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Three from American Samoa graduate from Executive Leadership program

Rodalyn Gerardo (Guam), at podium, Sherlyn Reynold (Chuuk) and Katrina Hunkin-Seumanutafa (American Samoa)
reporters@samoanews.com

Honolulu, HAWAII — The Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) graduated 24 future Pacific leaders in Honolulu last week and 3 of them are Samoan. They are: Katrina Seumanutafa, Crystal Simanu and Pilivesburg Salanoa.

The ELDP is managed by the Graduate School USA's Pacific Islands Training Initiative, with funding assistance from the US Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs.

Program participants from throughout the US-affiliated insular areas meet for  week long classroom sessions and a series of development and career enhancement assignments between classes over the course of a calendar year.

According to pitiviti.org, the ELDP is designed to:

  •   Help the insular governments develop and retain highly qualified staff.
  •   Identify a cadre of professional staff that can be promoted into leadership positions.
  •   Help ensure continuity in areas such as accounting, budget, finance, procurement, and audit, as senior officials retire.
  •   Build cross-departmental and cross-governmental networks and cooperation.
  •   Create and support the governmental human resource infrastructure to lead governments to the next level of performance, and into the future

Several keynote speakers addressed the ELDP throughout the week, including:

  • Admiral Philip Davidson, Commander, INDO-PACOM
  • Mufi Hannemann, President and CEO, Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association
  • Rev. Francis X. Hezel, SJ, Author and Historian, Micronesia Studies
  • Kumu Ramsay Taum, Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific
  • Nainoa Thompson, “Pwo”, Navigator of the Hōkūleʻa

2019 Graduates of the Pacific ELDP, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 14, 2019. [Courtesy photo]