Promotions and career moves by the people you know — and those you should

Herring

Atkins Kroll Inc. announced the appointment of Wendi S. Herring as president of Atkins Kroll Guam and Atkins Kroll Saipan, effective Jan. 18.

Herring was formerly the general manager of the Fiesta Resort Saipan and the Kanoa Resort Saipan. She was previously the resident general manager of Pacific Island Club Guam and general manager of Pacific Islands Club Saipan in her career in hospitality and resort management.

Herring has been involved in a variety of non-profits to include at board level. These include vice chairwoman of the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands and a board member of Make-A-Wish Guam & CNMI.

She holds a bachelor’s of arts from the University of California at Berkley and completed postgraduate work in hotel management from Cornell University.

Lee

Atkins Kroll also announced the following appointments:

Julie Lee has been appointed director of finance and will oversee Automotive Finance and Insurance and Information Technology in addition to other departments.

She is vice president and treasurer of the Atkins Kroll board of directors and a 401(k) Planning Committee member.

Lesh

Lee is a 2006 graduate of Seattle University and a former auditor at Deloitte and Touche.

Joel Lesh is named vice president and general manager for Atkins Kroll Saipan.

He was previously aftersales director from December 2017. He has more than 25 years of automotive dealership management experience. Formerly Lesh was the national aftersales director for Kenmore Ltd. in Papua New Guinea. He holds a bachelor’s in political science and business administration from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

John

Okuhama

ASC Trust LLC has announced the following appointments. David J. John takes the title of chairman and CEO; Candy Okuhama is promoted to president; Gaby Bamba is chief operations officer, Donald Clark is chief compliance officer, Michelle Quichocho, executive vice president for human resources and operations and Loida Battung is executive vice president of the Transaction Division.

Wigsten

Elected for the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association to serve two-year terms from 2021 representing the Hotelier Chapter were Sophia Chu Wigsten, general manager, Hyatt Regency Guam and Nick Song, general manager, Westin Resort Guam; representing the Restaurateur Chapter was Frank Kenney, general manager, Jamaican Grill and representing the Allied Industry Chapter was James S. Herbert, III, general manager, Triple J Five Star Wholesale Foods.

Holdover directors for the 2021 term include Marie N. Guerrero, CEO, B&G Pacific LLC and Three Squares Restaurant, Sudipta Basu, general manager, Guam Plaza Resort, Dean Huntsman, general manager, Dusit Thani Guam Resort, Bartley A. Jackson, president and owner, Hotel Santa Fe Guam, and Tae Oh, owner, Vantage Advertising.

The Guam Women’s Chamber announced that elected to the 2021 board are Laura Nelson Cepeda, director of public relations and corporate citizenship at GTA; Helana Leon Guerrero, marketing manager of Sagua Mañagu and MPG; Livia Marati, founder of Ina Wellness Collective; Angel Camacho-Paulino, business advisor/Women in Business Program coordinator at the Guam Small Business Development Center; and Tasi Peddicord, regional manager for sales and customer Service for Matson Navigation Co.

Jessica Leon Guerrero, president of M-80 Systems Inc., will serve as alternate board member.

 Holdover board members are Holly Rustick, CEO, Grant Writing & Funding, president; Jennifer McFerran, marketing manager, International Dining Concepts LLC, vice president; Jayne Flores, director of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, secretary; Michelle Crisostomo, owner, Tiny Greens Guam, treasurer; Amanda Gima, practice business coordinator, Raymond James and Associates;  Kathlyn Selleck, and ex-officio board members, Past President Lina Leon Guerrero, general manager, Sagua Managu and MPG; Geraldine Leon Guerrero, general manager at Adztech & Public Relations Inc., Rindraty S. Limtiaco, publisher, Pacific Daily News; and Bernice N. Valencia, vice president and general manager for Guam and Micronesia for Matson.

The Guam Contractors Association announced awardees of its annual Excellence in Construction and Contractor of the Year awards.

Core Tech International was awarded the 2020 Excellence in Construction First Place Overall Project Award for the Summer Town Estates IV; Second Place Overall Project Award for the Bayview & Oceanview Renovation; and Third Place Overall Project Award for the GPA Tumon Lateral Conversion Project.

Black Construction Corp. was awarded the 2020 GCA Contractor of the Year for the company’s overall achievement in safety, environment, workforce development, and community service.

Black Construction also won a safety award for its residential project at Ocean Ridge Village Homes in Garapan, Saipan.

 Also honored were Guam companies that were nationally recognized by the Associated Builders and Contractors in safety, quality, diversity and project excellence ranked by work hours, with special designations identified. 

These companies are listed among the ABC’s 2019 200 Top Performers and are Hensel Phelps Construction, No. 7; Black Construction Corp., No. 56; and Landscape Management Inc., No. 107. 

ABC’s Top 120 General Contractors included Hensel Phelps, No. 5; and Black Construction Corp., No. 29. ABC’s Top 30 Specialty Contractors included Landscape Management Inc. at No. 19.

 The overall local winner of Excellence in Construction competes at the national level during the Associated Builders and Contractors annual awards event. 

