Alumni

Marjorie Baltazar
Chicago, IL
2017

Baltazar, a staunch advocate for immigrant rights, is the Principal of Baltazar Global LLC, a business immigration law firm aimed at making sophisticated immigration services simple and accessible. Prior to launching her firm, Marjorie spent nearly 10 years practicing immigration with a large international law firm. She has assisted a diverse range of clients in developing creative and sound legal strategies to hire and retain talent from all over the world. Born in the Philippines and having immigrated to the United States as an eight-year old, Marjorie is a staunch advocate for immigrant rights and routinely provides pro bono legal services to individuals seeking immigration benefits. She serves on the Junior Leadership Board of the National Immigrant Justice Center and is a past recipient of the National Immigrant Justice Center Rising Star Award and has been selected for inclusion in the Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for immigration lawyers since 2014. Marjorie is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago and was a member of its Board of Directors for its 2014 inaugural term and 2015 term.

Amanda Bernardo
New York, NY
2017

As an immigration attorney, Bernardo has helped win asylum for refugees, ensured a Filipino programmer the pay and position he deserves for his skills, empowered a Chinese nail technician victimized by domestic violence, fought for a single mother fleeing gang rape in El Salvador and expanded the business of a Bangladeshi entrepreneur. As an immigration expert, she saved countless families from deportation and legalized the status of even more. Amanda sees first-hand how people of various nationalities experience the immigration system. She is committed to using her legal expertise to transform the experience of Filipinos and underrepresented communities in that system. Amanda received her Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School. She is the Chair of the Immigration Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York and of the Public Relations Committee of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York. She is a widely sought-after speaker on immigration law. Recently, she collaborated with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Filipino-American Pulitzer-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas to educate Asian/Filipino immigrants on their rights under the Trump Administration. She graduated from American University​ summa cum laude ​ with honors where she focused on Philippines and US migration.

Ryan Dalusag
Laguna Niguel, CA
2017

Dalusag is a first-generation Filipino-American citizen, born and raised in California. He graduated from San Diego State University with my Masters in Social Work. Currently, Ryan is a clinical social worker on the Behavioral Health Unit at Mission Hospital. He enjoys being able to help patients struggling with mental health issues by providing clinical interventions and resources to help them reintegrate into the community. When he’s not working, Ryan volunteers in the Filipino community, currently serving as Executive Director for the Lakas Mentorship Program, as well as a Publicity and Outreach Committee member for Filipino Cultural School (FCS) – both based in Southern California. Lakas mentors High School and college students, by providing guidance to obtain higher education and successfully move forward in their careers. The organization centers on its five pillars of Self-Awareness, Fil-Am Studies, College Prep, Positionality, and Leadership. FCS works to provide cultural education for the younger generation, from Kindergarten through High School, centering on music, dance, and cultural language and history. During his free time, Ryan enjoys spending time with family and friends, rock climbing, and trying new foods.

Eric John David
Anchorage, AK
2017

E. J. R. David, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage, with his primary duties being with the PhD Program in Clinical-Community Psychology that has a Rural, Cultural, and Indigenous Emphasis. Dr. David has published theoretical and empirical works on Racial or Ethnic Minority Psychology, including four books: Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino -/ American Postcolonial Psychology (2013; Information Age Publishing), Internalized Oppression: The Psychology of Marginalized Groups (2014; Springer Publishing), The Psychology of Oppression (2017; Springer Publishing), and We Have Not Stopped Trembling Yet (2018; SUNY Press). He was the 2007 recipient of the American Psychological Association (APA) Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45) Distinguished Student Research Award “for his significant contribution in psychological research related to ethnic minority populations”; the 2012 APA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Early Career Award in Research for Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Racial and Ethnic Minority Psychology for “outstanding scientific contributions and the application of this knowledge toward the improved mental and physical well-being of people of color”; and the 2013 Asian American Psychological Association Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research. In 2014, he was honored by the Alaska Psychological Association with the “Cultural Humanitarian Award for Exemplary Service and Dedication to Diversity, and in 2015 he was inducted as a Fellow by the Asian American Psychological Association for “Unusual and Outstanding Contributions to Asian American Psychology.”

