2020 Positively Powerful Honoree Claudia Kaercher

I received an email from my friend Marian Yim, Esq. who nominated Claudia Kaercher to be a recipient of the Positively Powerful Woman Awards. Here is her message: “In 2014, at the PPW event, my friend Claudia Kaercher told me that she was inspired to found a nonprofit to aid Pacific Islanders. She founded Island Liasion, dedicated to healthcare, education, and culture.  Last fall, when news of a Marshallese baby-selling scheme broke, she had a network in place and was the best prepared person in Phoenix (and perhaps the nation) to get these women the healthcare and resources that were needed.  

I met with Claudia Kaercher and discovered that she was also a long-time employee of Southwest Airlines, the Official Airlines of the Positively Powerful Woman Awards, and Triad West client Mountain Park Health Center was the organization she chose to take care of the pregnant Marshallese women so desperately in need of support and medical attention. Claudia Kaercher served with and was mentored for five years by Mrs. Cindy McCain, founder of the American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT).

Please meet nonprofit leader Claudia Deleon Guerrero Fajardo Kaercher, the Positively Powerful Woman, who will be acknowledged for her many contributions on October 16, 2020:

I am Claudia Deleon Guerrero Fajardo Kaercher of Chamorro-Filipino descent from the Mariana Archipelago in Micronesia a region in the western pacific.  My family and I spent 10 years on Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands while my father worked for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands U.S. administration.  I graduated from John F. Kennedy High School, Tumon, Guam a U.S. Territory. I was one-year old when the U.S. military on Bikini atoll conducted the thermal nuclear “Castle Bravo” test in 1954.

As a resident of Arizona for over 35 years, I am an active and positive contributor to my community and acknowledge all for embracing my Micronesian background.

Claudia Deleon Guerrero Fajardo Kaercher

I founded the nonprofit organization Island Liaison to serve as a resource providing awareness of locally available health and educational agencies and providers to help Pacific Islanders with focus on the Independent island nations of the Freely Associated States (FAS), i.e., the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau.  They are under the Agreement of Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US and living in Arizona which allows them to freely travel within the US without a visa and with no time restraints.  These Islanders are not eligible for many federal or state services.  Unlike our neighboring Islanders from the US Territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), who are U.S. citizens and have the ability to access many federal or state funded services.

I’m a Fellow of Leading For Change Fellows 2014/2015  I’m a member of Lau Kanaka No Hawai’i Hawaiian Civic Club of AZ, Phoenix Chinese American Citizens Alliance and, Mountain Park Health Center (MPHC) Diversity Site Council. I serve on the Board of Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) AZ and the City of Phoenix Police Chief’s Advisory.

I provide community outreach to Arizona State University (ASU) Asian Pacific American Studies (APAS) program Asian Pacific Advocacy, Culture, and Education (APACE) Academy and Maricopa Community Colleges Chancellor Advisory.

My previous community service includes Commissioner for the City of Phoenix Pacific Rim Advisory Council (PRAC), Board member of Asian Chamber of Commerce AZ and, Member of Governor Janet Napolitano’s Asian-American Advisory Council.

During the 2010 U.S. Census, I was the Partnership Assistant for the Pacific Islanders in Arizona and on occasion assisted the state of Nevada.

My Awards include the Arizona Aloha Festival “2011 Kokua” Fostering a better understanding of Pacific Islanders, ASU “2015 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion” and, the Pan Asian Community Alliance Tucson “2019 Friend of Pan Asian Community”.

This is an open invitation to all who know, would like to know or whose lives were touched by Claudia Deleon Guerrero Fajardo Kaercher. Join us. Become a sponsor. Attend as a guest. Connect and make an impact at the Positively Powerful Conference, Friday, October 16th at ASU Community Union, Sun Devil Stadium, 500 East Veterans Way, Tempe, AZ. The Education Summit breakfast and registration begin at 7:30 a.m. Speakers program from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Following the Summit, we host the Positively Powerful Woman Awards in celebration of the accomplishments of the 12th Annual Positively Powerful Woman Award recipients. Sponsorship Information and Registrations are available online.