Speaker Bios

Tom Ada

Commissioner, Guam Consolidated Commission on Utilities

Tom is from the island of Guam. His work career spans over a period of 35-years working in the public and private sectors.

His career started with active duty in the U.S. Army, and eventually retired as a Colonel from the Army Reserves after 26-years of service as a citizen-soldier. Tom has served all his public and private sector career in Guam. He has served as the Deputy Director for Guam Waterworks Authority, General Manager for Guam Power Authority, and as a 4-term Senator in the Guam Legislature (where he also served on the Legislative Committee on Utilities).

His private sector career includes working for Guam’s largest, locally owned telecommunications company as Vice President for Business Development and Planning, and currently works as the General Manager for SGS Inc., a global third party Inspection Company.

Tom currently serves as Vice Chairman on the Guam Consolidated Commission on Utilities (CCU). The Commission, created by Guam law in 2003, is empowered to govern the business matters of Guam’s public water and power companies. The CCU was instrumental in turning the Guam Waterworks Authority from a company that was in the “red” by $80 million, to a profitable company which was able to establish its credit worthiness on the bond market in 2005.

Commissioners serve at the pleasure of Guam’s utility service rate payers, and are re-elected every 4-years. Tom’s tenure on the CCU expires in 2008.

James S. Andrasick

CEO, Matson Navigation

Jim Andrasick has served as the president & CEO of Matson since July 2002. Matson is a prominent ocean shipping and transportation company based in Oakland, California, which serves Hawai'i, Guam, Micronesia and China. The company also provides logistics solutions nationwide to a variety of customers, utilizing extensive rail and trucking networks. Total revenues in 2005 exceeded $1.3 billion and an operating income of $117 million. Matson is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honolulu based Alexander and Baldwin, Inc. (A&B) a publicly traded company (NASDAQ – “ALEX”).

Prior to joining Matson, Andrasick was an executive VP of A&B and served as its chief financial and corporate development officer since June 2000. He was president and COO of another diversified Hawai'i company, C. Brewer from 1992-2000.

Andrasick is a graduate of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy, where he received a bachelor's degree in engineering. He also holds a master's degree in management science from the Massachusetts

Donald Bailey

Research Specialist, Aquaculture Program, University of the Virgin Islands

Donald Bailey has worked for the Aquaculture Program of the University of the Virgin Islands, Agricultural Experiment Station for 20 years and is currently a Research Specialist. He has a B.S. in Biology and an M.B.A. He has worked towards the development of the UVI Aquaponic System and the Biofloc System through research in fish production and water quality analysis, evaluation of vegetable crop systems and economic analysis. He is an instructor in the annual Short Course which has trained over 200 students and assists farmers and entrepreneurs in developing farm plans that incorporate the UVI systems.

Ronald C. Baird

Research Professor, Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina

Ronald C. Baird is Research Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science. He previously served as director of the National Sea Grant College Program and associate director for Ocean Research of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s principal line office for research.

Dr. Baird brings a background in science, business, and academic administration to his position at UNCW. He holds a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University, an M.A. in zoology from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.S. in zoology from Yale University. He served as vice president of university relations and director of corporate relations at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the nation’s third oldest engineering college, and was appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to the National Sea Grant Review Panel. He served as its chair from 1992-1994. Dr. Baird was president and a director of Schuster Corporation, an investment holding company and also served as director of research at Geo-Marine, Inc., an engineering and environmental consulting firm in Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Baird spent nine years as a professor of marine science at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. His published works include contributions to the biology of deep-sea fishes, encounter theory and natural resource management. He is a lifetime member of Sigma Xi and a fellow of the American Institute of Fisheries Research Biologists. In 2000, he received the Presidential Rank Award for helping position the U.S. as a world leader in marine research and the sustainable development of coastal resources.

John M. Benavente, P.E.

General Manager, Consolidated Utility Services

Mr. Benavente was appointed the General Manager, Consolidated Utility Services, by the Consolidated Commission on Utilities, Guam, in June 2005. In this position, he oversees the operations of both the Guam Power Authority and Guam Waterworks Authority, with a combined operating budget of $350 million, assets in excess of $1 Billion and approximately 770 employees. He has thirty years of technical, engineering and management experience in the power related field both in the government and private sectors, including seven (7) years as the General Manager of Guam Power Authority (GPA). Experienced in various aspects of operations including the Navy Customer Supplier Agreements, the Independent Power Producers Energy Conversion Agreements, strategic planning, succession planning, rate proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission, Legislative hearings, bond ratings and issuance, environmental permitting, power plant construction, transmission and distribution construction, energy management system, budgeting, collections, typhoon and earthquake recoveries. He holds a Masters of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri (Rolla), a Bachelor of Science (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Dayton and is a Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer, Guam.

Kassi Berg

Executive Producer, Roll 'Em Productions

Ms. Berg was an undergraduate fellow at Cambridge University, England and graduated magna cum laude from U.C. Berkeley, California. She received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a certificate in international law from The Hague Academy in Netherlands. She practiced law for more than 12 years, in private law firms and in public service as a Federal Public Defender. She moved to the Republic of Palau to become Senior Legal Counsel to Palau’s National Congress. Two years later, she partnered up with her husband, a veteran filmmaker, to start the first multimedia company in Palau. She is currently an officer of the Palau Chamber of Commerce.

Kassi Berg is the owner and executive producer of Roll 'Em Productions, a video production company producing high quality international and local commercials, documentaries, and educational programming. She is also the founder of Oceania Television Network, a new endeavor focused on producing and airing Pacific content throughout the Pacific region. Roll 'Em Productions is one of the newest members of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development.

Alberto Bruno-Vega

Executive Director, Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority

Alberto Bruno-Vega was appointed Executive Director (CEO) effective December 10, 2002. Mr. Bruno-Vega initially joined the Authority as its Executive Director on July 1, 1989. He served in that position until August, 1995 when he resigned to pursue other interests in the construction industry in Puerto Rico. Prior to joining the Authority, Mr. Bruno-Vega was employed at the Consolidated Edison Company of New York as Manager of Distribution System Planning and Division Manager of Engineering – Staten Island, and at the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority as Head of the Electrical Planning and Research Division, the Director of Planning, Engineering, and Environmental Affairs and the Executive Director.

