Four ASG employees attend Executive Leadership Development Program

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) welcomed 31 new participants — including 4 from American Samoa — to the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) for the Pacific and Caribbean insular areas this week.

The 2023 Cohort is comprised of mid-level management public servants from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (5), Guam (3), the U.S. Virgin Islands (5), the Federated States of Micronesia (8), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (4), the Republic of Palau (2).

“We welcome this new cohort of ELDP participants who are joining a long successful program that can now boast over 175 alumni,” said Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor. “This year’s group represents a broad cross-section of talent who are positioned to have a long-lasting impact in their respective island communities, and we are extremely pleased to support each one of them in what will be a special journey of professional and personal development.”

Competitively selected from a pool of over one hundred applicants, the members of the 2023 Cohort demonstrated steady career growth with increased levels of responsibility, as well as individual commitment to public service, leadership potential, and diversity of regional and technical perspectives.

Commissioned by the OIA, the ELDP was designed to assist the insular governments with developing and retaining qualified and talented professionals needed to lead their governments into the future. The ELDP offers experiential training content designed to develop public service values and leadership skills. ELDP participants are immersed in experiential projects and work with leading experts to address regional issues.

The ELDP Class of 2022-2023 includes the following individuals from American Samoa:

• Mika Aga — Senior Engineer, Department of Port Administration
• Grace Felise — Environmental Planner and Coastal Zone Management Program Manager, Department of Commerce
• Matilda Kruse — Program Integrity Division Head, American Samoa Medicaid State Agency
• Patrick Reid — Public Policy Advisor, Office of the Lieutenant Governor

In addition to the American Samoa participants, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has 5 there, Guam 3, the U.S. Virgin Islands 5, the Federated States of Micronesia 8, the Republic of the Marshall Islands 4, and the Republic of Palau 2.

OIA provides funding support for the ELDP, which is administered by the Graduate School USA’s Pacific & Virgin Islands Training Initiatives (PITI-VITI). First implemented in 2008, the ELDP serves as the premier leadership development program for government employees throughout the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands and in the U.S. Virgin Islands.