The First Port Pathways Takes 30 Club Members Inside Yusen Terminals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_MZmtKtOjk

The first Port Pathways event, held with Yusen Terminals and the Port of Los Angeles, gave our Club Members a chance to visit a working container terminal and learn about career opportunities at the nation’s busiest port.

On June 18th, 2026, our Club Members and staff gathered at Yusen Terminals on Terminal Island for the inaugural Port Pathways. This new Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor initiative, created in partnership with Yusen Terminals and the Port of Los Angeles, opens a window for local youth into careers found right here in the San Pedro Bay Port Complex.

Who was in the room

Thirty Club Members, representing the regions we serve (San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, and Lomita), attended the first Port Pathways. They were guided throughout the day by our staff members, Dominique Marino, Career Bound Director, and Karina Dorado, Career Bound Coordinator, and welcomed by Fran Ohlheiser, Director of Communications at Yusen Terminals. Port of LA staff and Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner Lee Williams joined them throughout the day. Commissioner Williams spent the morning in conversation with our members about the Port and their place in its future as local youth.

What the day looked like

Our Club Members' day started at the Yusen Terminal main offices, where they met with Fran Ohlheiser and Commissioner Williams to discuss how it all fits together. They covered what the Port does, what a container terminal does, the careers available, and how this affects local youth who have grown up in the Harbor.

After an insightful morning, it was time to see it. Club Members boarded their bus and were escorted through the terminal. Moving alongside the trucks, containers, and machinery that keep the Port moving, our members got a chance to see firsthand what they often see from a distance.

After returning to the main offices and saying their goodbyes to Yusen, our group headed to Downtown San Pedro for the second half of the day: a well-deserved lunch and a boat tour of the harbor.

From the water, our members got another look at the Port. Port staff presented on board and shared their roles, the paths that brought them there, and the opportunities that could be within reach. As the tour ended, our group boarded the bus for home, having spent a full day exploring and learning about the busiest Port in the United States.

Why the day mattered

The Port of Los Angeles is the busiest port in the United States, and its reach into our neighborhoods is enormous: one of every eight jobs across the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura connects back to the San Pedro Bay port complex, which is composed of the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles. More than a million California jobs are tied to trade through the Port of Los Angeles, and the complex supports employment for nearly three million people nationwide.

What's next

This was the inaugural Port Pathways, and we hope it will not be the last. Our deepest thanks go out to Yusen Terminals, the Port of Los Angeles, and all the staff of both organizations. Thank you for sharing your expertise and time with our youth. We also want to thank Fran Ohlheiser of Yusen Terminals, who worked alongside us in creating this program from the start, as well as Dominique Marino and Karina Dorado for leading our members throughout the day. Finally, a special thank-you goes out to Laura Duarte, our Director of Donor Relations, who helped dream this program into being and made it all possible. We're excited to see Port Pathways grow and continue next year.