Mr. Bruno-Vega graduated magna cum laude in 1965 from the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and completed 27 credits towards a Master Degree in Electrical Engineering. While working for Con Edison, he completed a two-year graduate level course on Power Systems Engineering with Power Technologies of Schenectady, New York.

Mr. Bruno-Vega has been the Executive Director for the two utilities in the Caribbean Region under the American Flag: the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (VIWAPA).

Warren T. Bush

State Director, Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center

Mr. Warren T. Bush has been with the University of the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center (UVI-SBDC) for approximately 8 years. He was appointed the State Director of the UVI-SBDC in December 2000. He has recently been appointed to the accreditation committee for the US Small Business Administration (US-SBA), which certifies SBDC’s within the US-SBA network.

Within his responsibilities are overseeing the United States Virgin Islands offices of the UVI-SBDC, a delivery service of management, technical and training assistance to small business. Designed to foster the development of small business, UVI-SBDC serves as a community outreach program of the University’s Business Administration Program. The center provides broad based management and technical assistance to persons who are ready to start a business and people who are already in business in the areas of business counseling, technical assistance, training, information gathering and dissemination and advocacy.

Mr. Bush was the owner of a consulting company specializing in providing small business development services before working at the UVI-SBDC. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Bluefield State College and a Masters Degree in Industrial Relations from West Virginia University.

The UVI-SBDC is a partnership program with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

W. Nicholas "nick" captain

President, The Captain Company

W. Nicholas ("Nick") Captain is the President of The Captain Company, a real estate service corporation and Captain Realty Advisors, a brokerage firm based on Guam. His firms specialize in providing real estate research, consulting, valuation, brokerage and investment services. Mr. Captain is the only real estate expert in Micronesia to hold the prestigious Counselor of Real Estate, or CRE, designation awarded by the National Association of Realtors. He is a Fellow in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and holds the Appraisal Institute’s MAI designation. His background includes seven years of experience at one of Hawai'i’s foremost real estate consulting firms. A University of Hawai'i graduate, he currently serves as the Appraisal Institute’s Ambassador to Micronesia, the Philippines and Indonesia, and he holds a seat on the Institute’s International Relations Committee. In the early 1990s, Mr. Captain served as Chief Appraiser for the mass appraisal of all privately owned real estate on Guam for government property tax purposes. On a biennial basis, he hosts of the Micronesia Real Estate Investment Conference and he periodically instructs seminars and publishes articles on real estate. The geographic areas covered by Mr. Captain include Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Hawai'i, American Samoa and Western Samoa. He can be reached at nick@captainrealestate.com.

Louis V. Cariello

Operations Officer, Naval Facilities Command-Pacific

Commander Cariello reported to NAVFAC Pacific as Operations Officer in July 2006. He was born in Astoria, Queens, N.Y., raised in Willingboro and Mount Laurel, N.J., graduating from Lenape High School in 1982. He attended the United States Naval Academy where he majored in Mechanical Engineering.

Commander Cariello was initially assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR, where he made operational deployments to Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines as Detail Projects Officer and Vieques Island, Puerto Rico as Detail Officer in Charge. He next served in contracts positions at Naval Station New York; in Brooklyn, and at the Staten Island Homeport.

After receiving dual Masters Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Management at Drexel University in 1994, he assumed overseas duties as Staff Civil Engineer for Public Works Center, Guam. From April 1996 to June 1998, he served as Resident Officer in Charge of Construction for the EFA Midwest Contracts office in Crane, Indiana.

Commander Cariello then returned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR, where he served as Operations Officer from July 1998 to April 2000, making operational deployments to Okinawa, Japan and Puerto Rico. In this capacity, he executed 13 Deployments for Training and planned NCF support to 3 contingencies. In April 2000, he joined the Staff of the Second Naval Construction Brigade as the Current Operations Officer, supporting NCF Operations throughout the European and Atlantic/Caribbean theatres. In this assignment, he was deployed as Commander of the 22nd Naval Construction Regiment Forward in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba attached to Joint Task Force 160 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

He was assigned next to the OPNAV N80 staff as the Facilities & Infrastructure Programming Analyst from April 2002 to May 2004. Following this tour, Commander Cariello served as Commanding Officer for NMCB ONE from June 2004 to July 2006, making two operational deployments to Rota, Spain and Iraq, and Okinawa, Japan. During his tenure, NMCB ONE was awarded the Atlantic Fleet Best of Type and Peltier Award.

He is Seabee Combat Warfare qualified, a member of the Acquisition Professional Community, and a registered Professional Engineer in New Jersey. He is also a member of the Society of American Military Engineers and the U.S. Naval Institute. His military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two Gold Stars, Navy Commendation medal with two Gold Stars, Navy Achievement Medal with Gold Star, and several other unit and service awards.

Commander Cariello is married to the former Victoria Devery of Mount Laurel, New Jersey. They have two daughters Valerie (9) and Natalie (6), and a son Evan (3).

Darlene A. Carty

Commissioner, Virgin Islands Department of Health

Darlene A. Carty, MA Ed., R.T.T. was nominated by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to be the 13th U.S. Virgin Islands Health Commissioner on October 22, 2003 and the nomination was confirmed by the V.I. Senate on March 10, 2004.

The Office of the Commissioner is the entity that sets and implements policy and oversees other units to ensure that the mission of the department is fulfilled. The primary focus is to improve the standard of care provided by the department.

With that appointment, Ms. Carty became the first fulltime Commissioner to lead the Department of Health one of the largest agencies in the VI Government. Ms. Carty also heads an agency which includes three health care facilities, two district offices and field offices, as well as the central office, located on St. Thomas.

