When Shana Espinoza was in high school, she had no ambitions of working in civil service. “I wanted to be the weather girl,” Espinoza remembered, laughing. Today, the deputy chief of staff for the Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners looks back on a 21-year career with the City of Long Beach and its port administration. “Working for the city and being exposed to the community, working in the community, going to town hall meetings, and just seeing the important role that city government plays: I got hooked,” Espinoza explained. At the Port of Long Beach, it’s the confluence of business and government she enjoys the most, as well as the international relationships she helps foster. “The world is so big, yet so small,” Espinoza mused, while listing the trade partnerships the port maintains across the globe. But despite the port’s role as a juncture for international trade, Espinoza said it’s the administration’s local initiatives and engagement that make her proud to be a part of the administration. “There’s still this big focus on the community, making sure that the port is connected to the community,” she noted.