Port of L.A.’s Gene Seroka named to federal trade policy panel

The panel is made up of stakeholders and elected officials who represent diverse backgrounds and priorities.

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka has been named to the policy advisory committee for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Seroka will serve on the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee (IGPAC) that is tasked with providing policy advice on trade, investment and development issues that significantly impact U.S. state and local governments.

The panel is made up of stakeholders and elected officials who represent diverse backgrounds and priorities. Seroka is among 10 new appointees who will join five other members already on the panel that focuses on trade, investment and development issues.

The panel, said Ambassador Katherine Tai, “is a critical link that ensures (the overall group’s) work is responsive to needs of all people in the United States.”

Seroka became executive director of the Port of Los Angeles in 2014 and has overseen the port during a time of historic cargo growth. He received the Stanley T. Olafson Award from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce in 2023, recognizing his work in the world trade industry and oversight of the port.

Seroka also has been appointed to serve on four other federal committees to enhance the speed and efficiency of cargo movement and supply chain optimization.

In addition to Seroka, new members named are:

• Sam Cho, commissioner at the Port of Seattle
• James Collard, director of Planning and Economic Development, Citizen Potawatomi Nation
• Emily Desai, deputy director of International Affairs and Trade, California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
• Eric Esoda, president and CEO, Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center
• Yusuf Hakeem, Tennessee State House Representative
• Rory Hoskins, mayor of Forest Park, Illinois
• Mike Matson, mayor of Davenport, Iowa
• Laurence Reszetar, director of International Business Strategy, Minnesota Trade Office
• Daphnee Sainvil, division manager, Government Affairs and Economic Development, city of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.