And responsible for a $56 million budget, her appointment marked two firsts: Ms. Carty became the youngest local woman and the first non-physician ever to hold this position. As Territory’s lead health official, Ms. Carty advises the Governor and the public on health matters, such as smoking, AIDS, diet and nutrition, environmental health hazards, and the importance of immunization and disease prevention.

Some of the major program responsibilities Ms. Carty takes on include: Medicaid; Child Health Plus; Youth Tobacco Enforcement and Prevention; regulation of health care provider and medical services; Mental Health, and implementation of a significant number of public health programs. As the Health Commissioner, Ms. Carty also serves on numerous boards and commissions.
Some of the more general goals and objectives of the Department include promoting and sustaining the health status of all Virgin Islanders; providing access to affordable health care to all Virgin Islanders; improving the quality of health care through collaboration, oversight and surveillance of health care providers; enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department through re-engineering of its programs, policies, and internal operations; and working with the diverse customers the agency serves.

With over 17 years of progressively responsible experience in the health, business, and education fields. Ms. Carty has served both Government and private sector clients (Federal Data Corporation, Logicon, Northrop Grumann IT), managing projects that involve all phases of administration and management including budgeting, professional education, public education and outreach, coalition and partnership building, tracking, follow-up and case management, surveillance, and evaluation. She has been independently responsible for maintaining accurate business records; writing and editing grants, status reports, contracts, and public relations materials; and policy and procedure guidelines.

Ms. Carty was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. She graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1992; Radiologic Medicine with a minor in Business Administration, where she was a Board of Trustees Scholarship recipient. She received subsequent training at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in Infectious and Chronic Disease Epidemiology. Ms. Carty was awarded a Masters of Art in Education with a concentration in guidance and counseling from the University of the Virgin Islands in 1998. She was accepted to the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health Graduate Certificate Program and has applied this course work towards a Doctor of Public Health. In the summer of 2004, she was selected to attend the Program for Senior Managers in Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Dr. Clarence "C.L." Cheshire

Senior Business Development Manager, Pacific Business Center Program

Dr. C.L. Cheshire is a Senior Business Development Manager at the Pacific Business Center Program, UH-Manoa, where he has worked since 1996. Prior to coming to Hawai'i Dr. Cheshire was the Director of the Economic Development Center at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1987 to 1995. Since joining the Pacific Business Center Program, Dr. Cheshire has been primarily responsible for providing business and economic development assistance to the Compact of Free Association states in Micronesia (Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau). He has authored or contributed to several regional and state economic development strategies and numerous business plans and market studies. Cheshire’s economic development strategy for resettling Rongelap Atoll, one of the atolls in the RMI that was evacuated due to radioactive fallout from atomic bomb testing on nearby Bikini, was recognized by the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers as the Project of the Year in 2002. In 2005, Cheshire’s East Timor Candlenut Oil Processing Enterprise Project, a successful effort to develop a candlenut oil manufacturing facility in East Timor, was awarded a Project of Year award by the University Economic Development Association. Dr. Cheshire holds a BA from Davidson College, an MA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin Madison.

May Adams Cornwall

Executive Director, Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority

May Adams Cornwall is the current Executive Director of the new Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority. In this role for less than two years, she has provided direction and oversight of the successful transition of the employees, funds, and assets; the negotiation of a new landfill management contract, new waste haulers contracts, a new waste water operations and maintenance contract; and, the construction oversight for two new waste water treatment plants scheduled for completion in early 2007.

She most recently held the position of Director of Water, Alternative
Energy, and Grant Writing for the Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority where she was responsible for Water Distribution Operations & Maintenance; Alternative Energy Programs including demand side management initiatives such as energy audit programs, distributed generation systems and interconnectivity projects; and, federal grant writing including benefits costs analyses.

Prior to that Ms. Cornwall served for ten years as the Chief Engineer for the Department of Public Works, the Director of Environmental Services, and the first Environmental Engineer. She also has over 6 years experience in the private sector with St. Croix Alumina, LLC, Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., and the DuPont Company.

Walter B. Dias

Vice President, Continental - Air Micronesia

Walter Dias is the Staff Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Continental Micronesia, the region's hometown carrier and wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines, the world's fifth largest airline. He is responsible for the development and execution of sales and promotion programs, advertising and public relations for Continental Micronesia in Guam, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia, Saipan, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of the Marshall Islands, and offshore sales in Taiwan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.

Dias moved to Guam in 1993, joining Continental Micronesia as Director of Marketing. He began his airline career with Continental Airlines in 1987 in the finance division at the corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas. Prior to joining Continental, Dias worked in the Finance Division of Gearhart Industries and Geosource Inc., and for the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse.

Dias serves on the Board of Directors of the Guam Visitors Bureau, is currently chairman of GVB's Market Research committee and is a member of GVB's Japan Marketing committee. He had previously chaired GVB's China Asia Marketing committee, and North America, Pacific and Armed Forces marketing committee from 2003 to 2005. He also serves on the board of the Guam Visitor Industry Ecucation Council.

He received a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University. Dias lives in Guam with the wife, Sonya. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, scuba diving, running, and golf.

Papalii Dr. Failautusi Avegalio

Director, Pacific Business Center Program

Born in American Samoa, Dr. Tusi straddles two worlds with equal ease. In the University of Hawai'i world, he is the director of the University of Hawai'i’s Pacific Business Center Program- a federally funded program that delivers technical assistance to private and public organizations with business and economic development projects.

In Dr. Tusi’s Polynesian world, he traces his genealogy to Rarotonga, Tonga and Fiji. Dr. Tusi is also a ranking traditional Polynesian Alii (chief) from Samoa. Previous to his appointment at the Pacific Business Center Program, he was the first tenured track professor from Oceania to the University of Hawai'i College of Business Administration, president of the American Samoa Community College, and a visiting research scholar for the East West Center-Pacific Islands Development Program. Dr. Tusi has consulted extensively throughout the pacific region for governments, regional and national college and universities in the Pacific, financial institutions, multinational corporations, businesses, village councils and a local community Pee-Wee football team. Dr. Tusi received his doctoral degree from Brigham Young University, Utah, his Master of Arts degree from Truman State University of Missouri, his Bachelor of Arts degree and Bachelors of Science degree from Emporia State University of Kansas.

