AJA RAMOS
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT,
SEPTEMBER 2023
WESTCARE PACIFIC ISLANDS
AJA RAMOS
Life may have taken Aja Ramos 6,000 miles away for nearly two decades, but her journey has been inspired by the countless individuals she has served, ultimately bringing her back home to Guam with a renewed sense of purpose to make an impact in the lives of the people within a community that helped shape her into who she is today.
Now, as Senior Vice President of WestCare Pacific Islands, Aja oversees all WestCare operations in Guam, Saipan, and the Republic of Palau Her main priority being that she supports her team so they can deliver services within their communities. In her own words, “As Senior Vice President, I am responsible for the overall day-to-day operations, making sure that our teams are taken care of so that we can take care of others, making sure we're meeting our fiduciary and compliance responsibilities with our programs, and making sure that our leadership team is well supported so that we're able to deliver the services in a meaningful and impactful way that really makes a difference in people's lives.”
F E A T U R E
Aja was raised on the Pacific Island of Guam, which has coined the motto, “Where America’s Day Begins” because of its location west of the international date line, making it a U S territory that is hours ahead of Hawaii, Alaska, and the contiguous 48 states When she was just 17 years old, Aja left Guam to attend college in Seattle, Washington. Aja shared, “Little did I know that I would end up there for almost 20 years. I thank my dad for telling me ‘no‘ when I would call and cry, saying that I wanted to come home because I was homesick. It was a big cultural shock for me coming from a very small community into a really big city.”
In Seattle, she would spend the next 20 years gaining valuable skills and experience as a licensed clinical social worker, working with children with high psychiatric needs. Despite her initial feelings about moving to Seattle, she acknowledges that her decision to stay impacted her life and led her to work for the largest behavioral health organization in Washington, but this isn’t where her journey culminated. She shared, “My time there was really invaluable and it helped me to be where and who I am today. My goal, and I think if you met anyone from Seattle, they would always tell you this, was always to come home and contribute the skills, exposure, and experience that I had in the States to make a real difference for my people.”
In 2015, Aja, her husband, and her two daughters moved back to her birth place, the beautiful island of Guam. However, the decision to move was not made lightly. Before joining WestCare Pacific Islands, Aja was offered an opportunity to go into a role within a federally funded government establishment, where she would be doing the same clinical work that she has been doing in Seattle Aja noted, “WestCare was one of the handful of nonprofits in the human services field on Guam. Finding WestCare was almost serendipitous, but I took a chance and did something a little different to sort of pivot my career, all because the mission of WestCare Pacific Islands really spoke to me and I knew the nonprofit world is where I would thrive. “
Aja assumed a more administrative role and became a manager for a federal grant that was focused on youth prevention. Aja shared, “This role was fulfilling, getting to work directly with kids in a school setting, doing icebreakers, and teaching lessons. It was pretty smooth sailing and it was a lot of fun.”
“After that, I moved into another program where I was managing the largest team at WestCare Pacific Islands under a program called ‘Spark’.” The Spark program was a healthy relationships program targeting young couples with the goal of improving lasting relationships and decreasing incidents of intimate partner violence While the Spark program is no longer active, it is still talked about and requested by their community to this day. Aja continued, “It was an amazing process and it really taught me a lot about leadership. The Spark team was one of the highest performing teams I have ever been on. I honed my leadership skills with the team and learned how to be a servant leader during my time there. ”
Love is in the Air: 2019 Sparks Program Couples Retreat Staff. No Time Limit: WPI staff volunteering at the 2020 PIT Count Event until 2 o’clock in the morning.However, WPI was not known at the time for its programs beyond its Veteran services. But, with support from Aja’s leadership, her team utilized social media to grow the Spark program’s outreach and success She continued, “We started promoting Spark by bringing it out into the community, showing that we were passionate about the work that we did, and having graduates come through. This is when we started using social media a lot and we were out there doing a media blitz. I mean, we were everywhere, and the manner in which we were approaching it was inviting for people. That’s when we had people start coming up and asking about Spark. We took a program from a struggling lifeless program, to a thriving robust experience that benefited our island community.”
The ability to be a servant leader as the Spark Program Manager allowed her team to successfully deliver services to the people who need them most and grow WPI’s awareness beyond just a Veteran’s program. This set Aja apart as an experienced leader and gave her the foundational skills and confidence to handle her next opportunity: becoming the Senior Vice President of WestCare Pacific Islands.
