Guam Series: FDA Presence and Impact in Pacific Islands Pt. 2 of 5: On-the-Ground Perspective of the Pacific Islands Initiative

Host Ulysses Garrett: Welcome to ORA Speaks, an ORA podcast. This is part two of our five-part series on the ORA efforts in the Pacific Islands. My name is Ulysses Garrett. I'm your host, and I'm also the multimedia manager for the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Project Management. Today, I have two very special guests who will provide insight on the great works that are being done in the Pacific Islands.

Today, my guests are none other than Ryan Aguillon and Cordero Kimbrell. Welcome, gentlemen. How are you?

Supervisory Consumer Safety Officer, Detailee - Guam Team Leader: Good. Good. Thank you for inviting us.

Mr. Garrett: Absolutely. Thank you.

Management Analyst, Detailee - Cordero Kimbrell: I'm great and happy to be here.

Mr. Garrett: Well, thank you, sir. Thank you.

Ryan let's start with you. You recently just spent 90 days in Guam. Can you tell us what the work was like and the life in Guam?

Mr. Aguillon: Yeah, sure. So, I was there for about 90 days. I started my detail in mid-October of 2022, and I stayed until about the beginning of January 2023. I'm Filipino, so being there was familiar for me. I found it to be an illuminating experience. Guam really is a tropical paradise. You know, it's a jungle and an island, but it has small town vibes and even though it's an island. You go around the island in about 2 hours, so it's relatively small.

And so, while it gives these hometown small vibes, the people, the culture, they're very warm and inviting. Engaging with people, it feels just like family, and they treat you like family. Most people are very good hosts, and for anyone that's visiting the island, they make sure anyone that you're encountering there, like us and our partners, they're just very, very welcoming. And they make sure that you eat all the time.

I think in Guam, food is just a big part of the culture. So, whenever we had meetings, there was always food. If they give you an invitation, one of the best things I recommend to the folks out there is that you try and do your best to go. Just overall, it's just a very welcoming, hospitable culture. The other thing I noticed while living there was that it reminded me of growing up in the 90s.

There was like neon-colored lights and decorations everywhere and it's very hard to describe. You just have to like, see it and feel it but, y ou know, most of the folks saw the like that 90s vibe. But working there as well is very different. Meetings are conducted mostly in-person and whereas stateside, you know, we tend to use Zoom for meetings. There it's not like that, you know.

Mr. Garrett: Yeah. That's interesting. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? Why do you think that is?

Mr. Aguillon: I guess because that island is very small, so most things are intimate. You don't have virtual conversations. Like for me, I would just go and drive to see Tom Nadeau at the Division of Environmental Health, which is our Guam partner. It's akin to like FDA and the state health entity. So, and you know, whoever you're meeting with. But for DEH, I would literally just go to Tom's office and say hello. I'd send him an email in the beginning of the day letting him know that I'm coming. But for our meetings, for the most part, they were done in-person. And for some of us, we've just been so used to Teams or Zoom meetings. In Guam, there's really a premium placed on in-person interactions. And you know, that was a wonderful experience. Just getting back to that face-to-face.

Mr. Garrett: And what surprised you the most about this experience?

Mr. Aguillon: You know, surprising for me at least, was the amount of everything that's placed on paper. Paper for everything. It's hard to conceptualize because you actually have to see the stacks of paper. It was also a lot of things. Working and living in Guam, it's sensory overload, right? I'm from New Jersey, it's very cold out here. And so, when I arrived on the island, it was unique to see such tropical, beautiful climate.

It's funny, actually, when I got back, I noticed how gray everything was. It was kind of sad. Over there, everything was like neon and fluorescent, and even the houses are painted so colorfully.

Mr. Garrett: Now, do you think that your career here in the FDA and ORA thus far has prepared you for the work in Guam?

Mr. Aguillon: Absolutely. So, when I went, I was a new supervisor. I recently just left the Division of Import Operations. I feel like work in Guam was just a culmination of everything I've ever done. You know, becoming an expert in import operations and then learning how to be a supervisor. You know, I tried to harness everything I learned through the potential supervisor program. My mentors, all the leaders that I've encountered. My own leadership branch, everything that they taught me, and I learned, I was able to implement over there.