The Pacific Business Center Program (PBCP) was established in 1979 to provide governments, companies, and institutions in Hawai’i with business-related services and economic development support by providing assistance with – strategic planning, economic and financial analyses, management reviews, business plans, environmental and needs assessments, developing tourism industry plans, and more. The PBCP also provides an opportunity for UH students (graduate and undergraduate) to apply their classroom learning by working on real world projects for PBCP clients, thereby enabling the PBCP to provide its services at reasonable rates.

Since its inception, PBCP has expanded its span of services to include Hawai’i and other Pacific Basin islands, including the territories of American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands. Current funders of the PBCP include the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, the UH Manoa College of Business Administration, the Commonwealth Development Authority, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Bank of the Orient. PBCP was recently named the recipient of a fourth annual national Excellence in Partnership Development Award by the University Economic Development Association.

Mark Hunsaker

Principal, Bowen Hunsaker Hirai

Mark Hunsaker is a shareholder and director in the firms of Bowen Hunsaker Hirai, Certified Public Accountants, P.C. and Bowen Hunsaker Hirai Consulting, Inc. Mr. Hunsaker is a graduate of Kemper Military College and the University of Kansas. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting and business administration from the University of Kansas. Mr. Hunsaker also attended the University of Kentucky Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Hunsaker has over thirty years experience with international big four, regional and local CPA firms. He is a Certified Public Accountant with an Accreditation in Business Valuation. He holds permits to practice in Hawai'i and American Samoa. He is a Certified Business Appraiser (“CBA”) and member of the Institute of Business Appraisers (“IBA”) as well as Accredited in Business Valuation (“ABV”) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounants (“AICPA”) and a member of the Business Valuation, forensic and litigation services section of the AICPA. He has served on the Public Relations, Tax, and Ethics committees of the Hawai'i Society of CPA’s (“HSCPA”), former chair of the Hscpa Ethics Committee, board member of the Institute of Litigation Services Advisors, former president and director of the Hawai'i Estate Planning Council, member and vice-chair of the Hawai'i State Board of Public Accountancy, chair of the CPA Examination Committee and vice-chair of the Legislation and Rules Committee of the Hawai'i State Board of Public Accountancy.

Mr. Hunsaker's community activities have included service as a Honolulu Police Commissioner, board of director member of the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Services of Hawai'i, Inc., president and director of Po’ailani, Inc., (a dual diagnosis and treatment facility), campaign treasurer for Hawai'i lieutenant governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr., and a lieutenant colonel and command pilot in the United States Air Force (AUX).

Tilani Ilaoa

Program Manager, American Samoa Women’s Business Center/Agriculture Association

Tilani Ilaoa was raised in American Samoa and completed an undergraduate degree in English and Linguistics at E. New Mexico University. She did post-graduate work at Long Beach State, San Francisco State University and U.C. Berkeley.

Tilani worked as a teacher and a language & curriculum development specialist in American Samoa, Los Angeles and San Francisco for twenty years. While living in San Francisco she was active in Pacific Islander affairs. After returning to American Samoa, her interest in American Samoan environmental and economic issues led to her involvement as a consultant to the American Samoan Women’s Business Center. For the past four years she has managed the American Samoa Women’s Business Center, promoting sustainable economic development and increased self-sufficiency among the women of the Territory.

An avid amateur botanist, Tilani has been studying the biological activities of tropical flora as well as delving into traditional Samoan healing and Samoan plant lore from taulasea (traditional healers) for over ten years. This interest led to the opening of her own small cottage business in 1998, which produces natural soaps, massage and healing oils, creams, lotions, floral waters and other natural products from rich tropical flora.

Tilani attributes much of her ability to appreciate and contribute to significant endeavors to her rich bicultural heritage.

Epel K. Ilon

Office of Compact Management, Federated States of Micronesia

Mr. Epel K. Ilon is currently the Director of the new FSM Office of Compact Management, which was established under FSM law in 2005 to oversee the implementation of the amended Compact of Free Association with the United States. Mr. Ilon also serves as one of two members from the FSM on the Joint Economic Management Committee and the Joint Trust Fund Committee. He has held positions in the FSM Government since the establishment of the FSM in 1979, first as the Assistant Liaison Officer at the FSM Liaison Office in Washington, DC, which he then headed up two years later. He returned from Washington in 1987 and joined the home office of the FSM Department of External Affairs as head of the US Relations Division, then later as the Deputy Secretary of External Affairs, and finally as the Secretary in 1998. Mr. Ilon also served as the second Chairman of the FSM Joint Committee on Economic Negotiations before resigning from government in 2000 and going into a five-year stint as a consultant. He was invited to return to government as head of the Office of Compact Management last year. Mr. Ilon is married and has four daughters and a son.

Casey Jeszenka

Network Director, Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Network

Casey Jeszenka is the Network Director for the Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Network (PISBDCN) with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in Guam, Yap, Chuuk, RMI, Palau and Kosrae. Before taking the PISBDCN Network Director’s position, he was the Special Projects Director for PISBDCN in charge of starting the centers in Chuuk, RMI, Palau and Kosrae. Prior to working for PISBDCN, Casey was a SBDC Director for five counties in Western Montana. Casey was born and raised in Missoula, Montana. He attended the University of Montana were he achieved a dual emphasis bachelors degree in Finance and Management with a minor in Economics. After obtaining his bachelors degree, Casey went on to obtain an MBA from the University of Montana.

Robert H. Jones

President and CEO, Triple J Saipan

Robert H. Jones the founder and President of Triple J Enterprises has been committed to serving Guam, CNMI and Micronesian islands for over 40 years. This commitment began with Jones and Guerrero Co., Inc. where he worked for 25 years. The last 15 of which he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Guam and all of Micronesia. Then he started his own family company Triple J Enterprises, Inc. in 1984. He and his wife Margaret have lived in Saipan the past 12 years. They spend 2 or 3 days each week on Guam and most weekends.