Tyler Dos Santos-Tam
Honolulu, HI
2017

Tyler Dos Santos-Tam is a business consultant based in Honolulu, Hawaii, specializing in assisting labor and construction clients with their strategic communications, government affairs, and special projects needs. His firm is the only full-service consultancy in Hawaii focusing on labor unions as clients. He previously served for six years as the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Construction Alliance, the organization which represents the state’s 15,000-member strong Carpenters, Laborers, Cement Masons, Bricklayers, and Operating Engineers unions. In this unique role, he brought together representatives from these unions to promote cooperation, collaboration, and coordination within the Hawaiʻi’s construction industry. In addition to his involvement in the Filipino community, he was recently appointed as the Honorary Consul for Portugal in Hawaii. In this role, he works to promote trade, tourism, and cultural relationships between Portugal and Hawaii. He is also the President of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Tyler is the Chair of Honolulu’s Neighborhood Commission, which oversees the City & County’s neighborhood board system, and has served on numerous nonprofit boards. He was also member of the 2014 Class of the Pacific Century Fellows, and is also a leader within the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi. He was recently recognized as one of Pacific Business News’ “40 Under Forty” for his work in both the business and advocacy community. Tyler is a graduate of Punahou School and Yale University.

Rebecca Elmore
Guam
2017

Raised on the island of Guam, Elmore is a news anchor and reporter for the Pacific News Center for Sorensen Media Pacific Broadcast. Although working as a reporter, her first love is advocacy work in the community and her most passionate stories cover public policy affecting the Filipino population on Guam. She recently transferred from the University of Colorado Denver to the University of Guam to continue to pursue a Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis on diplomacy and law. Ms. Elmore holds a B.A. with Latin honors in Communication from CU Denver where she served on the Auraria Board of Directors, founded CU’s first Filipino student organization, and discovered a newfound joy in Tinikling dancing. When Ms. Elmore is not chasing stories for the nightly news, her interests include international diplomacy, non-profit efficacy, and binge-watching TedTalks on Youtube. You can catch Ms. Elmore on the evening news every weeknight on ABC7 and Fox6. She aspires to leave the world a better place, one investigative story at a time.

Ireneo Reus III
Long Beach, CA
2017

Ireneo A. Reus III is an AV-rated business attorney in Long Beach, California. Before establishing his own law firm, Mr. Reus worked for a civil litigation firm, a public finance law firm, and the General Counsel’s Office of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. He received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2004, where he was a Member of the UCLA Moot Court Honors Program and Senior Articles Editor of the UCLA Journal of Law & Technology. Mr. Reus served as President of UCLA School of Law’s Alumni Association from 2018 to 2019, and has served on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors since 2015. Mr. Reus has presented at ABA conferences in Tokyo, Japan and Washington, D.C. and at several NAPABA Conventions. Prior to joining the Executive Committee of the Labor & Employment Section of the California Lawyers Association, Mr. Reus served in leadership positions in the State Bar of California, including as the Chair of the California Young Lawyers Association from 2012 to 2013. He also served on the State Bar’s Council on Access & Fairness, and Task Force on Admissions Regulation Reform. In 2016, the Los Angeles Law Library featured Mr. Reus in an exhibit and documentary film Opening the Door: Personal Stories of Groundbreaking Los Angeles Lawyers and Judges.

Christal Simanski
Alexandria, VA
2017

Simanski is the current President of the Filipino Young Professionals Organization of Washington, D.C., which works to elevate the Filipino-American professional to achieve success in their career. Simanski is also an international affairs and trade specialist for the United States Government. She has written reports on how well government programs and policies are meeting their objectives. She graduated from the University of Texas, Arlington, as Magna Cum Laude with bachelor degrees in political science and philosophy. Simanski went on to complete her graduate degree at the age of 22 from the University of California, San Diego, in the field of International Affairs. She has previously interned for Innovations for Poverty Action at their field office in Manila and for the State Department, at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See. Christal has worked on an array of topics to include human rights issues and international migration. She is passionate about environmental conservation and civic involvement.

