Testimony of Sr. Mary Stella Mangona at US Senate hearing
Saipan Tribune, Micronesia
My name is Sr. Mary Stella Mangona. I was born in the Philippines and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1992. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with an M.A. in Psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. I also received training in Pastoral Counseling at Loyola University, Chicago. I have been employed since 1999 by the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as a mental health counselor with the Department of Public Health, Community Guidance Center. I am, however, attending these hearings of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources not in my capacity as an employee of the CNMI government but in my role as a Catholic Religious Woman, as a delegate of His Excellency Bishop Tomas A. Camacho of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. I am here primarily to offer support to other members of the Bishop’s delegation and to assist with translation from Tagalog, if necessary, for a victim of human trafficking who will be testifying before the Committee on February 8, 2014. I am also grateful for this opportunity to offer written observations particularly in regard to issues of labor and immigration in the CNMI. I will try to describe the life situations of many of my clients without advocating particular solutions. Read more about Testimony of Sr. Mary Stella Mangona at US Senate hearing …