In 1981 he was chosen as Guam and Saipan’s first Businessman of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce and the Guam Business News. In later years, the same publication listed Triple J Enterprises as the fastest growing company in Guam and the Micronesia. Mr. Jones is also well respected throughout the island community for his many civic contributions, especially Boy Scouts of America where he serves as Executive Vice President of the Aloha Council and has earned many awards for his work with the Guam Boy Scouts including the Silver Beaver and the Silver Antelope Award.

Triple J Enterprises, Inc. is the parent company of Triple J Motors, Triple J Five Star Wholesale Foods, Triple J Express Tire & Lube, Triple J Real Estate and Consulting, and One Stop Travel in Guam. Triple J Saipan, Inc. is the parent company for Triple J Five Star Wholesale Foods – Saipan, Triple J Motors. Mr. Jones also owns and operates Triple J Merchant Services, a freight forwarding and consolidation warehouse in South San Francisco. Triple J Enterprises oversees several restaurants in Guam and Saipan including Tony Roma and Capricciosa. Triple J Group also owns and operates Outback Steakhouse in Guam. Recently, Mr. Jones opened a Triple J Development Office in Shanghai China. Triple J opened the new Honda/Acura store in Guam in November 11, 2006.

Triple J Enterprises played an instrumental role in bringing K-Mart to Guam.

Andreas (Andy) Jordanou

Acting Administrator, Guam Economic Development and Commerce Authority/Senior Fiscal Advisor to the Governor

In October of 2004, Andreas (Andy) Jordanou became the first Banking and Insurance Commissioner for the Territory of Guam and also serves as the Governor’s Chief Fiscal Advisor. Andy has the responsibility of overseeing the operations and functions of the banking and insurance industries in Guam. He also serves as the Chairman of the Banking and Insurance Board, which consists of the Commissioner and nine(9) members, all confirmed by the Guam Legislature.

As the Governor’s Chief Fiscal Advisor, Andy oversees and directs policies related to capital financing and debt management activities for the government of Guam. He participates and organizes committees formulated to address the financial needs of a particular entity of the government of Guam, or the government of Guam in its entirety and is now charged to oversee the Governor’s 3-5 year Fiscal Recovery Plan.

On October 1, 2005, Andy was appointed by the Governor of Guam to the position of Acting Director/Administrator for the Guam Economic Development and Commerce Authority. He oversees the industry development for economic growth for the Territory of Guam as well as the financial sector of the Government.

Andy’s banking experience spans over 30 years. He has held various management positions including assignments in the Western and South Pacific based offices for the Bank of Hawai'i. During his banking career, his experience crossed over to various insurance matters both from a business and consumer’s point of view. He was involved and held Executive Board level positions at the Guam Chamber of Commerce, Guam Visitor’s Bureau, American Cancer Society, Guam Employers Council and the Guam Olympic Committee. In addition, Andy was on the Executive Advisory Council of Anderson Air Force Base.

Recently moved back to Guam in August of last year, Andy held the position of Senior Vice President and Regional Sales Manager for Bank of Hawai'i’s 14 branches located in the West Oahu region and was responsible for the management and group financial performance. In addition, Andy was the Military Liaison Officer for the Bank and acted as the conduit between Executive Management and the Military. Andy earned his Business Administration Degree from the California State University in Hayward, California and is a graduate of Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth University on Credit and Financial Management.

Lynn A. Knight

Chairwoman, Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands

Lynn A. Knight has been a resident of Saipan for 20 years and is vice president of corporate affairs for Tan Holdings, a diverse group of companies in the Western Pacific. For Tan Holdings, she also serves as general manager of the 33-room Century Hotel and is part of the team management of Asia Pacific Hotels, which includes Century, the Fiesta Resort Guam, Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan and Saipan Grand Hotel. Lynn also manages the company’s corporate social responsibility program as executive director of the Tan Holdings Foundation.
During her 26-year career, Lynn has been active in community service. She currently chairs the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands (HANMI), the first woman to hold this position elected by the general managers of Saipan’s hotels. She also serves on the Governor’s Tourism Task Force and the Strategic Economic Development Council. She is a past president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining Tan Holdings in 2001, for 14 years Lynn owned her own small business, Sunset Advertising Group, Inc., an advertising & PR firm she founded in 1987 on Saipan.

Gerald S. Koenig

Vice President, Hannon Armstrong

Gerry Koenig is Managing Director of Hannon Armstrong Advisory Services, a firm that advises government and corporate clients on the economics and financing of critical infrastructure needs. He has over twenty years of experience in senior executive and legal positions and served both on the White House staff under President Ronald Reagan and in the Office of Secretary of Defense under Richard Cheney. Mr. Koenig received a BS in engineering from West Point, an MA in International Relations from USC, and a JD in International Business Transactions from the George Mason University School of Law; he is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

HA Advisory Services advises government and corporate clients on how to use multiyear Federal funding to acquire critical infrastructure needs. HA Advisory Services is an affiliate of Hannon Armstrong Capital, which for over 25
years has provided financing for government infrastructure projects.

