Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Lori Ann Guzmán announced her agenda of social and fiscal responsibility for the year, as well as her intention to go by her given name rather than her married name, Lori Ann Farrell Harrison, at Monday’s board meeting, the Port of Long Beach (POLB) announced Tuesday. 

Specifically, Guzmán outlined a commitment to attracting and handling more cargo in an environmentally sustainable way, in addition to broadening the port’s social responsibility outreach. 

“We want more business, we’re ready for more business, and we will continue to do what we need to accommodate still more business in the future,” Guzmán said in a statement. “One of our biggest challenges, and opportunities, will be to continue to protect the financial strength that brought us here while still embracing the diversity that makes our City so great.”

Guzmán also spoke of re-dedicating the port to its Green Port Policy.

“We owe it to the community to continue what we started 10 years ago,” said Guzmán in a statement. “The Green Port is who we are and it is part of everything we do. If there are opportunities to strengthen that policy, in a way that further addresses the needs of local communities directly impacted by the Port, we must do so.”

Guzmán is the current director of finance for the City of Huntington Beach and a resident of the Fifth District, according to a previous release. She married Long Beach’s Director of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications Reggie Harrison after being appointed to the Board of Harbor Commissioners in 2013. 

After taking hold of the president position, she said she intended to go by her given name, in honor of her parents, culture and her position as a role model in the community. 

“It’s so much simpler and it clearly identifies me,” said Guzmán in a statement. “My cultural background and life experiences shaped who I am today.”

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners announced Guzmán as its new board president on July 27. The board, composed of five members, also announced its selection of Lou Anne Bynum as Vice President and Tracy Esgoscue as secretary in a release. It’s the first all-female slate of officers in the board’s history. 

“I would also like to express my deep gratitude and appreciation for the women trailblazers whose shoulders we stand on today: former Commissioners Louise Duvall, Carmen Perez, Doris Topsy-Elvord and Susan Wise,” said Guzmán on Monday, as she thanked the board. “Their stellar leadership and dedication paved the way for the female majority on the Board today, and for that we are so grateful.”

Above, left: photo courtesy of the Port of Long Beach.