The following article appeared on The Guam Daily Post:
On Saturday, students from the University of Guam’s Master of Public Administration program hosted the Administrative Law Forum, where government leaders, educators, and industry officials stressed that Guam faces a pivotal moment as military expansion, federal investment, and technological growth reshape the island’s economy and regional role.
The forum, themed “Governance at a Crossroads: Economic Strategy, Cultural Stewardship, and Technology Readiness,” examined how public institutions can respond to emerging economic and technological demands while maintaining cultural values and the aspirations of Guam’s island community. Opening the floor was keynote speaker Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio, who impressed upon those in attendance that decisions made now will determine Guam’s future for generations.
Tenorio spoke of economic dependence versus self-determination, stressing that while Guam’s economy “works” it’s “not on our terms.” He pointed towards vulnerabilities including federal spending decisions, global inflation, fuel and shipping costs, and external supply chains.
“Guam does not just import goods. We import price,” he said during the forum. “When the world gets more expensive, Guam gets expensive faster.”
He stressed the need for Guam to use billions in upcoming federal and military investment to build long-term local capacity instead of deepening reliance on outside labor and systems.
The pivotal moment facing Guam was a central theme during the forum as the first panel centered on economic growth, public-private partnerships, long-term governance under the Organic Act, military buildup impacts, sustainable development, and transparency and public accountability.
Discussions focused heavily on public-private partnerships as critical to Guam’s next phase of development.
Alex Benham, the director and general manager of the Guam Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator, a federally funded initiative led by Astro America, noted that while Guam has a strategic location, it also needs to “transition.”
“All the effort that we’re doing to take advantage of that strategic location needs to come from) strategic capability that turns into, like (the) lieutenant governor said, building the infrastructure out (and) building that workforce,” Benham said.
GAMMA intends to build a factory on Guam, and according to Benham, “That can’t happen on its own.”
“We’re also working with the public sector and the schools here to … not just build parts but build a workforce. Working with the University of Guam here, we are now developing a mechanical engineering program here on Guam,” Benham said.
Tenorio also spoke of workforce development, tying it to the military buildup and long-term economic sustainability; he noted concerns over brain drain.
“Because if a large segment of the workforce is imported, if supply chains are external, and (if) systems are not built here, then the opportunity of this buildup might simply pass
us by … leaving very little behind,” Tenorio said.
Tenorio stressed that Guam would miss out on opportunities if local capabilities were not built.
“What we are seeing now, more than ever, is this: opportunity does not leave Guam. People leave Guam to find more opportunities. And when they do, we lose families. We lose talent. We lose continuity. We lose leadership. We lose the next generation who are supposed to build the future,” Tenorio added.
Speaker Frank Blas Jr. spoke of governance and the Organic Act, stressing that “the Organic Act was never meant to be a set of rules or a set of restrictions, (but) rather a framework.”
“It gives us a focus, it gives us an opportunity,” he said. “Basically, your boundaries … and then to work within them and find ways to be able to think outside the box.”
The forum also delved into Guam’s strategic technological importance. Tenorio said how we look at technology needs to change, emphasizing that Guam sits at the center of Indo-Pacific communications with more than 14 undersea fiber-optic cables crossing Guam waters.
“Technology is not adoption. It is (a) position,” Tenorio said. “This is the new terrain of economic power. And Guam is at the center of that map. And it’s time for us to act like we are.”