Robert J. Maloney

Chairman and CEO, Pacific Data Systems

Mr. Maloney has lived and worked in the Pacific for nearly 40 years. He is the founder and CEO of Pacific Network Solutions, a company created to facilitate cooperative opportunities for small Pacific island based telecommunications companies to fund and jointly participate in the benefits of direct ownership of undersea fiber optic cable infrastructure and new in-region Internet and IP Carrier Exchange facilities. Mr. Maloney is also the long time Chairman and CEO of Pacific Systems Corporation and its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Pacific Data Systems (PDS). PDS was founded in 1969 and is today a diversified technology and telecommunications company with operations and network access points in Hawai'i, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Mr. Maloney’s involvement in the development of telecommunications network infrastructure in the Pacific dates back to the 1980s and PacNet, the first privately owned and operated transpacific X.25 Packet Data Network. Throughout the 1990’s Mr. Maloney served on the Management Committees of many of the undersea fiber optic cable networks planned and constructed during that time including the TPC5 Cable Network, the SMW 3 Network, the Guam-Philippines Cable and the China-US Cable Network. During this time Mr. Maloney was also the key protagonist in the “domestication of telecommunications” in Guam and the CNMI, reshaping the inter-exchange services regulatory environment and competitive landscape. This process resulted in the establishment of U.S. Area Codes for Guam and the CNMI, the implementation of 1-plus domestic long distance dialing and implementation of U.S. domestic long distance rate integration leading to a 90% reduction in the cost of long distance calling. Today, Mr. Maloney is leading a similar process designed to establish competition in the Guam local exchange services market for the first time. PDS is now Guam’s first fully authorized Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) and is building a new island wide high capacity terrestrial fiber optic network over which the company will provide a full range of next generation converged IP voice, data and video network services. Mr. Maloney is also presently at work on similar CLEC initiatives in Hawai'i and the CNMI with the objective of creating the first regional CLEC serving Guam , Hawai'i and the CNMI as a single unified local exchange services market.

Ven Medabalmi, Esq.

Vice President, BMI Holdings

Ven Medabalmi has represented a variety of major financial institutions on corporate matters including structured finance, leveraged leasing, privatizations and project finance as well as more traditional forms of bank financing. During his tenure as an attorney with the international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP based in New York, he developed expertise in corporate transactions encompassing capital markets, private equity, bankruptcy and restructurings with an emphasis on the energy and infrastructure projects. Mr. Medabalmi has worked with lenders (such as Citibank, Fleet/Bank of America, GE Financial, Credit Lyonnais and others) on the financing of various projects including water and sewer systems, electrical transmission grids, municipal transit systems, petrochemical facilities, traditional power plants and alternative energy projects such as geothermal energy facilities and wind installations.

A frequent speaker, Mr. Medabalmi recently gave a presentation on financing alternatives for energy projects at the Marianas Roundtable on Energy held in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.

Mr. Medabalmi is a director at BMI Pacific, a Guam-based holding company with interests in construction and infrastructure development, automotive and heavy equipment industries, waste and landfill management and real estate. Mr. Medabalmi also serves as general counsel to several companies including a New York-based hedge fund based in New York City, where he is also an investment manager. He also serves as an advisor and board director for several technology and consumer products companies.

Born and raised on Guam, Mr. Medabalmi attended Father Duenas on Guam and holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctor degree from the Columbia University School of Law.

Robert S. C. Munier

Managing Director, Tyco Telecommunications

Mr. Munier is Managing Director for Tyco Telecommunications where he is responsible for the sale of undersea systems and marine services. Previously he held the position of Managing Director for Engineering and Construction at Tyco, responsible for the delivery of marine and terrestrial infrastructure for undersea cable systems. Prior to joining Tyco, Mr. Munier was Vice President of the General Offshore Corporation, an international marine technical services firm serving commercial and US Government markets and before that he was President of Wolff and Munier International.

Beside cable systems, Mr. Munier’s 25 year career in the undersea business includes ocean energy, oceanographic research and marine operations. He was president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Ocean Engineering Division; chairman of the South Florida Chapter of the Marine Technology Society and president of the New England Mechanical Contractors Association. He is currently a member of the Submarine Cable Improvement Group and serves on the boards of the Oregon Cable Fisherman’s Committee, the South Bay Cable-Fisheries Liaison Committee and the Sea Space Symposium.

Mr. Munier has an undergraduate degree in geology from Middlebury College and advanced degrees in ocean engineering and business from the University of Miami and Florida Atlantic University, respectively.

Mike Musto

President, Trip-n-Tour

Mike Musto went to Guam, USA in 1966 to teach school on a two year contract. He was going to move on after the two years, but fell in love with Guam and her ways. He taught history of Guam and hiked the jungles to all the World War II battle sites.

He met Vikki, a local Guamanian lady after living in Guam for nine years and they married. They got into politics together and Mike ended up being the Press Secretary for the Governor of Guam. One day, while day while being chief spokesperson for Governor Calvo, the vice president of Continental Micronesia Airlines asked Mike and Vikki if they could all have a meeting to discuss an interesting project.

It was then that Continental Airlines asked Mike and Vikki if they would start a company to promote Micronesia to North American travelers. The deal was too good to past up, so Mike and Vikki moved to the States to start the company called Trip-N-Tour Pacific. The phone calls started coming in and the callers would ask all kinds of questions about diving Micronesia. Mike and Vikki knew all there was to know about the islands and everything above water, but knew little about underwater except snorkeling. They quickly figured out the North Americans most interested in Micronesia were divers and, if Trip-N-Tour was going to be successful, then Mike and Vikki had to become divers.

They did and that’s all history. Time went by and they both dove all over Micronesia. Then they expanded to Fiji followed by an expansion to French Polynesia. Nine years ago, Continental Airlines contracted Trip-N-Tour to do the airlines private brand, Continental Airlines Vacations to the Pacific. Today, there are not many people in the world who have been diving the Pacific as much as Mike.

Trip-N-Tour is twenty five years old this month and year after year sends more American divers to the Pacific then all US dive travel wholesalers combined. Trip-N-Tour Pacific was voted by divers the number one dive travel wholesaler in the United States. Additionally, Mike and Vikki have been instrumental in helping many dive businesses get started in Micronesia. Finally this past March, the Palau Senate passed a resolution on behalf of the people and government of Palau recognizing and thanking Trip-N-Tour Pacific and Mike & Vikki Musto for bringing Palauan tourism over the past twenty-four years to a higher level that has enabled Palau to compete with other destinations in the Pacific.

Tony Neil

Executive Director, Pacific Power Association

Tony Neil completed his formal education in Australia with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electrical Engineering. He has also completed a number of post graduate courses in both technical and management areas.

