As capital projects coordinator for the Port of Long Beach, Pear Utrapiromsuk is tasked with creating budget reports and forecasts for major capital improvement projects. Utrapiromsuk first joined the port as an analyst in 2012, after having worked at the City of Long Beach for about five years. She previously served as a project manager for the city’s former redevelopment agency, as well as a budget analyst for the California Department of Finance. Now, as a member of the project controls division, she creates financial reports for numerous projects at a time. “On my part, the biggest challenge is just gathering all that information and making it into a format that is useful for other people [working on a certain project] to make good decisions,” she said. “I’m learning a lot everyday and it’s challenging, but it’s also rewarding. There is a lot of opportunity to use my skills and I am grateful for that . . . . It’s a great place to work.” Utrapiromsuk primarily spends her time gathering project information and crunching numbers at the port’s interim administrative offices, and relishes the few moments she gets to visit project sites, such as Middle Harbor. “Seeing these big numbers and then coming out here and seeing it come to life is really cool,” she said. “These projects are so huge – that is one of the gratifying things . . . being able to work at a place that contributes so much to the community, the country and the city.”