2013 the original Town Hall name was restored.