Promotions and career moves by the people you know — and those you should
Baleto
Christine Won Pat Baleto, managing partner for PACIFIC FROOTS LLC which does business as FROOTS in Guam, was named to the National Small Business Association Leadership Council.
Baleto launched the company in 2008 when she was awarded Master Franchise rights for the FROOTS brand in Guam and in the Mariana Islands. She has owned and operated franchise stores in Guam for over 14 years. Under her leadership, the stores received recognition from the corporate franchise for highest per store sales throughout the franchise system.
Baleto has been actively involved with business advocacy as a member and chairwoman of the board of directors of the Guam Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Governor of Guam’s Economic Diversification Working Group; the Governor’s Recovery Advisory Panel; and the Governor’s Business Advisory Group.
Baleto is the 2007 Guam Business Magazine Businesswoman of the Year and was also recognized as a distinguished alumna of the University of Guam in 2020.
Baleto is also the chief financial officer of Docomo Pacific Inc.
Dierking
BankGuam Holding Co. appointed Kamia L. G. Dierking to its board of directors as an independent member.
She serves on the following committees: Nominating & Governance, the Asset Liability Committee, the Audit Committee, the Trust Committee, and the Compensation Committee.
Dierking is the director of enterprise marketing at Teleguam Holdings LLC, which does business as GTA. She previously was director of employee experience and formerly was director of marketing communication and joined GTA
in 2009.
Dierking serves on the Board of Make-A-Wish Guam and CNMI and previously served on the Guam Board of Equalization.
She holds a 2003 bachelor’s in political science from the University of Arizona.
Sgro
Maree Pelkey Sgro, vice president and investment advisor representative with BG Investment Services Inc. has earned the Certified Financial Planner certification. BGIS is a subsidiary of BankGuam Holding Co.
With BankGuam Holding Company since 2019, Sgro has more than 15 years of financial services experience, specializing in investment advisory services. Previous appointments have included those at Raymond James and Morgan Stanley in Guam.
She holds a 2006 bachelor’s of business administration and a 2012 master’s of business administration, both from the University of Guam.
Takai
Triple J Enterprises Inc. has appointed Michael Takai as general manager of the Triple J Tire Center. He previously was the operations manager at the center, from 2017 to this year.
Takai started his career with Triple J as a sales representative in 2009, after initially working in the hospitality industry in Guam.
Takai holds a 2016 bachelor’s of business administration from Ashford University, now known as the University of Arizona Global Campus.
Bordallo
Goodwind Development Corp., which does business as the Micronesia Mall, has appointed Lisa Bordallo as marketing manager.
She previously was the marketing officer and client services program manager at Catholic Social Services, and formerly was the sales and marketing manager at B&G Pacific LLC., for two years. She also worked for three years in Folsom, Calif., as the director of sales at Hilton Garden Inn.
Bordallo holds a bachelor’s in biology from Chaminade University of Honolulu. She has been in the marketing industry for more than 20 years, and for 25 years in the travel and the tourism hospitality industry.
The Office of James C. Moylan, Guam’s delegate to Congress has announced appointments to his staff in Washington, D.C.
Shringi
Bobby Shringi is appointed chief of staff.
He formerly was the manager of sales and marketing at Moylan’s Insurance Underwriters Inc., a position he has held since 1996.
Shringi was the chairman of the Guam Chamber of Commerce for four years. He was first elected as the chairperson in 2017, then in 2018 was reelected for a three-year term. He also served as chairman of the chamber’s Legislative Review Committee.
Other community positions included board member and secretary of the Guam Nation Sports Shooting Federation and member of the Guam Tax Commission.
Shringi holds a bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Guam.
D’Avanzo
Hannah J. D’Avanzo has been appointed director of communications.
She previously was a news anchor, show host, and reporter at Pacific Telestations LLC., which does business as KUAM News from September 2021 to November 2022.
D’Avanzo holds a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism from Southern Adventist University in Hamilton County, Tenn.
The Guam Education Board has selected a new superintendent for the island’s largest government of Guam agency and biggest school system, the Guam Department of Education.
Swanson
K. Erik Swanson has been appointed superintendent for GDOE and is scheduled to start his tenure on July 1 with a four-year contract.
He currently is assistant regional accreditation evaluator at Cognia Accreditation and Certification in Georgia, which he will be leaving before joining GDOE.
Swanson previously worked as superintendent of the Omak School District in Omak, Wash. from 2013 to 2020.
He holds a 2009 doctorate in educational administration from Capella University, accredited by Cognia Accreditation and Certification; a 1976 master’s in curriculum and instruction from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and a 1970 bachelor’s in music education from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Canto
The Port Authority of Guam has appointed James L. Canto, attorney, to its legal team.
He was previously the deputy attorney general for the General Civil Litigation Division at the Office of the Attorney General and formerly was an attorney with Cole Pedroza LLP in San Marino, Calif., where he practiced construction law, medical malpractice defense, hospital employment litigation defense, and appellate advocacy after relocating from Guam in 2016.
Canto has had a variety of appointments in Guam during his 26 years of practice, including as a judge at the Superior Court of Guam, as an assistant public defender with the Public Defender Service Corp., in private practice with Shimizu, Canto & Fisher PC, and as chief legal counsel to former governor Edward B. Calvo.
Canto holds a 1992 bachelor’s in cognitive psychology from Trenton State College, now known as the College of New Jersey, after serving as a paralegal in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He additionally holds a 1995 juris doctorate from the University of California’s College of the Law, now known as the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
Canto was raised in Guam.
Guam Memorial Hospital Authority announced the following appointments.
Dr. Jennifer Linden, to its Maternal Child Health department.
Dr. Shayla Nesbitt of Marianas Physicians Group has joined the hospital on a part-time basis.
Both doctors are board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Dr. Biju Thomas and Dr. Ish Gulati will provide consultation services via telemedicine as neonatologists.
Thomas is board certified in neonatology and pediatrics, and is also the clerkship director in charge of medical student clerkships at MetroHealth Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Gulati is an attending neonatologist at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, Calif. He is board certified in neonatal-perinatal medicine and general pediatrics.
Both doctors are certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
Jack
The Pacific Islands Association of Non-governmental Organizations has appointed Pohnpei-based attorney Marstella E. Jack as chairperson of its governing body.
She was appointed during the 9th PIANGO Council meeting held in Nadi, Fiji.
Jack will lead the association for three years.
She brings 20 years of legal experience to her position and has served in various capacities in both the public and private sectors in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Her prior career includes appointments the FSM foreign service for seven years and serving three years as head of the FSM Division for Information and Research.
She was an attorney with the government of the FSM for more than 10 years and also has experience as a trail attorney.
Drew Havea of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga was also appointed as deputy chairperson; Tereeao Teingiia Ratite, president of the Kiribati Association of NGOs was appointed board secretary; and Sepesa Rasili, president of the Fiji Council of Social Services was appointed treasurer.
Other members of the board are Alson Kelen of the Marshall Islands Association of NGOs, Shirley Abraham of the Vanuatu Association of NGOs, and Sioneheke Leolahi of the Niue Association of Non-Governmental Organizations.
Paulino
Angel Camacho-Paulino has been named the 2022 Guam State Star for the Guam Small Business Center. State Stars are chosen by their SBDC networks.
Camacho-Paulino is the senior business advisor with the Guam Small Business Development Center at the University of Guam, and the program coordinator for the Bank of Guam Women in Business program at UOG’s School of Business and Public Administration.
She previously was project manager for the Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association and is the founder and creative director of Kottura Innovations, and holds a 2008 bachelor’s of arts from California State University in Monterey Bay, Calif.