Ryann Tanap
Arlington, VA
2017

Ryann is a communications and public affairs professional, recognized by PR News as one of the 2016 Rising PR Stars 30 & Under. Currently, she is a social media manager at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Prior to PBS, she worked as project manager and marketing consultant at AARP, and as the social media manager at the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As a writer and advocate for mental health and suicide prevention, Ryann openly talks about her personal experience with mental health challenges. She actively explores mediums for telling her story and has done so through spoken word performances, blogs, articles, and radio with organizations such as: This is My Brave, Armed Services Arts Partnership, and NPR. Ryann Tanap is a Filipina American who grew up on the West, Gulf and East coasts. She now calls the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area her home. Ryann has completed fellowships in education and leadership with Global Playground and Coro, respectively. She has volunteered with several nonprofits, including Global Playground, Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro) and Teens of Color Abroad. She holds a BA in international relations from William and Mary.

Ray Villanueva
Seattle, WA
2017

Ray Villanueva is an educator, architect, and builder with a focus on community design and impact. Ray is co-founder of Estudio Damgo, a student-led, community design and build program at Foundation University in Dumaguete City. The program goals are to impact lives through community projects that celebrate local materials like bamboo, reintroduce cultural relevance and promote sustainability. The program was awarded as a 2013 Ten Accomplished Youth Organization (TAYO) and its alumnus was awarded a 2013 Ten Outstanding Student of the Philippines (TOSP) for his work with Estudio Damgo. Ray is also co-director of the Philippines Bamboo Workshop Study Abroad Program through the University of Washington Department of Architecture, which won the 2016 ACSA Design Build Award. Ray is a technical architect that loves to bring impactful design to life. At Miller Hayashi Architects in Seattle, Ray led design and construction for community health clinics, public schools, non-profit organizations and municipal buildings. At Katerra, Ray led the multi-family podium team, redefining project delivery and systems to make housing more affordable. At FYLPRO Immersion Trip 2017 Ray met Base Bahay, a foundation dedicated to building socialized housing with bamboo. The organization’s mission inspired Ray to co-found Kawayan Collective in 2018 with his wife, Amy. As a construction grade treated bamboo supplier, Kawayan Collective is partnered with Base Bahay in the vision to create better homes for all Filipinos. Ray earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Maryland with Summa Cum Laude honors and completed his Master of Architecture at the University of Washington. Ray and Amy live in Dauin, Negros Oriental with their two kids, June (6) and Lou (4).

Noel Aglubat
New York, New York
2016

Noel is a Civil Engineer at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the New York Regional Office. As an engineer for the Division of Dam Safety, he promotes safe, reliable, secure and efficient hydropower infrastructure. His project jurisdiction is Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, including other projects sprinkled throughout New England. Noel has served as Vice President and is currently a Board member for the New York based community development 501c3; Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro). At UniPro Noel helped lead the expansion of the organization into 3 chapters; San Diego, Seattle and Chicago-Midwest. Noel earned an MS in Structural Engineering and a BS in Civil Engineering from NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering (formerly Polytechnic).

Tiffany Batac
Washington, DC
2016

Tiffany currently serves as Manager of the Asset Management Service Area at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, where she leads a portfolio of transportation asset management and resiliency projects and initiatives across North America. Tiffany has distinguished herself as a rising leader in her field, and her efforts to address extreme weather and climate change risks through asset management have created new adaptive strategies to build system resilience. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Tiffany served on the Board of Directors of the Young Filipino Professionals Association (YFPA) where she co-led the launch of its first mentoring program. Since 2007, she has served on the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Board, and most recently as Chairwoman of the Glass Ceiling Task Force where she has spearheaded first-of-its-kind studies to promote diversity and improve the recruitment, development, and retention of women in transportation. In 2014, Tiffany was awarded the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award in recognition of her extraordinary efforts to facilitate professional opportunities for women and minorities, and for her contributions to the promotion of diversity, inclusion, and multi-cultural awareness.

