Eloise Baza (January 5, 1953 – October 29, 2007) was the president of the

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

from 1984 until 2007. She was the first woman and the first Chamorro to hold the presidency of the Chamber of Commerce. She was also the longest-serving president of the organization to date.

Early life

Baza was born on January 5, 1953, to her parents Jose Camacho Baza and Rosa Rivera Baza. Baza was a 1974 graduate of the College of Notre Dame, which is now known as the

Notre Dame de Namur University Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) is a private Catholic university in Belmont, California, United States. It is the third oldest college in California and the first college in the state authorized to grant the baccalaureate degree to wome ...

, in

Belmont, California Belmont is a city in San Mateo County in the U.S. state of California. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the San Francisco Peninsula about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. It was originally part of Rancho de las Pulgas, f ...

. She was also a student at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Guam Chamber of Commerce

Baza began working for the Guam Department of Commerce from 1976 to 1981 as

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

of the

Economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

Planning and Financing Division. She left the department to work as an assistant for then-president of the Guam Chamber of Commerce, Jim McDonald, for three years. Baza became president of the Chamber in 1984 when McDonald stepped down. She was the first woman to head the organization. She remained president until her death in 2007. Baza became active in the Guamanian community during her tenure. She was particularly interested in drug prevention programs. Among her many achievements was the creation of Guam's Juvenile and Adult

Drug court Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health approach to criminal offending using a specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment ...

Programs. She co-founded the program with Guam Judge

Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson (born July 21, 1953) is a Guamanian lawyer, judge, and moderate Republican politician. She served as the sixth and thirteenth (fourth elected) Attorney General of Guam, a U.S. territory, from 1987 to 1994 and from ...

. Most recently, Baza was involved in Guam's

Red Ribbon The red ribbon, as an awareness ribbon, is used as the symbol for the solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS, and for the awareness and prevention of Substance abuse#Drug misuse, drug abuse and Driving under the influence, drunk driving. Awar ...

week in September 2007. Baza was also considered an instrumental figure in the creation of the Guam Business Hall of Fame in 1992.

Death

Eloise Baza died on October 29, 2007, at

Guam Memorial Hospital Guam Memorial Hospital is a rural general hospital located in Tamuning, Guam and is the only public hospital serving the island of Guam. The hospital has 161 licensed acute care beds, plus 40 beds at its off-site, long-term care Skilled Nursing F ...

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. She was 54 years old. Her funeral was held at

St. Jude Jude the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ translit. Yahwada) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Tha ...

Catholic Church in

Sinajana Sinajana () is the smallest of the nineteen villages in the United States territory of Guam by area. It is located in the hills south of Hagåtña (formerly Agana). The village's name may have come from the word "china-jan," cookware used to c ...

. She was buried at Our Lady of Peace Memorial Gardens in

Yona, Guam Yona ( ) is a village in the United States territory of Guam. History Yona was historically a farming community but today is mostly residential. During World War II, the Japanese forced the indigenous Chamorros to march from camps in northern ...

. Guam's

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to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Madeleine Bordallo Madeleine Mary Zeien Bordallo (; born May 31, 1933) is an American-Guamanian politician who served as the delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for from January 3, 2003, to January 3, 2019. She is the first woman ever to serve as Guam' ...

issued a

statement Statement or statements may refer to: Common uses *Statement (computer science), the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language *Statement (logic and semantics), declarative sentence that is either true or false *Statement, ...

in response to Baza's death: "Eloise was a driving force behind the Chamber and her leadership gave the Chamber an important voice in our community. She played a central role in the Chamber's advocacy of sound economic policy, government reform and community service."

References

External links

Guam Chamber of Commerce

Pacific Daily News: Baza laid to rest

Pacific News Center: Family, Friends, Business Leaders Say Final Goodbyes To Eloise Baza
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baza, Eloise 1953 births 2007 deaths Chamorro people Guamanian businesspeople Boston College alumni Guamanian Roman Catholics Notre Dame de Namur University alumni People from Hagåtña, Guam 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople