MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

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WTS-LA Celebrates 40 Years of Excellence

Hello! I am Mahsa Pan, a Harbor Engineer at the Port of Los Angeles in the Construction Division, and I am incredibly honored to be your 2025-2026 WTS-LA President!

Thirteenth-century Persian poet Rumi is attributed as saying, “Gratitude is the wine for the soul. Go on. Get drunk.” This lighthearted sentiment warms my heart and before I talk about how I hope to start this year, I want to make a few acknowledgements.

First, I want to thank the Port of Los Angeles for their continuous support and providing me with the opportunity to participate in this dynamic and inspiring organization. My Port coworkers introduced me to WTS-LA over a decade ago and it has truly been a rewarding and fulfilling journey.

I extend my deepest gratitude and appreciation to outgoing WTS-LA President Heather Anderson for her unwavering dedication to our chapter and empowering her board to shine in their roles. Not only has she been  a fantastic president for our chapter, I am also most fortunate to call her a good friend. I also want to congratulate and thank the outgoing board for their tremendous contributions to the chapter. They consistently inspire me with their enthusiasm for serving our membership and the transportation industry.

In turn, I want to welcome and thank my incoming board. Year in and year out, the WTS-LA Board of Directors, committee members, and volunteers dedicate countless hours to create programs, fundraise for scholarships, and commit to student outreach. There simply isn’t a chapter function that does not rely on our most capable and diligent WTS-LA members. Put simply, without their enthusiastic, committed, highly skilled efforts, we could not exist as a chapter. So, I want to thank them at the outset for everything they’ve done and everything that they will do. Whenever you see a volunteer working tirelessly at a networking mixer or boat tour or career day, please take a moment to stop and thank them. They deserve our gratitude and recognition. They are a vital part of what makes WTS-LA great and I look forward to recognizing them regularly throughout the year.

Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman said, “For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.” This is especially true as our chapter celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and prepares to host the 2026 WTS International Annual Conference. We will be honoring the successes of the trailblazers that came before us and looking to advance and build the legacy of our chapter on the international platform. As we look both behind us and ahead of us, there is also great value in our outlook.

For me, that translates to nurturing a culture of kindness in WTS-LA and the communities around us. This goes hand in hand with being grateful for our WTS-LA volunteers, for our coworkers, for our spouses and loved ones. While we pursue our dreams and goals, we also can also be mindful about showing our appreciation with acts of kindness, with creating a supportive environment and a place where everyone feels valued and encouraged to thrive. Let’s continue working together in making WTS-LA a place where everyone from all walks of life feels welcome and has a place to grow. Let’s be intentional about the WTS-LA legacy we are building and leaving for the next generation of transportation leaders.

Finally, I want to reiterate that it takes a community to make this chapter great. I invite you to volunteer for this great chapter and help us create a lasting impact. If you have considered volunteering in the past, I invite you to fill out a Volunteer Survey and join us! If you have any questions or comments, I want you all to know that my door is always open. Please reach out to me. If you have a unique idea to expand membership, a great idea for a program, a new transportation discipline we should reach out to, please, please, please let me know. My email box is always open. And I promise to read and respond to each and every email (as soon as humanly possible).

Rumi said, “Gratitude is the wine for the soul.” So, again, thank you to Heather, the outgoing board, my incoming board, and our invaluable volunteers. I am grateful to serve as your 2025-2026 President and excited to embark on the next 40 years together!

Mahsa Pan, PE
Port of Los Angeles

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