Nerissa Bretania Underwood

Nerissa Bretania Underwood (; born 1955) also former vice chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Guam, a former superintendent of the Guam Department of Education, and the wife of former Democratic Guam Congressional Delegate Robert A. Underwood. She is previously serving as the chairperson of the legislature's Committee on Early Learning, Juvenile Justice, Public Education and First Generation Initiatives and as the vice chairperson on the Committee on Higher Education, Culture, Public Libraries, and Women's Affairs.

Early life and education Nerissa Bretania was born in Iloilo, Philippines, and emigrated to Guam with her parents when she was in her early childhood.

Growing up on Guam, Bretania lived in the villages of Agat and Santa Rita. She attended Mount Carmel School and Notre Dame High School. She graduated from Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Washington in 1973.

Bretania attained her Bachelor of Arts in education from the University of Guam in 1981.

Professional educator After graduation from the University of Guam, Bretania worked as a special education teacher with the Guam Department of Education at Harry S Truman Elementary School. She became a consulting resource teacher for the Guam Department of Education's Division of Special Education. In 1985, she earned a Master of Science degree in education from the University of Oregon. In 1989, she attained a PhD in education from the University of Oregon. Her campaign slogan was "Equal Opportunity and Fair Treatment = Success for Guam". On June 5, 2015, Underwood introduced Bill 119–33, The Guam Marriage Equality Act of 2015. Underwood also introduced Bill B243-33 in January 2016 for Guamanian Senators to voluntarily reduce their salaries.

Public life Outside of her service in government, Underwood has been active in organizations, including the Filipino Community of Guam, the Iloilo Association of Guam, the American Red Cross, the Guam Humanities Council, the St. Paul Christian School Board, and the Guam Women's Club.