Interior names new Guam field rep, other staff positions

The position of Guam field representative for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs—which has been vacant for so long—has now been filled.

Dong Hun Choe, who was born and raised in Guam and is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, is the new Guam field representative, according to a U.S. Department of the Interior announcement last Friday.

“The field representative, representing OIA, has an important responsibility to help liaise between the government of Guam and other federal partners on issues of importance to both the federal government and Guam,” said Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Douglas W. Domenech. “We look forward to strengthening our working relations with the government and the people of Guam.”

The Guam field representative position has been vacant for nearly a decade.

Choe has over 10 years of experience working in the government of Guam, both in the executive and legislative branches, as well as with the Guam Economic Development Authority. Choe is involved in many civic organizations in Guam. Choe was competitively selected through the federal government’s hiring process.

The Office of Insular Affairs operates from DOI’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and maintains a regional office in Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition, OIA currently maintains offices in American Samoa, in the CNMI, in the Federated States of Micronesia, and in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Within the past year, OIA has also hired the following professional staff in Washington, DC:

• Melissa Braybrooks has been hired as an economist and splits her time between the Office of Insular Affairs and Interior’s Office of Policy, Management, and Budget. Braybrooks comes to Interior from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

• Kelsey Marand is a new full-time OIA employee who serves as a budget analyst in the Office of Insular Affairs’ Budget Division. Marand holds a law degree and is a member of the Virginia Army National Guard.

• Howard Hills is serving on temporary assignment as a special adviser in the Office of Insular Affairs, providing staff support for U.S. government discussions with the freely associated states on the renewal of expiring provisions of the Compacts of Free Association. As a Navy JAG (lieutenant commander), Hills served previously as legal adviser for the Micronesian Status Negotiations and as lead counsel for the U.S. during final negotiations of the first Compact of Free Association agreements signed in 1986. (PR)