Nerissa Bretania Underwood
| Nerissa Bretania Underwood | |
|---|---|
| Senator in the 33rd Guam Legislature | |
|
In office January 5, 2015 – January 2, 2017 |
|
| Superintendent of the Guam Department of Education | |
|
In office 2007–2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Juan Flores |
| Succeeded by | Jon Fernandez |
| Vice Chairperson of Democratic Party of Guam | |
|
In office 2013–2015 |
|
| Succeeded by | Sarah Thomas-Nededog |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Nerissa Bretania Iloilo, Philippines |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | Christopher Lee Gerecka Tate Michael Lee |
| Education |
University of Guam (BA, 1981) University of Oregon (MS, 1985; PhD) |
Nerissa Bretania Underwood (born 1954 or 1955) is a Democratic Senator in the 33rd Guam Legislature, vice chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Guam, a former superintendent of the Guam Department of Education, and the wife of former Democratic Guam Congressional Delegate Robert A. Underwood. She is currently serving as the chairperson of the legislature's Committee on Early Learning, Juvenile Justice, Public Education and First Generation Initiatives and as the vice chairperson on the Committee on Higher Education, Culture, Public Libraries, and Women's Affairs.
Nerissa Bretania was born in Iloilo, Philippines, and emigrated to Guam with her parents when she was in her early childhood. Her parents are Mike "Ismael" Buenaflor Bretania (1929–2017) (a Navy contractor) and Nemecia Ho Bretania (a school teacher) spoke Ilonggo with Bretania and her siblings at home (Yolanda B. Corpuz, Ismael Bretania Jr., Jennifer H. Bretania).
Growing up on Guam, Bretania lived in the villages of Agat and Santa Rita. She attended Mount Carmel School and Notre Dame High School. She graduated from Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Washington in 1973.
Bretania attained her Bachelor of Arts in education from the University of Guam in 1981.
After graduation from the University of Guam, Bretania worked as a special education teacher with the Guam Department of Education at Harry S Truman Elementary School. She became a consulting resource teacher for the Guam Department of Education's Division of Special Education. In 1985, she earned a Master of Science degree in education from the University of Oregon. In 1989, she attained a PhD in education from the University of Oregon.
After she returned to Guam in 1990, she became an assistant professor at the University of Guam. She became a program evaluator for the Division of Special Education at the Guam Department of Education. In 1993, she became the Administrator of the Guam Department of Education's Research, Planning, and Evaluation Division, which provides data for educators and policy makers. In 2003, Bretania served as Interim Superintendent for the Guam Department of Education and in 2007 was chosen to serve as the Assistant Superintendent of Education. In 2008, Bretania was appointed by the Guam Board of Education as Superintendent of the Guam Department of Education. In 2009, she married retired Congressman Robert A. Underwood in a private civil ceremony at the Superior Court of Guam. She retired from the Guam Department of Education in 2011, after serving as an educator for over 30 years. Her term as superintendent saw the graduation rate steady rise to 68%, saw opportunities for advanced studies advance, with the pilot Dual Enrollment Program, and rises in test scores, including the achievement of first graders at F.Q. Sanchez, Wettengel, Merizo, B.P. Carbullido, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Inarajan Elementary Schools scoring at the 90th percentile in reading and John F. Kennedy High School students scoring at the national average in science and social studies.
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