Elizabeth Diaz Rechebei (born 1949) is a Northern Mariana Islander academic. One of the first Chamorro women to receive a graduate education, she went on to hold several educational leadership roles on the islands, including director of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands' Department of Education and head of the Northern Mariana Islands' public school system.
Early life and education
editElizabeth Diaz Rechebei was born on Saipan in 1949.[1] She was the first child of six born to a Chamorro father, Francisco Diaz, and a Japanese mother, Reiko Tanaka Diaz.[1][2] Elizabeth grew up in the village of Chalan Kanoa and attended Saipan's Mount Carmel School, graduating in 1968 alongside future politician Felicidad Ogumoro.[1][2] As a high school student, she worked as a clerk for the Congress of Micronesia.[2]
In a fairly uncommon move for women in her community at the time, she enrolled at the University of Guam, becoming one of the first two Micronesians to receive a scholarship from the Guamanian government.[1] In 1972, she graduated with a psychology degree.[1][2] After working for two years, she pursued graduate studies at the University of Hawaii, completing a master's in educational psychology in 1976, which made her one of the first women in the Northern Mariana Islands to earn a master's of arts.[1][2] Decades later, she went back to school and earned a doctorate of education from the University of California, San Diego, in 2003.[3][4]
Career
editAfter graduating from the University of Hawaii, Rechebei returned home and began what would become a long career with the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands' Department of Education.[1][5] After around a decade of working for the Education Department, overseeing testing across the territory and developing a local achievement testing system, she was appointed as the department's deputy director.[1] Shortly thereafter, in 1984, she was promoted to director of the Department of Education, becoming the first woman and the youngest person to fill the role.[1] She remained in the position until the dissolution of the Trust Territory in 1987.[2] She later became director of the Northern Mariana Islands' public school system, but was removed in 1991 amid a teacher strike.[2][6] After finishing her career as a public servant, she went into private consulting.[2]
Rechebei is also known for her 1997 survey of Palauan history, History of Palau: Heritage of an Emerging Nation, written in collaboration with historian Samuel F. McPhetres.[5][7] She later helped lead an effort to update the Chamorro–English Dictionary.[4][5][8][9] In 2009, she received a Governor's Humanities Award for her efforts to preserve local culture.[10]
Over several decades, she has worked with various regional organizations and served on different boards across the islands seeking to improve educational access and gender equity, including the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents and the Commission of the islands' public school system.[1][5][11][12] She also helped establish the first public library in the Northern Mariana Islands and the NMI Museum of History and Culture.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simon-McWilliams, Ethel; Green, Karen Reed (1987). Glimpses into Pacific Lives: Some Outstanding Women (Revised) (PDF). Northwest Regional Educational Lab. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Siemer, Deanne C.; Willens, Howard P. (1997-04-01). "Interview of Elizabeth D. Rechebei" (PDF). Northern Marianas Humanities Council. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ^ Diaz Rechebei, Elizabeth (2003-03-01). "Political Leadership Perceptions on the College of Micronesia System in the Federated States of Micronesia". Dissertations. doi:10.22371/05.2003.014.
- ^ a b "Chamorro-English dictionary project enters its 3rd month". Saipan Tribune. 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ a b c d e "Notes on Contributors". Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America. 35 (35): 398–403. 2014. doi:10.1353/dic.2014.0007. ISSN 2160-5076.
- ^ Shuster, Donald R.; MCPHETRES, SAMUEL F.; KING, JOAN; BETTIS, LELAND; INDER, STUART (1992). "Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1991". The Contemporary Pacific. 4 (1): 178–190. ISSN 1043-898X. JSTOR 23699848.
- ^ Levine, Stephen (2016-06-01). Pacific Ways: Government and Politics in the Pacific Islands. Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-1-77656-026-4.
- ^ "Council obtains a grant to study Chamorro language". Saipan Tribune. 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ Salvatore, Cecilia Lizama (2018-01-17). Cultural Heritage Care and Management: Theory and Practice. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7218-7.
- ^ "Froilan has 2 other consultants on $1 contracts". Saipan Tribune. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "Regents vote for 1-year renewal of Hart's contract". Saipan Tribune. 2015-07-28. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "Historic 1st meeting of past, present PSS Commissioners". Saipan Tribune. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16.