Geraldine Knatz

Stas Margaronis reviewed Terminal Island: Lost Communities of Los Angeles Harbor in 2015 and was of the view that the authors, "take us back to the 1900’s when Terminal Island was a vacation resort and Bohemian colony" when "artists mingled with writers, military men exchanged ideas with scientists…" David L. Ulin, a columnist at Los Angeles Times commented that it is a "story marked by deep layers, contradictions, a story we don’t often like to tell ourselves." He also praised the meticulousness of authors, "Hirahara and Knatz are smart and detailed on this early history, framing the development of Terminal Island through the filter of the growth of Los Angeles itself. However, the idyllic era ended at the time of attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese military strike, and the Japanese-American community had to lose their freedom, and livelihood." Ulin stated, "this is a brutal and disgusting chapter of American history goes without saying, and yet, Hirahara and Knatz treat it in a sober way. Their lack of overt emotion only gives more power to the telling, letting events and policies speak for themselves."

In 2014, in recognition of "her international leadership in the development of environmentally sustainable urban ports", she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. She is Chair of the board of trustees of AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, and has been serving as a Senior Advisor to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Port Services Network. Several writers have featured her maritime career in their books, including Edward Humes’s Door to Door, Bill Sharpsteen’s The Docks, and The Golden Shore by David Helvarg. Her research interests span environmental sustainability in port operations, and global port governance.

She has been a Fellow of Linnean Society of London since 2012. Her non-profit board appointments include the Banning Museum based in Wilmington California, and the Los Angeles Historical Society.

Knatz is past president of the American Association of Port Authorities and the International Association of Ports and Harbors, and founding Chairman of the World Port Climate Initiative. She played a leading role in a National Geographic T.V. Show, America’s Port. The eight-episode series ran in 2008. She is the author of three books, Long Beach's Los Cerritos, Port of Los Angeles: Conflict, Commerce, and the Fight for Control, and Terminal Island, Lost Communities of Los Angeles Harbor. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Knatz to the California Ocean Protection Council in 2007. Governor Jerry Brown reappointed her to the Council in 2012.

Geraldine Knatz is a maritime expert, academic, and author. She was the first female port director of the Port of Los Angeles, appointed in January 2006 by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. As Los Angeles port director she formulated and implemented the Clean Truck Program, and the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan. She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Southern California, with a joint appointment to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Price School of Public Policy.

Knatz married John C. Mulvey in August 1987, and has two children.

Knatz began working as a Marine Environmental Specialist at the Port of Los Angeles. In 1981, she moved to head the environmental office at the Port of Long Beach. She served as the Director of Planning for the Port of Long Beach from 1988 to 1999 and was promoted to the position of Managing Director in 1999. Subsequently, she served as the Executive Director at the Port of Los Angeles from 2006 to 2014. She was the first woman to be appointed Chief Executive of the Port of Los Angeles. She made a significant impact on the port region through the development and implementation of the first San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), and the Clean Truck Program. The clean truck program banned non-compliant trucks from access to the port, a right that she helped in defending in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Knatz started her academic career as an Instructor of Environmental Engineering at University of Southern California in 1981. She concurrently held an appointment as an Adjunct Professor in the Center for Public Policy at the California State University, and American Military University between 1985 and 2004. As of 2014, she is a Professor of the Practice of Engineering and Policy at the University of Southern California.

Knatz graduated with a B.Sc. in Zoology from Rutgers University in 1973. She received M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering in 1977 and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences in 1979 from the University of Southern California. She completed the Global Logistics Professional (GLP) program at California State University, Long Beach at Long Beach in 2000.