He has spent more than thirty years in a number of power utilities in Australia as an engineer at all levels and then as a Senior Executive. His field of employment during this period was in the areas of generation, transmission, distribution, operations and utility reform in power utilities ranging in size from 2,700 - 10,000MW. During this career Mr. Neil was also responsible for the operations of a 660MW hydroelectric power system in the Snowy Mountains of Australia.

Mr. Neil furthered his career by accepting a secondment to Papua New Guinea for three years to assist their power utility, as a Senior Executive, in the areas of project management, transmission planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance, under an agreement between the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Towards the latter period of his career he established his own consulting company where he was instrumental in effecting ‘twinning’ (Buddy) relationships with a number of power utilities in the Pacific Islands and utilities in Australia. During this period he was the project director for a major Australian Aid project in the Pacific Island Country of Kiribati in the power sector.

In 1998, Mr. Neil became the Executive Director of the Pacific Power Association where he has established a number of progressive programs directed at improving utility performance, including capacity building, performance benchmarking and supply side management involving twenty-four (24) Pacific Island Power Utilities. Mr. Neil was effective in achieving funding for these key projects from the USDOI, the Government of France and the European Union.

Bill Neville

President, USViking

Bill Neville is the founder of US Viking LLC, a software development firm on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Since receiving a degree in mathematics, computer science, and mathematical sciences from Rice University in 1984, Neville has worked almost exclusively in software development. In 1984, Neville took a position with a consulting firm as a management consultant to Wall Street firms. Neville's area of expertise was software development. In 1989, Neville received an MBA from Columbia University. Prior to founding US Viking LLC, Neville operated a stateside consulting firm to develop software for companies seeking to migrate from mainframe computers to the emerging local area network of PCs. Neville has been active in the development community and in particular in the Microsoft-based development community. Neville serves on the editorial advisory board of Visual Studio Magazine and has done so for many years. In March of 1994, Neville delivered the keynote address at the Visual Basic Insider Technical Summit in San Francisco to 1500 leading Visual Basic developers. Neville has spearheaded broadcast industry efforts to promote open standards, including the Media Object Server (MOS) protocol, for communication with and integration of video and audio servers, desktop audio and video browsers and editors, character generators, still stores and other news production equipment. Neville established US Viking LLC in 2000 as the first and only significant software services firm on St. Croix. US Viking's focus has been on television news and automation.

Darren K. Okimoto

Extension Leader, University of Hawai'i

Darren Okimoto is the Extension Leader for the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program (UH Sea Grant), one of 30 or so university-based programs administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that work with coastal communities.

Dr. Okimoto brings a background in science, instruction and academic administration to his position at UH Sea Grant. Aspiring to become a marine biologist, he majored in zoology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, taking courses that emphasized marine sciences. He holds a M.S. in Zoology from the University of Hawai'i and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Delaware (UD). Following his graduation from Delaware, Dr. Okimoto served as a postdoctoral fellow in UD’s Department of Psychology. He returned to the biology department for three years and a half years as an assistant professor in biology to teach elementary human physiology and introductory biology courses.

Dr. Okimoto was hired by UH Sea Grant in 2002 and stationed full time in American Samoa for three years at the American Samoa Community College. As a Sea Grant extension agent, he promoted aquaculture industry development and marine science education. During his tenure in American Samoa he also served as the Marine Science Director and Acting Science Department Chair.

Richard S. Page

Director, Defense Commissary Agency - West

Richard S. “Rick” Page is a member of the Senior Executive Service and director of DeCA West, one of the Defense Commissary Agency’s three regional operating elements, headquartered in McClellan, Calif. Mr. Page is responsible for 112 commissaries in the Western United States and the Asia-Pacific area, numerous central distribution centers and for providing product support to a NEXMART (Navy Exchange Mart). He oversees commissaries covering a broad geographic area including 18 states and Guam, Japan, Korea and Okinawa.
Mr. Page became director of DeCA West (then the Western/Pacific Region) in May 2002 after serving four months as acting director. He had also served as the region’s deputy director for commissaries in the continental United States, responsible for overseeing the region staff and direction of 48 commissaries located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Page gained retail grocery experience with Alterman Foods in Atlanta, Ga., where he was hired in 1968 and served as a store manager from 1974 to 1978.

His military grocery experience began in 1978 when he was assigned as commissary manager in Athens, Ga. Two years later, the Navy Jacksonville Commissary Region selected him as manager of grocery operations. In 1982, he was assigned as the Navy’s deputy director for the Seattle Region. Four years later, he became director of the Navy’s Mechanicsburg Region. In 1988, he became deputy director of the Navy Jacksonville Region and was appointed director two years later.

When the Defense Commissary Agency was formed in 1991, Mr. Page transferred to the agency’s former Southern Region, where he managed merchandising and store operations for the 51 commissaries located in seven states in the Southeast, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Four years later, he accepted the Hawai'i zone manager position in which he was responsible for supervising the operation and support of commissaries at Hickam Air Force Base, Pearl Harbor, Schofield Barracks, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Fort Shafter and Naval Air Station Barbers Point.

He was selected as deputy director for DeCA’s former Southwest Region in 1996, assuming responsibility for 43 commissaries located in Arizona, California, Utah and Nevada. A year later, he was selected as the Western/Pacific Region’s deputy director for commissaries outside the continental United States, directing the operation of 42 commissaries in Alaska, Guam, Hawai'i, Japan, Korea and Okinawa.

Mr. Page earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1978 from the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. He completed the Office of Personnel Management Executive Development Program in 1994 and the Federal Executive Institute Center program for Executive Leadership in 2000.

Three times, he has earned the Defense Commissary Agency’s Civilian Meritorious Service Award, and was named Federal Executive of the Year for Central Pennsylvania in 1988. The California Air Force Association recently presented him with its Civilian of the Year Award.

He is married to the former Donna Ideoka and has two daughters, Kris and Jennifer.

Lelei Peau

Deputy Director, American Samoa Department of Commerce

Lelei Peau is currently the Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce who serves on several boards and commissions of which his presentation today is focused on his involvement as a member of the LBJ Hospital Authority Board of American Samoa. He is in his second term on this Board.