Joanne Boston
Daly City, CA
2016

Joanne Boston is an event and media producer, community organizer, marketer, and food lover. Her love for food and community came naturally as she was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. ⁠She currently resides in Daly City, California where over 40% of the population is of Filipino heritage. ⁠ Professionally, Jo produces live virtual events in the global TechEd space at General Assembly with a focus on programming for women and historically marginalized communities – one she started called “Asian American Womxn Voice” which is meant to amplify the narratives of Asian women in the US. To date, she has produced close to 200 live and remote events during her tenure at General Assembly. She is also one of five leaders of the Asian ERG leadership team at General Assembly – she is the only Pinay on the board. Jo was recently a featured lightning talk speaker for “Pinayista Summit” which is in its third year. She has served as lead food and beverage coordinator for all three years coordinating with local Bay Area Filipino-owned food businesses to nourish the staff and summit attendees. For fun, she holds a weekly themed event called the “Filipino Food Friday Virtual Dinner Party” with her friends to continue her love for Filipino food as her legacy project involves the promotion of Filipino cuisine. Many FYLPRO alumni have attended these virtual gatherings. ⁠ She is also a contributing author to the books “The New Filipino Kitchen: Stories and Recipes from Around the Globe” (2018) and “In Her Purpose: 40 Principles of Asian Women Redefining Success on Their Own Terms”(2020). Currently, she is owner and marketing consultant of JBKollaborations, an Arts & Culture Commissioner for the City of Daly City, Program Advisory Board Member for Balay Kreative, Vice President for the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) San Francisco Chapter, featured live-streamer and Events Production Manager for Kumu North America, lover of all things Filipino and Filipino-American, and of course, proud FYLPRO alumna.

Mark J. Calaguas
Chicago, IL
2016

Mark J. Calaguas is an attorney practicing at the intersection of law and technology, with interdisciplinary experience in non-profit leadership and public service. As product counsel for Tayo, he provides legal and strategic support for an innovative online help desk delivering vital, culturally tailored information to underserved communities navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark also performs data privacy consulting and management services for startup founders, small businesses, and institutional clients. Mark is the president of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago (FALA Chicago) and a founding board member of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA), where he currently serves as an at-large trustee. Additionally, he sits as a federal appointee on the Illinois State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and as board chair of the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), a grassroots non-profit that organizes on issues of social, racial, and economic justice. A member of FYLPRO’s 2016 delegation, Mark is also an alumnus of the U.S.-Mexico Leaders Initiative and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Leadership Advancement Program. Mark holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago.

Brandon Trinidad Dela Cruz
Honolulu, Hawaii
2016

Brandon is a second-generation Filipino, born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the Director of Marketing for the international, Hawaii-based restaurant chain, L & L Hawaiian Barbecue where he oversees the marketing and branding activities of the company including making Hawaii’s cuisine of the “Hawaiian Barbecue” a household term. Much of his success, he attributes to the symbiotic relationship between his professional and community lives. His influence by the Filipino culture began at an early age with his parents instilling important values of faith in God, education, hard work, humility, and integrity into his character. Beginning in 1998, Dela Cruz became exposed to a variety of Filipino experiences. This includes hosting a weekly radio program centered on the Filipino community, becoming president of the Filipino Junior Chamber (Honolulu), and becoming the inaugural youth chair of Region XII of NaFFAA. He then moved on to serve as the 2017-2018 President of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, the oldest Filipino Chamber in America. Today, he continues to find ways to celebrate the beauty and accomplishments of the culture and the community that is dear to him with Hawaii’s special Spirit of Aloha.

Elizabeth Obod Frilles
Honolulu, HI
2016

Elizabeth is a veteran teacher in Hawaii who graduated Valedictorian in high school with a BA and MA from Tokyo Gakugei University through the Japanese Government Scholarship. She was a recipient of the 2015 HaSTA Supernova and Windward District TOY Awards, 2017 Olomana School Transformation Team Excellence Award of Merit, and 2019 UFCH Progress Award in Education. She was awarded scholarships from Honeywell Educator Space Program, USPTO National Summer Teacher Institute, UH-Manoa Ethnomathematics and STEM Institute, FLYPRO Immersion Program, and US Fleet’s Distinguished Visitor Embark Program. She was a HaSTA Secretary and FAUW Treasurer. She volunteered at the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, and helped foreign nationals to access medical services in Japan via her work at AMDA International Medical Information Center in Tokyo. Currently, she is an active supporter of the Filipino Food Week and Filipino Young Professionals Network-Hawaii managed by the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu. Her YLi2T Legacy Project enables her to send educational books to the Philippines, and engage Filipino teachers through STEAM workshops. She is passionate about providing excellent and equitable education for all students. She believes in the power of growth mindset, teamwork, and volunteerism to positively impact both the local and global communities.