It is no surprise that when asked to share a specific accomplishment that she was most proud of during her journey, Aja shared, “I think I am most proud of the team with Spark and the number one thing would be working with a lot of young women. As a woman in leadership, it’s important to me to grow and nurture other young leaders, especially young women in our field.”
“Fast forward to now, even though I sit in the senior vice president position, I still have interactions with them. They are ‘power women,’ who have gone from having their first jobs in their 20s to feeling confident about who they are and what they’re able to accomplish. That, to me, was the most exciting piece on the journey so far.”
Today, the members WPI’s leadership team are all women, showing that Aja is an example of an exceptional woman in leadership. When asked to speak about this Aja shared, “While women dominate the human services industry, a gender gap in leadership still plagues our profession. I am not sure how it came to be and it was definitely not intentional, but I am proud to be surrounded by women who juggle complex situations by the nature of the different roles they have in their lives. What I find intriguing is that even though we have such smart capable women on our team, there is one resounding theme that I find each of them struggling with: self-doubt. I believe this narrative is common among women due to societal gender roles. I strive to be a leader who uplifts those around me by building their confidence in their decisions and in who they are. I hope that each of my team members step into their strength and hold their head up high, giving 100% Boss Babe energy. “
Media Blitz: Aja speaking on the Spark segment ‘Love Talks’ that was broadcast on local news networks. Power Women: Aja with fellow leadership and staff at the 2017 Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce Hightide Women's Summit. Building Awareness: Attending the 2018 Headstart Parent Conference. Leadership Visit: WestCare CEO & President, Aja, and Palau President & Senator.In addition to embracing her new role as Senior Vice President of WPI, Aja was honored as the "2019 Social Worker of the Year" by the Guam National Association of Social Workers She also served as Chair of the Guam Board of Social Work, where she led the charge in launching Guam’s first licensure for social workers. Aja’s extensive background in program development, collaborative partnerships, human services administration, program evaluation, and community capacity has significantly influenced her approach to leadership When asked about her leadership philosophy, Aja answered, “I would say my leadership style is very embracing. I listen a lot. I also help to stretch people a bit.”
Every day, Aja continues to lead her team toward success by striving for growth and development. Aja shared, “I like to do this process I call ‘nerding out‘ with the whole WestCare Pacific Islands leadership team. We do mentoring, so we‘re taking a topic in leadership and look at TED Talks or motivational videos, and then we discuss in pairs about what ways we can grow and how this impacts our team and our everyday work.“ Aja demonstrates by example that there is always more to learn, ultimately leading to more ways to serve their communities.
Success and leadership go hand-in-hand and when asked how she defines success, Aja answered, “When you feel like you’ve made an impact and you found meaning in what you are doing. It’s not necessarily the title or the role, but it’s those day-to-day moments where you feel that the work you’ve done has helped someone else.“
When Aja isn’t spending time with her WestCare team, she loves to enjoy the simple things of life and spending time with her family. Coming from a large family and being indigenous to the Chamorro culture of Guam, she grew up valuing hospitality and close relationships She cherishes the day-to-day interactions with her husband and two daughters. In addition, she loves travel. Aja shared, “I’ve traveled way more than I thought I would in this position, but I love to travel with my family, experiencing new things, and different cultures and countries. It’s definitely one of my passions. I also like to eat! Don’t we all love good food? I love discovering new restaurants or little cafes.”
3, 2, 1. Smile! : Aja and her family striking some eyecatching poses in Seoul during a family vacation.
Setting the Example: Aja leading her team through successful and insightful training.
Biba to a Healthier Guam: The WPI team got their pink on and pledged to join the fight against cancer with Guam Cancer Care in 2018 .
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: The Ramos Family celebrating Christmas in matching pj’s.
