LACBFFA Annual Election Featuring State of the Ports 2025

LACBFFA Annual Election 2025
Featuring Customs and Border Protection’s State of the Ports Address,
Los Angeles Int’l Airport & LA/LB Seaport

INFORMATION BELOW IS FROM 2024.

2025 INFO AND REGISTRATION COMING SOON.

Speakers

Cheryl Davies, U.S. Customs & Border Protection Director of Field Operations

Cheryl M. Davies is the Director of Field Operations (DFO) for the Los Angeles Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In this capacity, she directs a workforce of over 2,000 employees and oversees all CBP operations in the greater Los Angeles area and Las Vegas, Nevada, including the Los Angeles International (LAX), Harry Reid International, John Wayne International, and Ontario International airports, the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Hueneme, and the Electronics Center of Excellence and Expertise. The Los Angeles Field Office is one of the largest and most complex CBP operations in the country. The Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport is the largest port complex in the nation, accounting for approximately 35% of all maritime cargo entering the country, while LAX is the third busiest international airport in the nation.

• • •

Africa Bell, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Area Port Director Los Angeles, Long Beach

Ms. Bell currently serves as the Port Director at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport. In this capacity she leads more than 650 CBP employees in all facets of CBP operations at the Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Port Hueneme seaports. Ms. Bell has oversight of CBP’s enforcement and trade compliance operations related to the processing of nearly 35% of the nation’s containerized sea cargo and the annual processing of over 2 million cruise ship passengers. She has oversight of the Los Angeles Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FP&F) division, encompassing the storage and adjudication of more than $244 million in seized property. Additionally, Ms. Bell directs CBP maritime smuggling interdiction efforts along hundreds of miles of coastline in Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties.

• • •

Andrew Douglas, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Area Port Director, Los Angeles Airport

Mr. Douglas began his Federal career as an Immigration Inspector at U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, in Nogales, Arizona, and has broad leadership experience at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  Most recently, he served as Assistant Director for Field Operations, Border Security, in the Detroit Field Office, where he provided operational oversight of seven major Ports of Entry; Acting Director of the National Vetting Center, where he led efforts to streamline intelligence to inform operational decisions; Acting Area Port Director for the El Paso Port of Entry, where he oversaw operations and enforcement activities of eight CBP facilities in the City of El Paso, Texas; and Acting Area Port Director for the Laredo Port of Entry, where he oversaw all enforcement operations at the busiest inland commercial crossing in United States.

• • •

Kathleen Turner, DVM, Program Division Director, Division of West Coast Imports, Office of Import Operations, US Food & Drug Administration

Dr. Kathleen Turner joined the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 as the Program Division Director of the Division of West Coast Imports (DWCI).  Dr. Turner leads DWCI operations under the Office of Import Operations (OIO) in the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), covering Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the US Pacific Island Territories.

Dr. Turner previously served as the Director of the Miami, FL Port Office in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS), where she directed import and export activity at the Miami Port Office and associated private, commercial, State, and Federal facilities, points of entry and embarkation (airports, seaports, and land border ports), and other import/export operations.  Dr. Turner served in several roles throughout her USDA career, such as Veterinarian In Charge, Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer, and Port Director, and she has completed several details with oversight of national VS programs.

Dr. Turner obtained a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Maryland in College Park, MD and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, VA. She completed her post-doctoral work at the University of Miami in Miami, FL.

6:00 PM - 6:30 PM – Registration and Networking

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM – Dinner

7:30 PM - 8:30 PM – Speakers

Cancellation and Refund Policy:
Written cancellations will be accepted up to seven (7) days before the day of the event for a full refund. Please email your request to info@lacbffa.org. No refunds will be given if cancellation notice is received later than seven (7) days before the event, or for no-show registrants.