Christopher Lapinig
Los Angeles, CA
2016

Christopher Lapinig is an attorney based in Los Angeles, California. He was a Skadden Fellow and Staff Attorney in Impact Litigation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Chris previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Denny Chin of the Second Circuit and to the Honorable Lorna G. Schofield of the Southern District of New York, the first federal Article III judge of Filipino descent in United States history. Chris was also a Fulbright Research Scholar in the Philippines. Chris graduated summa cum laude from Yale College and obtained his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Dondi Leonidas Quintans
New York
2016

Dondi is a seasoned strategic marketing and communications professional with 17 years experience in public affairs, politics, and nonprofit leadership. Dondi tenured at Galaide Group, LLC in Guam, managing outreach contracts for the local and federal governments before transitioning into politics as a Special Assistant to the Office of the Governor of Guam, and then-Lieutenant Governor Ray Tenorio. In 2016, she was selected as a delegate for the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO). Shortly after, Dondi relocated to New York city as she served executive roles for FYLPRO, as its Vice President (‘17), President (‘18), and a Board member (‘19). Currently, Dondi is the Director of Marketing & Communications for United Way of New York City. Prior to, she consulted for the International Rescue Committee, The New Press, NYU Langone Health, and Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. Dondi has a BA in Communications from Seattle University and an MPA graduate degree from the University of Guam.

Donny Feliciano Rojo
Seattle, WA
2016

Donny technically manages engineering teams in new to market products, integrating computer vision systems and proximity sensing technologies. He’s currently a Sr. Technology Program Manager at Amazon Lab126, researching and developing new technologies into market launch readiness. He owns the end to end technology roadmap adoption of advanced camera vision systems and new to market proximity sensors into future consumer products.

Jhett Tolentino
New York, NY
2016

A 3-time Tony and Grammy Award-winning entertainment producer based in new York City.

Recipient of both The Outstanding Young Men and Women (TOYM) and the Presidential Award in the Philippines. Named one of the 75 Most Influential Filipino Americans for the last 4 straight years and The Outstanding Filipinos in America (TOFA) in the United States.

His FYLPRO legacy project “Life Is What You Make It”, a short documentary had won in 11 countries. He produced the multi-awarded feature film “Lingua Franca”. He will be making his feature directorial debut in the romantic comedy “Asian Persuasion” which will be shot in NYC in Summer 2022.

Freddy Anzures
San Francisco, CA
2015

Freddy is a designer in the Human Interface Group at Apple. He has been granted various patents as an inventor and collaborator on Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch since 2004. Freddy also provides design and art direction for music as creative director of Wax Poetics magazine. Freddy is interested in building relationships with art, design, and music programs as well as cultural institutions in the Philippines in an effort to bring awareness of traditional and a definition of contemporary Filipino style. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Jessica Caloza
Los Angeles, CA
2015

Jessica M. Caloza, Commissioner, Board of Public Works, City of Los Angeles Jessica Caloza is a Commissioner on the Board of Public Works in the City of Los Angeles. She was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in February and confirmed by City Council in March 2019. She is the first Filipina American to serve on the Board. Previously, Jessica served as Mayor Garcetti’s Director of Scheduling since 2017, overseeing the Mayor’s entire scheduling operation — including strategic planning, day-to-day logistics, and coordination with various Departments and agencies. She also served as Deputy Director of Scheduling, and came to the Mayor’s Executive Office from the Office of Immigrant Affairs, where she managed policy proposals, grant programs, and civic engagement initiatives focused on expanding access to resources for immigrant communities. Prior to joining the Garcetti Administration, Jessica served in the Obama Administration in the U.S. Department of Education — where she worked on Congressional and legislative affairs, student data and privacy, immigration policy, and gender equity issues. She has also been a campaign aide to several members of Congress for their reelection campaigns, including former Rep. Xavier Becerra of California; former Rep. Mike Honda of California; and Rep. Albio Sires of New Jersey. In 2012, she was a community organizer for President Obama’s reelection campaign in Virginia and helped lead various field offices. Outside of government, Jessica is active in the Asian American and Filipino American community. She serves on the Leadership Council for the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE). In 2014, she was also selected as one of ten delegates for the Filipino Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro), a national leadership program led by the Ambassador of the Philippines. Jessica previously served on the boards of KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress, the FYLPro Executive Committee, and the Philippine Humanitarian Coalition. A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, Jessica is a proud first-generation immigrant and lives in Historic Filipino town with her husband, Matt, and their cat.