On one of her most recent work travels, Aja had the opportunity to visit with officials In Washington D.C. to speak about the work done at WPI and the needs that are still unmet. Aja shared about this experience, “What made it a successful visit is that it wasn‘t about me, it was really about the people we serve and bringing more resources to our community so that our reach can be greater.“
She continued, “We are literally on an island. We are all we‘ve got and it‘s important that we grow our infrastructure of human services. So, being able to communicate the impact that we‘ve had on our people and to rally support for more services throughout the Pacific made speaking up easy.“
With most of WestCare Pacific Island’s operations being isolated in an area known as the Pacific Typhoon belt, the WPI team and their communities are normally wellversed in preparing for and responding to natural disasters. Aja shared, “As warnings of a super typhoon intensified, we sprang into actionsecuring our office, finding placements for clients in emergency shelters, and delivering critical items such as food and household supplies.“
However, the effects of Super Typhoon Mawar’s 140 mph winds and rain were more devastating than what has ever been experienced before. When asked to describe the impact of Typhoon Mawar on Guam, Aja described, “Our communities looked like bombs went off in the streets. Downed trees made the roads impassable in almost every village. Homes were demolished, cars were overturned, windows of commercial buildings were blown out, and powerlines scattered the sidewalks. The land that nurtures us and gives us life was severely injured. Our lifelines were severed; telecommunications did not work, power was out across the entire island, water was out across the island, and even emergency radio systems were down. The panic and horror we all experienced not knowing if our loved ones were well and alive because we had no way of communicating was harrowing.“
It takes a brave and dedicated team to be able to recover from such a disaster and with the guidance of an commendable leader, anything is possible.
Together
Celebrating Culture: In 2023, Aja was gifted a beautiful hand-carved statue during her visit to the WPI Palau office.
We Stand:
Guam National Guard and Aja at the GUNG Family Symposium in 2018.
Rallying Support: Aja and CEO, Ken Ortbals, in Washington, D.C. speaking to officials about WPI’s work.
Striving for Excellence: Aja receiving the 2019 Social Worker of the Year Award from the Guam National Association of Social Workers.
Aja reflected on her experience during this time of recovery, “Being a leader during this time was an absolute struggle. Not only were my family and I in crisis mode, trying to pick up the pieces of what Mawar left behind, but I knew our staff and clients were in the same position. Our first point of action was to get a gauge on the wellbeing of our staff.“
“Once we established that all our teams were okay, we took stock of clients, though we faced the challenge of limited phone and data connectivity. We checked in on clients in emergency shelters with a team of managers physically going to the shelter placements to contact them. To this day, I am in awe of the dedication they put forward when they were struggling to get through the challenges we all faced.“
In these difficult times, WestCare’s mission of Uplifting the Human Spirit shines through every member of the WPI team and despite each member’s personal struggles due to Super Typhoon Mawar, their dedication to helping others has never wavered. “Our staff returned to their daily duties, even when they were mentally, emotionally, and physically struggling. Some of our staff lost it all -their homes in disarray. Some slept in the bed of their trucks because the heat, humidit and mold took over their homes. Some of our staff ha families who were medically vulnerable with no acce to medical care due to the power and water outage Some of our staff had parents on the brink of dea because they didn’t have enough charge in the batte of their oxygen tanks to survive.“
As their leader, Aja found herself thinking, “How can I ca on our team to help and care for others when the own lives were falling apart?” Albeit a difficult decisio they all pushed through the difficult time and foun triumph on the other side Aja shared, “Over the cour of a month, our managers came together weekly roll our operations based on the continuous changing conditions. From creating mobile services office sharing to fluctuating office hours, we learne to pivot quickly and almost daily, depending on whe our whole island was in our recovery efforts. I a happy to say today that we made the right decision for our staff and our clients.“
When asked if there was anything she’d like to say to her incredible team in regards to their efforts since Super Typhoon Mawar, Aja shared, “I am forever grateful for the support from our President and CEO for understanding this and supporting our team and I consider myself privileged to be surrounded by such compassionate, caring, and exemplary people at WPI. While ‘thank you’ will never be enough to express my gratitude, I hope to honor you all through my actions, my service, and the legacy we are building for our people across the Pacific.”
Aja’s unique journey includes years in various roles with youth and families from diverse backgrounds She has helped build resiliency in individuals who face barriers, including trauma, abuse, chemical dependency, severe behavioral health disorders, developmental disabilities, homelessness, and domestic violence. It is this journey that led Aja to WestCare Pacific Islands today and leading an inspiring and committed team When asked to reflect on what she enjoys most about working at WestCare, she answered, “What I enjoy most about working at WestCare is our team. The culture that we have is everything because that trickles into the work that we do and the people we see everyday If we have a
Across The Sea: Aja pictured with her fellow members of leadership in Palau amidst Super Typhoon Mawar in 2023.
IT DOESN’T MATTER IF NO ONE EVER KNOWS WHO I AM, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, I WANT THEM TO KNOW MY TEAM AND THE WORK THEY’VE DONE IN
Aja Ramos