You know, one of the things I told my team is that we're human, that we're going to get homesick. We're going to feel down every now and then and so, all I ask was that they check in with me and let me know how they were feeling. That way, even on the weirdest days, we could just lift each other up, right? I wanted to keep morale high, and it's easy to get low. And so, you know, that was one of the things I just wanted to remain cognizant of. And, you know, I appreciate my mentors instilling that, you know, like John V, Don, Nas, Theresa, Joe, they taught me the importance of caring for people who are working for me.

And so, if you truly care about how they feel, you know, about people, you listen to how they feel. And maybe they don't know they're homesick, but if you just talk to them, you can figure that out and get to the nature of things. That's just human nature, right?

The other important aspect of working in Guam is remembering our focus on our stakeholders and the needs on the ground. After all, that's why we're there. We worked with them on many joint investigations of many FDA-regulated commodities. And while we couldn't take action, we definitely got to advise DEH or CQA, which is our customs counterparts, on how we would take action on that violent product on the mainland, you know, such as examples of labeling games, etc.

Mr. Garrett: Absolutely. Thank you so much. So, Cordero is about to head to Guam. What would you say to him as he begins to prepare to go on this adventure such as yourself?

Mr. Aguillon: Yeah, I would say to delve deep into the experience because it's the culmination of everything you've ever learned and that you would think you would ever use. Whether you’re a field investigator sampling or a compliance officer teaching our Division of Environmental Health counterparts how to render the final disability decisions, it's all really important. I ask that you bring your organization skills to the project because as much as anything else, it feels very much like a start-up.

For me personally, I know we left all a piece of ourselves at the island via our expertise. When you're in SharePoint sites, all those organizational files, it details our experience on the island, and so, we contributed to that. And so, it's why some of us are so drawn to the island. We gave so much of our expertise to it and are very much passionate about it.

You know, that's how we left ourselves, our thoughts, our work. It's all there, you know. Practically, I would remind you to, that it's hot and humid in Guam. Protect your devices because they will overheat in the sun. Keep your laptop and mobile phones away in a bag. Don't leave them in the car because it's super hot and batteries just might explode, which has happened in the past.

There's a lot of random challenges that you won't and don't anticipate, right? Like there's the PIVs, right? Don't get them wet. Protect them in a bag. Protect it, right? Because you're on an island and there's water everywhere. There are so many random things that you don't think about, you know, because we're blessed with the experience. But let me give you another example.

If you break your PIV, you can easily get one stateside, right? And in Guam, you can't ship one to like not OCONUS, I think it's called. You have to wait for it in the mainland. So, just remember that. Remember that Guam is beautiful, but it's also challenging and can be quite complex.

The water is beautiful there, right? What we didn't know is that the riptides are strong. So, one of the things I tell people is just respect the respect the water, respect the island. Yeah.

Mr. Garrett: Absolutely. Absolutely. Protect that PIV card. So, did you find the complexities and the challenges of being in the island or on the island, rather, hindering for the purpose of what you were there for?

Mr. Aguillon: No. Here's what we did. When we identified a problem, you know, we wrote it down and so that everybody was aware. And to a credit to Jeff Brown and the team because whenever we encountered an issue that we wrote down and we would tell him, he immediately sprung into action and fixed it. So, I thank them, I thank the team, I thank everyone out there looking out for us.

Mr. Garrett: Talk to me a little bit more about those of those issues that you encountered. What were they?

Mr. Aguillon: Yeah. So, one of the major issues that we noticed was like Wi-Fi. We noticed we had no signal. And so, in the future, we made sure that SAT phones are, I don't know what that actually stands for, SAT phones were being ordered. You know, it's a credit to human ingenuity of the stuff that you're encountering that you can diagnose a problem, observe it, and then just make a plan around it.

So, things are better today than they were when we arrived in Guam. Today our work functions are well, it's almost like a well-oiled machine, you know? There are still very much growing pains. And when we encounter issues, we'll still write them down, but and, you know, bring them up to our higher-ups, but the key is to be prepared.

Mr. Garrett: So, I'm sure you get asked a lot, why is the FDA there?

Mr. Aguillon: Yes, I think we get that question quite often. And so, you know, I even interviewed a lot of our partners down there, and the other federal partners who are already there. And the question they asked me is, why haven't we been there? It's like they've been waiting for us.

