Published 4 May 2023
New Faces on Board at MISSA
The Administration has welcomed the new Branch Manager for its Ebeye (Kwajalein Atoll) branch and five junior staff at its head office on Majuro.
MARIE JACOB
Prior to accepting this position, Marie was an Operations Specialist of Louis Berger Services, a contractor at the US Army Garrison in Kwajalein Atoll. She also worked with the Marshall Islands Resort in Ebeye as Hotel Manager and Accountant for four years.
As the new branch manager, Marie is responsible for the oversight of MISSA’s operations in Kwajalein Atoll where the US Army Garrison and a number of private contractors employing hundreds of Marshallese workers are located. Most of Kwajalein Atoll’s ninety plus employers are doing business in the small island of Ebeye comprised of the Kwajalein Atoll Local Government (KALGov), Ebeye Hospital, public and private schools, retailers and wholesalers, and about 30-40 small businesses and mom & pop stores. As of the quarter ended December 31, 2022, 11% of MISSA’s revenues were paid by Ebeye/Kwajalein’s employers, businesses and workers.
With the hiring of Marie, the Administration is optimistic that MISSA’s delivery of basic services to retirees, employers, workers and the general public of Ebeye/Kwajalein will continue to improve. Furthermore, tax delinquency in Ebeye which has always been a challenge to the Administration, is expected to be brought down to a minimum.
ASHLYN LAKJOHN
Ashlyn has taken the post of Registration Clerk and is mainly responsible for processing applications for Social Security numbers and other customer service functions at the front desk. She also assists the Cashier in the printing and sorting of monthly benefit checks and weekly miscellaneous checks.
Administrative and clerical functions are nothing new to Ashlyn as she used to work with Coop School on Majuro as an Administrative Assistant for seven years. She has earned a certificate from the University of the South Pacific (USP), Foundation Level, Majuro Campus and studied for another two semesters at USP in Fiji.
SHANNON FITZPATRICK
Shannon is MISSA’s new Internal Auditor and responsible for safeguarding the Administration’s assets, more particularly cash, fixed assets and data-base by ensuring that internal controls are in place and consistently enforced. Her routine audit functions include the daily verification of MISSA’s collections in Majuro and Ebeye to make certain that all procedures on collections are strictly and consistently followed (e.g. all collections must be receipted accurately, system batch is closed before another batch is opened, cash receipts total must reconcile with total cash on hand and checks collected, and collections are deposited intact on the same day). She also performs surprise cash counts, review of checks processed before they are signed by authorized signatories, verification of unreleased benefit and miscellaneous checks. She also checks on a daily basis whether back-ups were done to ensure that the data stored in the servers (and other back-up tools) are protected and no data is lost. Shannon is also working hand in hand with Accounting and HR Department to ensure that withholding and other regulatory taxes are paid on time, vehicle registration and insurance are renewed before due date, and employees’ drivers’ licenses are on hand and valid before they are allowed to drive a MISSA vehicle.
Before she joined MISSA, Shannon worked with Triple J-Ebeye as an Accounting Assistant for two years. She also had a short stint with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Majuro where she assisted in budget preparation, organizing events and meetings and visited the outer islands to spread awareness about IOM projects and programs.
Shannon completed her secondary education from SDA School (Majuro) and subsequently studied at Montain View College in the Philippines.
JOHNNY MANGLICMOT
Johnny has joined MISSA’s Tax Compliance and Audit Group as Tax Compliance Officer and will support his compliance team in the collection and recording of Retirement and Health Fund contributions. His routine functions include checking for errors in the quarterly returns being filed by employers before payment is accepted, updating the system on the filing and paying status of employers, hand-delivering notices and follow-up letters to delinquent employers assigned to him and conducting employer and employee surveys.
He was a consistent honor student of the Marshall Islands High School and studied at the College of the Marshall Islands. Johnny’s work experience includes cashiering at a thrift shop, photo design with Island Photo Enterprises, being a chef at AKIA Restaurant and as in-house data associate of Youth to Youth in Health.
JOSEPH TYPHOON
Joseph has completed his Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts with a specialization in Marshallese Studies from the College of the Marshall Islands in May 2022. As the newest member of MISSA’s Tax Audit team, he will conduct extensive review of employers’ payroll records to verify whether the quarterly tax returns filed with MISSA reflect the correct wages and corresponding Retirement and Health Fund taxes. MISSA is Joseph’s first employer.
ELLEN DEBRUM
While completing her senior year at Sherwood High School in Oregon, USA, Ellen has worked as a Student Counselor (Outdoor School Program) for sixth graders and did cashiering at Burger King where she handled cash and credit card transactions. After graduating from high school, she returned to Majuro and enrolled at the University of the South Pacific.
As Tax Compliance Officer, Ellen’s main responsibilities are the same as of Johnny Manglicmot’s where she will support her tax compliance team in the collection and recording of Retirement and Health Fund contributions.
Prior to her employment with MISSA, Ellen has worked as a Customer Service Staff at Copy Masters, was cashier at K&K Supermarket and performed data entry for the T&B and Leprosy Mass Screening at the Ministry of Health & Human Services.