“Governor Leon Guerrero has become a leader in every industry she’s pursued — from nursing, to banking, and to public service as a senator and as our Maga’håga,” said UOG President Thomas W. Krise. “Her story truly speaks to UOG’s tenets of para hulo’ and rising above, and we’re excited to let her words be the first to inspire our first class of 2019.”

About the Speaker

Leon Guerrero was the first woman to be elected governor of Guam in 2018 and the first Pacific Islander woman to serve as governor of a U.S. territory or state. Just prior to her election, she served as president and chairwoman of the board for the Bank of Guam for 12 years, where she led the bank to become a billion-dollar institution and expanded its network of branches to every island of Micronesia.

She also spent 10 years as a senator in the Guam Legislature, in which capacity she moved forward legislation to improve health delivery services on island and to improve the quality of health of Guam residents — including the Natasha Act, which banned smoking in restaurants and bars.

Earlier in her career, the governor worked as a nurse at Santa Monica Hospital in California and at Guam Memorial Hospital, where she became the hospital’s assistant nursing director. She then spent four years as director of operations for the Family Health Plan clinic. The governor was also the visionary behind the launch of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce five years ago and served as a founding member and its first president.

“I am truly honored to be this year’s commencement speaker,” she said. “Education is undoubtedly the best investment you can make into your future. No one can take what you learned away from you. I am excited to see so many empowered by education, and I look forward to the contributions these new graduates will make to our community.”

Leon Guerrero holds a 1973 bachelor’s in nursing from California State University, Los Angeles and a 1979 master’s in public health from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is also a 2009 graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

The commencement ceremony will be streamed live on the University of Guam’s Facebook page.