The lack of FDA presence there really is something that I felt. And as soon as we got there, we're learning how to fill our niche, right? Something that our Guam partners and our federal partners are keenly awaiting, are keenly aware of. Right? They've been waiting for us. The FDA arrival on the island, it seriously was met with much excitement. They can't wait to do more projects. It's you know, a lot of it is a whole approach of FDA to the island. I hope everybody gets a chance to see it, to feel it, to experience it. That intimacy, that island culture, it is quite beautiful.

Mr. Garrett: Thank you, Ryan, I appreciate your time. So, Cordero, let's talk to you. You're going to be venturing to Guam yourself and you'll be there for two months. How have you begun to prepare for your rotation?

Mr. Kimbrell: So, well, I reached out to Ryan Aguillon. So, I'm glad to be here with Ryan. He's been an invaluable resource for me as I prepared to be the newest detailee on the island of Guam. As soon as I was selected for the detail, I started to do my own research to understand what I was getting myself into, and understand more about the Office of Import Operations coming from the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations.

Ryan's name was mentioned as one of the most experienced individuals who served rotations on the island. So, I reached out to him. He immediately put me at ease, gave me an overview of what to expect, and whenever I have questions, I usually reach out to Ryan first to get his perspective. So, I'll say things like, on the island of Guam, the Office of Import Operations is focused on bringing all offices and commodities to the table to leverage, you know, the expertise across FDA enterprise and not just focus on imports expertise.

Mr. Garrett: Do you have any expectations for living in Guam, and what expectations do you have living there for an extended period of time?

Mr. Kimbrell: Well, I have a high level. I have, you know, relatively high level expectations. I expect Guam to be very welcoming, as Ryan has stated. While making travel arrangements, you know, just reaching out to the hotels staff to book via email, it just seemed as if they sincerely enjoyed assisting me. They were extremely hospitable. I also expect to not only leave having made an impact, but also leave with some knowledge to be able to bring back that I can share with others on the mainland.

I want to impact the program as well as learn. I like to approach new opportunities thinking about what I can take away, in terms of education, that will propel me forward professionally. And finally, I want to advance FDA’s interests and make recommendations to improve processes.

Mr. Garrett: Awesome. Great information right there. What are some of the challenges that you think you may face?

Mr. Kimbrell: So, I know that one of the challenges that we have, at least on the mainland, is around data analysis. And I’d like to explore what we can do with data that we already have across government and how we can improve data collection.

One major challenge is a lot of times we don't collect the right data to give us the insights that we need. So, a lot of times we must kind of work with what we have. And so, that's one of the areas I plan to hone in on and I hope to be able to offer some insights while on the island.

Mr. Garrett: Now, how has your career to date prepared you for the work that you'll be doing in the Pacific Islands?

Mr. Kimbrell: So, I brought a wealth of program management experience when I came to FDA. I also have unique skill sets such as data analysis, policy analysis, process improvement, as well as operations management expertise that I would take with me. In my current capacity as a management analyst, I offer suggestions and recommendations for the management team within my division to support the Human and Animal Food Program.

Most importantly, I take with me the ability to establish relationships, build bridges, and strengthen the collaborations with our state and local partners and other federal partners such as CDC and USDA.

I think that this Pacific Island project is mostly about building relationships through building trust and working together to protect public health. It's building relationships and being able to lead and building those relationships and trust that is most prepared me. And hopefully I can make a positive impact on the project.

Mr. Garrett: Absolutely. Love to hear that. Now, is there anything else that you would like to share with me and to those listening?

Mr. Kimbrell: Well, most probably don't know this about me, but I'm a foodie. And I hear that Guam has some great food and they love to feed their guests. I've heard that from just about every detailee. And so, I look forward to sampling the cuisine. That is definitely something I plan to do in my spare time.

Mr. Garrett: Eat well, my friend. Eat well. Well, thank you to the hard work that you're doing and to the hard work that you have done and will continue to do within ORA and FDA. And thank you for being a part of our ORA Speaks, part of our five-part series as we focus on the work that is being done in the Pacific Islands.

And so, thank you both for being here.

Mr. Aguillon: Thank you.

Mr. Kimbrell: Thank you.