Closing PLENARY: Leadership During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Rory J. Respicio

Guam

Rory J. Respicio has extensive experience in both the legislative and executive branches of government. He served as a Senator in the 27th through 33rd Guam Legislatures and held various legislative leadership positions including Majority Leader and Chairperson of the Committee on Rules, Federal, Foreign and Micronesian Affairs, Human and Natural Resources, Election Reform and Capitol District. His legislation has had a positive impact in many areas including raising the minimum wage on Guam, increasing teacher’s salaries, paying off Retirement debt of Guam Memorial Hospital, providing money to Mental Health for non-profit service providers and creating an economic recycling zone at the Port Authority of Guam.  

In 2019, Respicio was appointed General Manager of the Port Authority of Guam under the administration of Governor Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero and Lt. Governor Joshua F. Tenorio. Bringing with him a wealth of knowledge in public administration and the management of public programs, he was ideal for the agency.  As the 21^st General Manager of the Port Authority of Guam, Respicio’s leadership took the agency’s finances from a $103 loss in FY 2018 to a net income of $3.5 million is just one year.  His foresight and discernment was instrumental in dealing with the COVID-19 global pandemic and keeping the Port 100% operational throughout the contagion, ensuring the safety of all employees, tenants and customers, and securing the flow of goods and supplies into the community.  Various initiatives and Port modernization projects have launched off, with more underway, especially with the Port Authority obtaining its Procurement Delegation in May 2020.

Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero

Guam

Guam Governor Lourdes “Lou” Aflague Leon Guerrero is one of three children born to the late Jesus S. Leon Guerrero and Eugenia A. Leon Guerrero. Along with her brothers Tony and Jesse, she learned from her parents the importance of hard work, compassion, and the responsibility we all have to give back to our community. A graduate of the Academy of Our Lady of Guam, Lou embarked on a career in nursing, securing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University, and later a Masters of Public Health from UCLA. She has worked as a staff nurse in hospitals in both California and Guam. Lou also has held several management positions in health care at both the Guam Memorial Hospital and FHP Inc., as well as serving on the GMHA Board of Trustees. To this day, Lou continues to be passionate about health care and has maintained her licensure as a registered nurse.

In 1994, Lou was elected to the first of five terms in the Guam Legislature. As a Senator, Lou held the posts of Majority Leader as well as Chair of the Rules and Health Committees. Among her achievements are laws creating the Healthy Futures Fund and banning smoking in restaurants and bars.

Lillian Perez-Posadas, MN, RN

Guam

Lillian Perez-Posadas is the CEO/Hospital Administrator of the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority. She is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of experience in clinical and administrative/leadership nursing positions primarily at Guam's only government hospital. Other nursing experience includes community health nursing as well as faculty at the University of Guam School of Nursing. In addition to the diverse and vast professional nursing experience, Lillian served voluntarily as Chairperson of the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners (GBNE) for eight consecutive years. A significant accomplishment as GBNE Chair is the revision and update of the GBNE Rules and Regulations.