Ontimara

Jackie Ontimara has been appointed interim general manager of Subway Operations. She will directly oversee the restaurant operations of all Subway restaurants in Guam and Saipan. Ontimara previously was field consultant in the development office for the chain, and recently celebrated 20 years with Subway, where she began as a sandwich artist before progressing in various capacities.

Gerardo

Rodalyn M.A. Gerardo has been appointed vice president for finance and administration at Guam Community College. She was formerly chief auditor for the Guam Memorial Hospital and formerly special assistant at the Office of Public Accountability. Gerardo also served as the chief auditor for the OPA from March 2009 through January 2015, when she was promoted to Special Assistant.

Gerardo holds a 2002 bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Guam and a 2019 master’s of business administration with a concentration in accounting from Mississippi College, Clinton, Miss. She is a member of the Association of Government Accountants Guam Chapter, the Guam Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Institute of Internal Controls. She also is qualified as a certified internal control auditor, a certified global management accountant, a certified government auditing professional, a certified public accountant, a certified government financial manager and a certified internal auditor.

The University of Guam has announced incoming faculty and administrators.

Dela Cruz

Tim C. Dela Cruz has joined UOG’s Cooperative Extension and Outreach unit in June as an extension agent III. Dela Cruz has more than 18 years of experience in nonprofit social services, education, and extension, most recently working as an assistant professor at Guam Community College and as adjunct faculty in the University of Guam’s social work program. He holds a bachelor’s in communication specializing in journalism and a master’s in Micronesian Studies, both from the University of Guam as well as a doctorate in human services specializing in social and community services from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minn.

Ji

James Ji the School of Business and Public Administration in August as assistant professor of management. Ji is presently the general manager of J.J. Pacific Development Corp. and was formerly a teacher and a licensed realtor. He holds a bachelor’s in Asian-American studies from the University of California in Los Angeles and master’s in teaching and business administration from the University of Guam, and a doctorate in business administration from Argosy University in Honoolulu, Hawaii.

Camacho

Anthony R. Camacho, attorney, became the university’s general counsel after having worked in an interim capacity in the role the past year. He also served as an adjunct history professor at the university. Camacho has also worked as an attorney for the Consolidated Commission on Utilities, the Guam Power Authority, and Guam Waterworks Authority as well as for the Law Office of Horecky & Associates. His juris doctorate is from Saint Louis University, Mo. and he also holds an associate’s in business, a bachelor’s in history, and a master’s in strategic studies.

Leon Guerrero

Glenn A. Leon Guerrero is the director of facilities management and services. He previously headed several government of Guam organizations, including the Election Commission, the Guam Economic Development Authority, the Port Authority of Guam, and most recently, the Guam Department of Public Works. He has also worked in numerous capacities within the private sector, including for ExxonMobil and Shell. He holds a bachelor’s in social work from Saint Louis University, Mo. and a master’s from the University of Hawaii.

Peralta

Pamela A. Peralta is acting director of contracts and grants within UOG’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. She was previously the associate network director for UOG/s Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center since 2015. Peralta also teaches part-time in UOG’s Professional Master of Business Administration program. She holds a bachelor’s in international relations from Mills College in Oakland, Calif., a master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix in Honolulu, Hawaii, and a doctorate in organizational leadership from Argosy University in Honolulu.

Rosales

Dr. John Paul Rosales has joined FHP Health Center. He is a U.S. board-certified physician in internal medicine and nephrology.  Rosales worked at Tampa General Hospital and the Moffitt Cancer Center as part of the University of South Florida’s nephrology and hypertension group. He served as director of the Nephrology Fellowship Associate Program and medical director of Davita USF Dialysis group in Tampa, Fla. prior to his relocation to Guam.

 Rosales graduated from University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in Manila. His internal medicine residency was at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Md. and his nephrology fellowship was at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla.

 He was Resident of the Year and a Compassionate Care awardee two years in a row during his fellowship. Rosales is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Nephrology.

Kang

 A Foreign Minister of Japan’s Commendation for fiscal 2020 was awarded to Poong-ja Toyoko Kang, professor of the Japanese language at the University of Guam.

Kang is being recognized for teaching the Japanese language to about 3,500 students in 35 years, since she started her teaching career at the University of Texas in 1985. Kang has taught the Japanese Language to about 2,200 students at the University of Guam since 1993.

The Foreign Minister’s Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in international fields, in order to acknowledge their contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries and areas. The commendations also aim to promote the understanding and support of the Japanese public for the activities of the recipients.

Quinata

Joseph Quinata, chief program officer of the Guam Historic Preservation Trust, was elected to serve as an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, representing the National Trust Advisors. The National Trust is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with several field offices across the country. Quinata was nominated by the current National Trust Advisory Council Chairperson and staff.

Hernandez

The Council of State Governments announced Artemio “Ricky” Hernandez, deputy executive manager of the A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam is among its inaugural CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award recipients as one of 20 leaders on the list.

The Guam Power Authority is the recipient of the 2019 Association of Government Accountants Certificate of Excellence in Citizen-Centric Reporting. AGA’s CCR initiative is intended to simplify communication between governments and their citizens.

The Asian Football Confederation on Dec. 9 at its annual Congress held in Kuala Lumpur approved membership of the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, welcoming the soccer organization as the 47th member.