Jennifer Acosta Coliflores
Boston, MA
2015

Jennifer is a staff attorney with the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services Public Defender Division. She also serves as a volunteer and vice president for the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation Board of Directors. Jennifer is active in the Fil-Am community in the New England area and is the elected Vice-Chairwoman for the Philippine-American Mainstream Advocacy for Nonpartisan Associations (PAMANA). Jennifer also worked for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as special assistant to Lt. Governor Kerry Healey. Jennifer received her J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island and her B.A. from Colby College in Waterville, Maine where she founded the Colby Filipino Club.

Anna Marie Cruz
Los Angeles, CA
2015

An economic development professional with experience in technical assistance, capital/funding, and capacity-building programming, Anna Marie enjoys building entrepreneurship ecosystems that helps communities thrive. Prior to economic development, Anna Marie began her career in real estate finance at a family owned business, followed by corporate roles at AmTrust Bank and Chase Bank, and internships/consultancies at Nestle Beverage, Ashoka Latin America, Medtronic, and the International Labour Organisation (a UN agency). During her consultancy with ILO, she worked with weavers of the CoTu community in Central Vietnam, which would inspire her career in entrepreneurship development. Upon returning to the U.S., Anna Marie became a Business Coach at Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and API Small Business Program. Recognizing that business owners’ greatest need is capital, she transitioned into mission-based lending with a focus on getting capital to businesses that are non-bankable. Concurrently, while building Entrepinayship, she also runs a national executive training program at ICIC. Anna Marie completed her MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and graduated cum laude from CSU Long Beach.

Ty Cullen
Honolulu, HI
2015

Representative Ty J. K. Cullen is no stranger to public service and has always worked diligently for the community. Before being elected in 2010 as the State Representative of House District 39 – Village Park, Royal Kunia, Waipahu, Makakilo, West Loch, Ewa and Honouliuli, he served as program coordinator and case manager for a local non-profit that helps youth and families involved with the family court system. Representative Cullen became involved with government to serve a larger population. In the State House, he currently serves as Chair of the Committee on Legislative Management, Vice Chair of the Committee on Finance, and as a member of the Committees on Housing and Transportation. He previously served his Leeward/Central Oahu community as a member on the Waipahu Neighborhood Board and as director for the Village Park Community Association, and was recently inducted into the Order of the Knights of Rizal – Aloha Chapter. Representative Cullen holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology and Political Science, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration. He is the proud father of his one-year-old son, Connor, who inspires him to continue to work hard for his community.

Kevin Nuesa Gabayan
Sunnyvale, CA
2015

Kevin is the CEO and cofounder of Plentina, a startup building services and technologies to increase access to financial services in emerging markets. He previously founded a team at Google building for emerging market financial inclusion, and was a machine learning software engineer in Android’s activity recognition team. He was a student researcher at NASA Ames and led data science at Bump Technologies when it was acquired by Google in 2013. He holds four patents in mobile data and interaction, is all-but-thesis for the Stanford electrical engineering PhD, and holds a Stanford MS and UCLA BS in electrical engineering.

Angelo de Guzman Ignacio
Seattle, WA
2015

Marketing specialist for World Vision USA, an international Christian humanitarian organization that provides disaster relief in countries such as Nepal, Sierra Leone, Syria and the Philippines. Worked as a staff member at Invisible Children and contributed to efforts that secured the passing of two legislative bills that mandated the disarmament of warlord Joseph Kony. Angelo has participated in the AIDS LifeCycle, a 600-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles held to raise support for AIDS/HIV services. Originally from Los Angeles, he graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.

Mark Jimenez
Washington, DC
2015

Mark is a former Legislative Aide for U.S. California Representative, Congressman Ami Bera, where he advised on policy issues regarding higher education, housing, law enforcement, civil rights, voter protection, and Asian American Pacific Islander outreach. He was a field organizer for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in Las Vegas, Nevada where he registered, persuaded, and motivated thousands of voters to reelect the president. Mark graduated from UCLA with a Bachelors in International Development focusing on South East Asia and the Philippines. In August, he will begin his Masters in Public Policy at UC Berkeley with a fellowship through the Public Policy International Affairs Program.