Lelei holds a Master’s Degree in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from UCLA. With more than 20 years service within the American Samoa Government, primarily in the Department of Commerce as well as international and regional port folios on the US Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) and MPA Federal Advisory Committee.

L. Carl Peterson

Chairman, Armed Services Committee, Guam Chamber of Commerce

L. Carl Peterson is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) by profession and the President and founder of Money Resources Inc. Over the past 41 years he has been consistently recognized as one of the top financial advisors in the country. He is particularly known for his work with high income, high net worth individuals and the complex planning problems they face.

Aside from being a CFP he has a Masters in Financial Services (MSFS). Mr. Peterson is also a charter member of the International Association of Financial Planners; a charter member of The National Network of Estate Planning Advisors; a Principal Broker for real estate; and a registered securities principal with the National Association of Securities Dealers holding the Series 6, 26, and 63 licenses.

Mr. Peterson served 5 years in the United States Navy as a Russian linguist and crypto operator. After completing the attendant schools, he made numerous missions on submarines, both conventional and nuclear, each lasting 60-90 days, and numerous missions on reconnaissance aircraft.

Mr. Peterson has always been very active in the community: he served as the World President of the Junior Chamber International having traveled to over 100 countries; he has been Chairman of the Guam Chamber of Commerce twice and is currently the Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee; as Chairman of the Guam Telephone Authority he oversaw the drafting of the legislation, the bidding, and the conclusion of its privatization; he is a past Director of Project Concern International; spent 22 years on the Territorial Planning Commission; creator of the Jaycees International Foundation which now has millions of dollars in it; served with distinction on many boards, in active and in advisory capacities; member of Rotary International for 40 years and a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts. He is especially known for his skills as a premier educator of clients and employees on using money as a tool for financial independence.

Mr. Peterson was selected as the Guam Business 1996 Executive of the Year, by a group of his peers. He had been earlier selected as Guam’s Outstanding Young Person of the Year in 1979.

He is a co-author of three books Wealth Enhancement and Preservation, Ways and Means and a comprehensive book on business, called Strictly Business. He is also the author of innumerable articles for various business magazines, newspapers and broadcast media.

Carl is married to Clara Okada Peterson, and has three children. Rani, age 25, a graduate from Hillsdale College, one of only 4 absolutely private colleges in America. Genni age 20 is currently in college, and Jon-Carl who is 18 and into grappling, soccer, and computers.

Andrew Poepoe

State Director, Small Business Administration

Andrew K. Poepoe was appointed Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Hawai'i District office in November 1991.

Poepoe oversees the delivery of agency programs, including financial assistance, management counseling and business development throughout the State of Hawai‘i, the Territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Poepoe worked as an executive for Dole Packaged Foods Company from 1962 to 1988, when he became the company's Manager of Commercial Operations and Vice President of Dole's Hawai'ian Plantations Company. During his 30 years with Dole, he was at the forefront of developing successful strategic business relationships with companies located throughout Asia and the Pacific.

In addition, from 1966 through 1982 Poepoe held elected offices in the Hawai‘i State Legislature and the Honolulu City Council where he chaired the committee on zoning and the committee on energy.

Poepoe received his BS degree in engineering and business from Yale University and his MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools.

Stephen James Pollard

Principal Economist (Poverty Reduction), Asian Development Bank

Steve Pollard is a Principal Economist with the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Department.

A UK and Australian national, Mr. Pollard joined ADB in 1996 as a Project Economist in what was then known as the Office of Pacific Operations. He worked for the Poverty Unit of ADB’s Strategy and Policy Department from 2000 to 2001, but apart from that period he has always worked with ADB’s Pacific Department.

Working for ADB’s Pacific Department, Mr. Pollard has been responsible for designing and managing ADB projects throughout the Pacific region. He has been desk officer, producing country strategies and programs for the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, and now the Republic of the Marshall Islands. He designed and managed all of ADB’s recent work on poverty in the Pacific. He has also worked as desk economist. He now supports the work of the Director General of the Pacific Department.

Mr. Pollard began his career with the World Bank in Malawi, Africa. He has over 33 years’ experience as a practicing development economist, including 23 years’ working in the Pacific islands.

He has worked in over 30 developing countries, including living and working in Malawi and Kenya, in Africa and in Kiribati in the Pacific.

Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Pollard worked as an academic, including as a Research Fellow with the Pacific Islands Development Program of the East West Center in Hawai'i. He was a director of a private company in Australia that provided consultancy, training, and recruitment services in Asia and the Pacific. He has worked for governments of developing countries, for research organizations, and as a private consultant.

Mr. Pollard holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Lancaster (UK) and a Masters degree with distinction in Agricultural Economics from the University of Leeds (UK).

Robert O'Connor Jr.

Chairman, Virgin Islands Port Authority Governing Board

Robert O'Connor Jr. is the Chairman of the Board. A native of St. John, O'Connor is also an entrepreneur and business owner. He owns and manages O'Connor Car Rentals and St. John Development Corp. He also served as a senator in the 17th and 18th Virgin Islands Legislature. In addition, O'Connor served as director of equipment maintenance for the Department of Public Works. He has a diploma in equipment maintenance from Lincoln Technical Institute in New Jersey. He is currently a member of the VI Commission on Judicial Disabilities, the Chamber of Commerce and the Virgin Islands Girl Scout Board. He is also a charter member of the St. John Lions Club.

Clara Reid

American Samoa Office of Tourism

With the Research and Marketing Division - Department of Commerce-Tourism Office American Samoa Government for over ten years.

A former educator and journalist Ms. Reid has represented the DOC-Tourism Office at Tourism Conferences within the Pacific Region reviewing eco-tourism policy and sustainable tourism programs funded by South Pacific Regional Environmental Program, United Nations Economic Social Commission for Asia and Pacific and South Pacific Tourism Organization.

Appointed American Samoa’s Congressional Delegate by Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin to the White House Conference on Tourism under President Bill Clinton’s administration. Organize American Samo