Governor's Council of Economic Advisers

About GCEA:

Governor's Council of Economic Advisers

The Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers was created by Executive Order 2020-11 in May 2020. The Council advises on the formulation of policy initiatives to encourage economic growth, among other responsibilities. Members and secretariat staff of the Council serve the Governor at no expense to the CNMI Government or taxpayer.

GCEA Members:
  • Lieutenant Governor Dennis James C. Mendiola, Co-chair
  • Joseph C. Guerrero, Co-chair
  • Alex Sablan, Chair of Committee on Tourism, Infrastructure, & Sports
  • Dr. Christian Wei, Chair of Committee on Labor & Workforce Development
  • Roman “Bo” T. Palacios, Chair of Committee on Domestic Policy & Government Services
  • Vin Armani, Chair of Committee on Economic Diversification
  • Mark Rabauliman, Council Member
  • Alex B.K Youn, Council Member
  • Juan “Pan” T. Guerrero, Council Member
  • Marcelo V. Masilungan, Council Member
  • Michael S. Sablan, Council Member

GCEA Secretariat Staff:

Clement “CJ” Bermudes Jr., Executive Director
Clement “CJ” Bermudes Jr. is an East Asia and Pacific Islands specialist serving as Executive Director of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers. Concurrently, he serves as the Special Advisor to the Secretary at the CNMI Department of Commerce. In this role, he leads the Department’s Economic Policy Unit, guiding the Secretary of Commerce and Governor on all matters pertaining to economic policy planning and implementation. Prior to CNMI government service, Bermudes was a congressional policy advisor to U.S. Delegate Gregorio Sablan in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he supported several portfolios, including economic development, broadband, small business, and trade. Bermudes also served as an undergraduate intern in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. 
 
In 2024, he was an assistant editor for the China Studies Review at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He previously was an undergraduate research intern at the University of Washington’s Center for Environmental Politics. CJ received a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington in Seattle and an MA in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C. He is proficient in French and Spanish, and is learning Chamorro.

Lauren Garibay, Senior Advisor

Lauren Garibay is a Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands specialist serving as a Senior Advisor to the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers. She currently serves as an Indo-Pacific Research Analyst for a federal contractor in Washington D.C. In this role, she supports work on critical minerals and energy transition, market assessments in emerging economies, and monitoring and evaluation efforts. Previously, Garibay was a policy and research intern at the US-ASEAN Business Council, where she supported five different portfolios, including Indonesia and Thailand. Garibay also served as a staff assistant in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

In 2024, she was named a junior fellow under the U.S.-Pacific Institute for Rising Leaders hosted by the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where she attended high-level government engagements alongside Pacific fellows from think tanks, private sector organizations, and intergovernmental agencies based in the Pacific Islands. Lauren received a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. She is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Indonesian.

Table of Contents

Media Releases & Readouts:

GCEA 06OCT2025
GCEA 01OCT2025

Research & Resources:

GCEA 10-Year Plan
CNMI Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan
GCEA Annual Report 2022