Nicole Adrienne Ponseca
Brooklyn, NY
2015

Nicole is a restaurateur and owner of Maharlika Filipino Moderno. She is recognized for her excellent food + service and received numerous awards and acknowledgments to include Best Restaurant, Best Burger, Best Seafood, Bayani Award by the Filipino American Historical National Society and the Distinguished Woman of 2015 Award by the Philippine Consulate. She is rated #6 in Zagat’s Restaurant Power Player list. Previously she was a former advertising and production executive for Saatchi & Saatchi. Nicole attended the University of San Francisco earning her B.A. in Business Administration.

James Beard Award Finalist, Nicole Ponseca, is best known for bringing Filipino food to the American mainstream. First with Maharlika then with Jeepney, Ponseca is a pioneer in exposing discerning New York diners to Filipino flavors. The popularity of her two restaurants translated into a best-selling debut cookbook called “I Am a Filipino” published by Artisan and received a James Beard Award nomination for Best International Cookbook in 2019. It’s also on to the best cookbook lists of 2019 by The New Yorker, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, Houston Chronicle, Food52, PopSugar, and more. Ponseca has made appearances on NBC News, Beat Bobby Flay, Chopped, Worth It, Munchies, Tasty, Zagat and was featured in the documentary ULAM: Main Dish. Born in Philly and raised in San Diego, she spent 20+ years in New York City. She is a graduate of the University of San Francisco. In her past life, she was an advertising executive working with Fortune 500 clients by day. At night, she was hustling as a restaurant hostess-server-bartender, determined to learn as much as she could about the restaurant business. Her first solo foray into the restaurant scene began with a wildly successful series of pop-up engagements when the concept of a pop-up was still brand new to most people. Fast forward a few years later and Ponseca was one of the 1.3% of female-owned businesses that exceeded multi-million in revenue. (as estimated by the NY Times). Rarer still is her position and success as a woman and person of color in a male dominated industry.

Currently Ponseca has branched out into meal kits delivering her signature dishes to her loyal customer base in the Tri State Area with plans to expand into grocery stores in the near future. She also launched a fast casual version of Jeepney in Miami, marking her first expansion effort outside of New York City at Miami’s brand new 1-800 Lucky, a 10,000 square feet food hall in Miami’s Wynwood district. I Am a Filipino is in its third printing.

Lakhi Mangharam Siap
Chicago IL
2015

Lakhi Mangharam Siap is well known for his passion of community building and connecting the diaspora of next generation Filipino American leaders back to the Philippines. He has been organizing cultural immersion programs and trade missions since 2013 and regularly gives workshops in various US Universities on Filipino American identity and the need for Asian American executive leadership and representation across various industries. In 2016 he took on the role of serving as the Immersion Program director of FYLPRO. He also serves as an adviser for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the Kaya Collaborative (Kayaco) & the Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce (FPACC). He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois and regularly travels between US and the Philippines. He is the managing partner for the Chicago Asian Network, a multicultural marketing and PR agency and is a partner at a cyber security firm, Pacific Cyber Security.

Edward Aparis
Chula Vista, California
2014

Currently in philanthropy, fundraising and stewarding for one of the largest and impactful environmental land conservation organizations in the U.S., The Trust for Public Land (TPL – www.tpl.org ). There we promote and sustain the organization’s engagement with donors, partners, and the larger public throughout the country around our land-for-people mission, access to public green spaces, climate resiliency, and equity.

Also completed a four year advisory role with Southeast Asia’s leader in geospatial solutions and products, ESRI Singapore, creating a continuous city to city diplomatic exchange with the City of San Diego and Singapore of best practices in sustainability and climate resiliency practices using GIS and geospatial data. Now with partners in the geospatial field in Singapore and San Diego, looking to expand to include more Californian cities and counterparts in Southeast Asia such as ESRI Indonesia. Hoping such exchanges can include the Philippines in the near future. ESRI, based in Redlands, California, is the global leader in the geospatial world with their ArcGIS platform.

Last, re-launched his consulting practice of Strands Group (strandsgrp.com ) which seeks to help companies and public sector organizations to connect public policy, business management and analysis in the geospatial field throughout the Pacific Rim, including Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and California.

