Governor de Jongh Makes Nominations to Civil Rights
Commission and VIPA Governing Board

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. said Tuesday that he has sent to the Virgin Islands Legislature, the names of three nominees to fill important government positions.

The governor nominated Mario A. Francis to sit on the Virgin Islands Civil Rights Commission; and renominated Cassan A. Pancham and Gordon A. Finch for the Governing Board of the Virgin Islands Port Authority.

Since 2008, Pancham has served as Chairman of the Port Authority's Governing Board, and he chaired the Port Authority's Finance Committee since July 2007. Pancham is Executive Vice President for First Bank of Puerto Rico, responsible for the territory's largest bank operations in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. 

Pancham has served as president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Bankers Association, president of the St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce, a member of the U.S.V.I. Governor's Committee for Economic Development and Strategy, and a founding board member of Habitat for Humanity in the Virgin Islands. 

Finch, a mechanical engineer, has previously held the positions of Commissioner of Public Works, and more recently, between 1991 and 2002, Executive Director of the Port Authority. Finch holds a Bachelor's degree from Howard University and a Master's of Science from Carnegie Mellon University. He started his engineering career as a member of the Army Corp of Engineers, and over several decades, has worked for the military, private industry, the federal government and the Virgin Islands Government. 

Francis is a noted agronomist, environmentalist, educator and social advocate. For more than 10 years, he worked for the V.I. Department of Agriculture. Francis also worked for the U.S. Forest Service at the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. Between 1985 and 2000, he owned and ran Paradise Plants & Landscaping Service Company.

Francis is presently chairman of the V.I. Urban & Community Forestry Council. He has received the Award of Excellence in Youth & Community Outreach and has been recognized as Environmental Volunteer of the Year and Outstanding Educator of the Year.

“Mario Francis, Cassan Pancham and Gordon Finch are all uniquely qualified to serve the people of the Virgin Islands in the various roles for which I have nominated them, and I trust the Virgin Islands legislature will confirm these nominees,” de Jongh said.

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