Captain John Betz

Port Pilot
Los Angeles Pilot Service

M.S., Transportation Management (2015)
B.S., Nautical Industrial Technology (1976)

After receiving his bachelor's from Cal Maritime, Captain Betz spent 17 years he sailing on Chevron Shipping Company's ocean-going tankers, eventually serving as shipmaster. Chevron Shipping recognized Betz for various achievements, including developing an employee indoctrination program and inventing a patented apparatus that prevented fatal lifeboat accidents.
Captain Betz built an independent consulting firm that specialized in a risk-based approach to ship management. He built an operational management system that formed the basis for a significant company-wide cultural shift for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and personally trained their entire engine officer corps.
Currently a port pilot at the Port of Los Angeles, the largest container port in the western hemisphere, Betz's job entails guiding commercial ships to and from their berths in the port. He also serves as the vice chair of the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Safety Committee.
The systems-based processes Betz learned during his Cal Maritime master's degree work inspired him to develop a revolutionary private-sector approach to end homelessness.
Together with his wife, Heidi, Captain Betz owns and operates HAAVEN (dba) Collaborative Housing. HAAVEN currently operates eight fully-furnished homes that provide housing for more than 60 men and women, with a goal to nearly triple that by early next year.

Notable CSU Alumni in public service