“WOMEN are widely recognized as being nurturers, but I also think that women can be especially enduring. That allows us to persevere.”
These are the words of 500 Sails co-founder and board president Emma Perez, a well-known advocate of cultural revival and female empowerment in the CNMI.
“I was lucky enough to have had several female mentors. I try to pay that forward and work with women to teach them things they may never have known they have an aptitude for,” she said.
Perez said she is inspired by 500 Sails program coordinator April Repeki — a representative of what a young woman can do when her heart and mind are engaged.
Repeki has been a part of 500 Sails since September 2018, walking into the space with a passion for cultural preservation and 15 years of experience in performing, creating, and teaching traditional Chamorro and Spanish dances.
She is also an active participant in the programs that promote canoe culture, learning to sail and progressing to Magas-in-training (skipper-in-training), being a part of the crew that brought the 47-foot sakman (Chamorro voyaging canoe) Che’lu from Guam to Saipan, a distance of about 130 miles in the open ocean.
Outside of 500 Sails, she is manager, promoter, choreographer, instructor, and mentor to the Simiyan Marianas Cultural Dance Group, and, more importantly, mother to three beautiful daughters.
“Her skills of logistical support for performances and working with a variety of performers made her a perfect fit at 500 Sails. What inspires me most is watching her learn and master a variety of key administrative tasks, from processing project payrolls to preparing annual corporate reports and float plans for voyages,” said Perez, noting that Repeki’s attention to detail has resulted in immaculate records ready for review by internal and external auditors.
500 Sails held a series of sailing classes for an all-female cohort, Famalao’an Lalayak.
On their most recent sail to Tinian, four canoes went, of which a majority of its crew were female.
“That is a new normal. More and more, I am seeing women step up to participate and lead the revival of canoe culture. I can’t help but wonder if there is something primal that women feel when something is going to be lost and they want to nurture it back to health,” said Perez.
“I believe that unique qualities are not necessarily gender-based. In many cases, jobs require specific skills that a ‘verbal person’ has, or a ‘math brain’ has, or a calm person has, or a silly person has. If you have a ‘math brain,’ and like puzzles, consider a career in accounting or finance. You can work anywhere and will most likely always have a job. There are not enough of us here in the CNMI. Good accountants and analysts provide information so management can make good decisions. This goes for the government, private sector, and non-profit organizations. Be part of the solutions that are needed.”
Perez said women in the CNMI are not granted equal opportunity to pursue their career ambitions, noting that there are more men than women holding leadership roles in the highest places of government and the private sector.
“Business leaders can empower women by first, really listening to them. Then, by giving them the opportunity to lead and learn. Personally, I try to engage women to be part of the 500 Sails board of directors or hire them into positions of leadership. The energy and passion they bring fuels operations on many levels,” she said.
“I am incredibly grateful for the women of 500 Sails, both staff and volunteers. Without their work behind the scenes, the programs would not be nearly as successful. It is an honor and a pleasure to work with each and every single one of them.”
500 Sails invites women and teenage girls to join the Sirena Project, free swim classes specifically designed for women and girls, happening from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sundays at Guma Sakman, located across from Marianas High School in Susupe.
Perez has over three decades of experience in nonprofit finance, reflecting continued professional growth and responsibilities, from bookkeeper to director of finance and operations.
At least half of that time has been at a managerial or executive level, with past employers including many world-class performing arts organizations, namely the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Ballet, the SFJAZZ Center, the San Francisco Performing Arts Museum, and the Walt Disney Family Museum.
She has spent the last eight years diligently working in support of cultural revival in the CNMI, serving in multiple capacities within the local community.
Emma Perez is the co-founder and board president of 500 Sails, a non-profit organization dedicated to reviving, promoting, and preserving the maritime cultural traditions of the Mariana Islands.
