Dr. James Perez Viernes is a Pacific Islands regional public servant from Guam, Mariana Islands in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania. He possesses over 15 years of educational, professional, and personal experience rooted in the region. His current work is focused on collaborating with partners across the Pacific to support regionalism, leadership, climate action, capacity building, and gender equality and social inclusion. Dr. Viernes has ongoing experience in providing strategic leadership and advice to Pacific Islands governments, regional organizations, and diverse stakeholders. He has also held faculty and leadership positions in academia, with teaching and research specializations in Pacific Islands history and area studies, militarism, and gender studies. Drawing from long-standing relationships across Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia built on core Pacific Islander values of reciprocity, interdependence, and mutual respect, Dr. Viernes’ approach to leadership and professionalism is one that prioritizes outcomes-driven collaboration, inclusivity, and compromise.