“The CNMI has offered me numerous opportunities for which I cannot even begin to express my gratitude,” Hassel-Shearer said in an email to Variety.
She recalled that then-Attorney General Matthew Gregory hired her out of law school.
“I am thankful for the opportunities and experiences I have gained in the past four years,” she added.
“Although I represented the CNMI in several cases, I was especially honored to represent the election commission and see firsthand the democratic process in action.”
In representing the election commission, Hassel-Shearer said, “I came to know several members of the Legislature and the community, and learn not only how well-informed and involved the citizens of the CNMI are in elections but also how important it was to ensure that every vote counted.”
Hassel-Shearer, in her private time in the commonwealth, played for women’s soccer team.
“I was able to represent the CNMI in Taiwan during the qualifying games for the current world cup. I am forever indebted to the CNMI and the [Northern Mariana Islands Football Association] for allowing me to carry out my childhood dream of playing international soccer,” she said.
“I’m going to miss the weather, the islands, the food and most of all the people I have worked with and become friends with. Coming to work every day was made easier with the hard work and dedication of the support staff and attorneys in the Office of the Attorney General,” she went on to say.
Hassel-Shearer said she informed the AGO in early April about her plan to resign.
“I have spent the past three months transferring cases and working with the attorneys who will be handling the agencies I represented in order that the transition is as easy as possible,” she said.
Hassel-Shearer will work with the AGO civil division until next month before relocating to Washington, D.C. “to take care of family.”
