A Conversation with Andrea Bordallo 

Tell me about growing up in Guam and how did it shape your values?

I’m an only child, but I grew up in a very large family. My mom is one of 13, so I have a lot of cousins—I never really felt alone. My dad is one of four, but I still have so many cousins on his side too. When my parents divorced when I was 8, I grew up with my mom and her side of the family.

Guam is such a small, tight-knit community—everyone knows everyone, pretty much. My mom’s side of the family is what we’d call “åntigu” in CHamoru, which means very traditional, old-school CHamoru. Because my mom grew up in a small house with 12 siblings, our family is super close-knit. We went to church every Sunday, and afterwards, we’d always get together as a family. That tradition continued well into adulthood, and my relatives who are still on island keep it going to this day.

My mom was one of only two in her family to go to college, and she became a teacher. Education was really important to her—and to me growing up. Even though she was a public-school teacher, she made the sacrifice to send me to private school, which I didn’t have to go to. Later, when I left the island for college, she supported me completely on her own. That had a huge impact on me. Watching her do that really shaped who I am.

You have shared in the past that you don’t speak CHamoru fluently thanks to colonialism. Are there other traditional crafts that you learned growing up?

I danced hula and Polynesian when I was young! I actually went to a wedding in Hawai‘i last year, and my friends were freaking out because they had no idea I used to dance hula. Traditional CHamoru dances are pretty similar to hula and Polynesian.

When I was in school, there was only one CHamoru class in elementary or middle school—and that was it. But now there are CHamoru immersion schools, which are amazing. Some of my friends’ kids go there, and I just love that it exists now.

My parents and grandparents all speak CHamoru fluently, and while I don’t speak it myself, I can understand it because they spoke it at home more than English. I really hope that my husband, Russell, and I can learn CHamoru together. There are online workshops and websites now, which is so helpful, and if anyone’s going to UH Mānoa, they actually offer a CHamoru class there too.

You went to University of Hawaii, Manoa. What did you major in?

I majored in Kinesiology and Rehabilitation. I wanted to be a physical therapist—pretty much my whole life, I knew I wanted to be in healthcare, whether that was becoming a doctor or something else. There was never really a plan B. But by the time I got to high school, things shifted, and I decided PT was the path for me. So that became my undergrad focus.

Toward the end of college, when I started looking into PT school, I realized I really hated physics. I had a biomechanics class, and I loved and did really well with anything related to the body—but the physics side? Not so much. After graduating, I ended up working in a cardiology office at the front desk. It was small but super fast-paced, and I loved it. I really enjoyed the people I worked with. That’s when I realized I wanted to manage a clinic like that or go into healthcare management.

Since coming to the DPM, you’ve really embraced palliative care. Was it something you knew about before?

No, it was brand new to me. I was in the School of Nursing here at UCSF, and someone referred me to apply for different positions in the Department of Medicine. I didn’t know anything about palliative care at the time, but now, this is where I want to be.

There’s still so much to learn, and I genuinely love our division. I could see myself staying here long term. I’ve even started feeling that urge to do more research around palliative care—especially in Guam, where there really isn't much of it at all.

Healthcare in general on Guam is difficult because of a lack of resources and the cost needed to get to specialty care. How do you see integrating palliative care into what's existing in Guam, if money was no object?

For the longest time, we only had one hospital—Guam Memorial Hospital—and it’s really old. There is also a Naval Hospital, but that’s just for military members, and now we have a new hospital, but I’m not sure if it’s private and only certain people go there. There’s just so much that needs to be done to improve basic healthcare on Guam that it’s hard to imagine building something like palliative care on top of a broken system.

There are a few hospice facilities, but there’s still a lot of confusion between hospice and palliative care. Most people don’t really understand the difference or even know about palliative care. I think if we could just start with one person—one provider who practices palliative care in the public hospital system—it could begin to shift things. I want to be part of that. I’d love to find a way to bring people from here to Guam to talk about palliative care, and hopefully get something started.

Why made you decide to leave Guam?

I was never that kid who was like, “I need to get off this island.” I actually loved growing up there—I had a great childhood. For me, it was more about wanting to travel, and I moved away for college.

My family traveled pretty often, especially to Hawaii, so I was exposed at a young age. My mom always encouraged me to go to college, where I wanted to go, and be whatever I wanted to be. She never pressured me to come back home after college, which I know a lot of families do. Even though we have the University of Guam—which has really grown and now even has a sports medicine program—my mom always said, “Go to college, do what you want, and work where you want.”

I ended up going to school in Hawai‘i. I had originally considered going farther, but decided to stay closer to home, and I loved Hawai’i. I don’t think I’d move back to Guam permanently, but you never know.

Speaking of traveling, what is your favorite thing to do on vacation? And what is your favorite place to go?

We honestly just eat a lot, wherever we go! We try to go to London once a year. It’s not necessarily my favorite place, but I do love going there. My husband, Russell, is a quarter British, so we do really enjoy going to England.

His grandmother’s story is amazing—she was from Kent, England, and moved all the way to Guam back in the day for a job. She ended up meeting Russell’s grandfather there and stayed. You just don’t hear stories like this too much about women, especially way back then. She continued working and living on Guam until she passed.

What drew you guys to San Francisco? 


Russell has always loved it here. His dad went to Santa Clara, his older brother went to Santa Clara, and his sister went to school in the city, so he spent a lot of summers visiting. When we were ready to move, San Francisco was always his number one choice.

He had job offers in Portland, Seattle, and here—but he chose San Francisco. And it turned out to be the best decision, because right after that, COVID happened. The hotel in Portland completely shut down, and it was a big box hotel, but here, it was a smaller boutique hotel, and they were kind enough to let us live in the hotel for several months during COVID. 

I’m so glad we made the move. We plan to be here for the long haul!

What do you love most about San Francisco?

I always tell friends and family that I truly believe people come here to be themselves, and I love that. Growing up in Guam, there was a lot of pressure around image—like having the right car, or everyone knowing your business. But now I’m just like, “Nope, I don’t care about any of that.”

I feel like San Francisco allows people to just be, and hopefully without catching as much judgment as they might elsewhere. Also, we love the weather! I just can’t do weather anywhere else now!

What kind of books do you like to read?

I mix it up! I’ll read a finance book, then something fun. A lot of my friends read or have read the Colleen Hoover books, but I’ve never been super into books like those. However, I have started getting into romantic comedies this year. Usually, though, I lean toward books about healthcare or finance. I read a thriller earlier this year—definitely not for me – probably because I watch too many thrillers on TV already. If I want to learn about something, I pick up a book about it.

What is something about you that would surprise people to know?

I danced hula and Polynesian and played piano.

And finally, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Oh gosh—I’m bad at these! I think I’d want to be invisible. Just because I like being by myself. I am an introvert, with a capital “I.”