One of the CNMI’s Greatest Challenges: Preparing the Next Generation | Opinion

By CNMI Lt. Governor Dennis James C. Mendiola

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands stands at a crossroads. Much of our public discussion focuses on economic development, cultural preservation, tourism recovery, government reform, and the future of our islands. Yet beneath all of these issues is a deeper challenge that will shape the CNMI for decades to come: the transition from one generation of leadership to the next.

This is not simply a political issue. It is a workforce issue, a cultural issue, an economic issue, and a community issue.

The Baby Boomer generation helped build much of the modern CNMI. Many experienced the rapid growth of the 1980s and 1990s, when the islands saw major economic activity, expanding industries, and new opportunities. Their work, sacrifice, and leadership helped lay the foundation for the Commonwealth we know today.

However, time changes every workforce. Many Baby Boomers have reached or passed traditional retirement age, yet a significant number remain in leadership positions. In many cases, this is not only by personal choice. Financial concerns, uncertainty surrounding retirement, family obligations, and the need for household stability have caused many experienced leaders to continue working longer than they may have originally planned.

As a result, succession planning has become compressed.

Generation X has largely become the managerial class of the CNMI. Many in this generation are now carrying the responsibility of daily operations in government, business, education, and community institutions. They were raised with traditional island values and cultural expectations, while also adapting to the Americanized systems and institutions that shaped the CNMI after the Trust Territory era.

Many have spent years preparing for greater leadership responsibilities, only to find that advancement has been delayed by circumstances beyond any one person’s control. The result is a workforce where maintaining existing systems often takes priority over long-term transformation. Energy is spent keeping things moving, while innovation is pushed further down the road.

Meanwhile, Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha are growing up in an entirely different world.

They are the first generations raised in a fully digital environment. Information is no longer scarce. Knowledge, business models, technologies, global markets, and career opportunities are available at their fingertips. Their influences are no longer limited to family, village, or local community. They are shaped by international networks, digital platforms, and global conversations happening in real time.

Their expectations for opportunity are fundamentally different.

Unfortunately, many young people struggle to see a future for themselves in the CNMI. This is not because they lack pride in their islands. It is not because they do not value their culture. Rather, many see limited pathways for advancement, entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership.

As a result, some of our brightest young minds leave in search of opportunities elsewhere.

This creates a difficult contradiction.

We often speak about protecting Chamorro and Carolinian culture and preserving our way of life. These goals are noble and necessary. But we must also ask a difficult question: What future are we preserving if the next generation no longer sees a future here?

Culture survives because people carry it forward.

When young people leave permanently, we do not simply lose workers. We lose future teachers, future entrepreneurs, future cultural practitioners, future parents, future public servants, and future leaders.

Preserving culture cannot only mean protecting traditions. It must also mean creating the conditions for the next generation to stay, build families, start businesses, lead institutions, and contribute to the community.

One of the greatest barriers to this future is how we view leadership.

Too often, age is treated as the primary qualification for authority. Experience matters and should always be respected. Our elders and experienced professionals carry institutional knowledge that cannot be replaced. But experience and innovation are not opposites. A strong community needs both.

Across the global economy, successful organizations actively develop younger leadership talent. They create systems where experienced leaders mentor rising professionals, transfer knowledge, and prepare the next generation before a crisis forces change. According to 2025 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median age for management occupations in the United States is 46.1, while the median age for chief executives is 51.6. These figures remind us that leadership is not confined to one age group; it is developed through preparation, opportunity, and trust.

The lesson is not that younger leaders should replace older leaders.

The lesson is that successful communities create pathways where knowledge, mentorship, and leadership transfer happen continuously.

Yet in many workplaces, younger professionals still face resistance when placed in leadership roles. A younger supervisor may be viewed as inexperienced simply because of age. Their decisions may be questioned. Their authority may be undermined. Their advancement may be delayed.

The irony is that many of these same young professionals are operating in a world changing faster than any previous generation has experienced. They understand emerging technologies, digital communication, artificial intelligence, modern business practices, and global markets in ways that previous generations may not have needed to.

Their perspective is not a threat to culture. It is a resource.

The most successful communities are not those that choose between tradition and innovation. They are the communities that combine both.

The CNMI must begin viewing succession planning as a strategic priority, not an eventual necessity. We need leadership development programs, mentorship structures, entrepreneurship opportunities, workforce modernization, and education systems that prepare young people not only for employment, but for leadership.

We must create environments where experienced leaders can pass on institutional knowledge while empowering younger generations to bring new ideas forward.

This is not about replacing one generation with another.

It is about building bridges between generations.

A paradigm shift is necessary because the very people we are trying to influence are our youth. If our policies, institutions, and workplaces fail to adapt to the realities of younger generations, we should not be surprised when they seek opportunities elsewhere.

But if we create real pathways for innovation, encourage merit-based advancement, embrace technology, and empower young leaders while honoring the wisdom of our elders, the CNMI can position itself for a new era of growth.

The future of the Commonwealth will not be determined only by the leaders of today. It will be determined by whether the leaders of today are willing to prepare the leaders of tomorrow.

That should be the leadership model we embrace.

That should be the cultural investment we make.

And that is how the CNMI can move from simply preserving its past to preserving its past while securing its future.

These thoughts are based on observation, experience, and concern for where our Commonwealth is headed. My hope is that this begins a larger conversation about how we prepare, support, and trust the next generation of CNMI leaders.