Ryyn (Chua) Schumacher
Gardena, California
2014

Ryyn Schumacher is the National Executive Director for the Federation of the Philippine American Chambers of Commerce overseeing over 43 chambers nationwide. From Seattle to Philadelphia, Chicago to Houston, Ryyn plans, develops, and implements national activities for all chambers to participate, most notably the FPACC National Conference and the Philippine Trade Mission. With over 400 participants in the business conference and major sponsor like Morgan Stanley and Ayalaland, Ryyn leads FPACC to bring together Filipino American entrepreneurs, business leaders, and government officials to create a national business community. In a cumulative total of over 150 delegates, Ryyn has actively lead the FPACC Trade Mission to the Philippines meeting with Vice President, Leni Robledo, and participating in the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s annual Philippine Business Conference. When not actively working for the Filipino community, Ryyn is a Project Director for the County of Contra Costa Public Health Department working with policy makers, councilmembers, mayors, and Board of Supervisors to pass health policies throughout the county. Most notably, Ryyn plays a key role in curbing the vaping epidemic that is ravaging youth nationwide. Ryyn received his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Currently, he and his husband, JP, are focused on becoming parents as they plan on adopting a baby this year.

Rommel Clemente
Milpitas, California
2014

Milpitas, California. Rommel is a licensed CPA and M&A Transaction Services manager in Deloitte’s Silicon Valley office. He has experience and expertise in M&A financial due diligence, accounting advisory services (including IPO S-1 filings), and financial statement audits in the technology, manufacturing, and life sciences industries for start-ups, F1000 companies, and multi-billion dollar private equity firms. Originally from Seattle, he is a magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Washington. Rommel previously served as a financial educator through AmeriCorps and advises Nevada Fil-Am non-profits on tax and financial matters.

Adette Contreras
Brooklyn, New York
2014

Manila-born, Chicago-raised, and now Brooklyn-based, Adette C. Contreras is a graphic designer by trade and an entrepreneur by design. She serves as Co-founder & CEO of Tinsel Experiential Design and Founder & CEO of In Wild Pursuit. Started nine years ago, Tinsel Experiential Design creates immersive events. Tinsel has scaled from a bootstrapped kitchen-table operation to a multimillion-dollar company, achieving a level that only 4% of businesses have reached. With Tinsel’s immense growth, she found herself consulting for other business owners; her second company was born. In Wild Pursuit, now in its third year, is a creative and business consultancy that focuses on business strategy, branding & design, and business therapy for purpose-led entrepreneurs. Adette is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program by Babson University. She has completed two executive education programs at Harvard Business School for Leading High Growth Businesses. Currently, she’s taking executive education certificate courses for Social Innovation Design at the University of Pennsylvania. She unwinds in the closest pool hall, ceramics studio, or book. A lifelong learner, Adette has so far acquired 5 languages with varying degrees of ease, ranging from speaking fluently to restaurant-ly: Tagalog, English, Spanish, French, and Swedish–in that order.

Michael Dahilig
Lihue, Hawaii
2014

Lihue, Hawaii. Michael currently serves as Managing Director for the County of Kauai in Hawaii, the youngest individual in the County to be appointed to that position. He was formerly Planning Director and a Deputy County Attorney for the Kauai County. He volunteers as legal counsel at the Kauai Filipino Chamber of Commerce, Kauai Philippine Cultural Center and Honolulu Filipino Junior Chamber of Commerce. He was also Vice Chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and a Board Member of the Sariling Gawa Youth Council. Michael served in the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, where he graduated with a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning and a BS with honors in Geology and Geophysics and minor in Political Science.

Rafael Diokno
Washington, D.C
2014

Washington, D.C. RJ serves as Project Lead at SGT, Inc. and currently supports an environmental satellite program at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center in Maryland. In addition, he is involved with trade and investment in the Philippines and across APEC regions. His community involvement has spanned leadership and advisory positions with the Filipino Young Professionals (FYP) – DC, Philippine American Chamber of Commerce (PACC) – DC, and the Philippine Humanitarian Coalition (PHC). He also served as City Co-curator for NextDayBetter+DC’s inaugural event in 2015 focused on change-makers from diaspora communities in Washington, DC. RJ has an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MS in Information Systems and BA in Psychology from George Washington University.

Abbey Eusebio
Lincolnwood, Illinois
2014

Abbey Eusebio is a Community Outreach Liaison for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and travels throughout the state to inform Illinois residents of the office’s services. An area of focus for her outreach is working with the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community. Previously, for fourteen years she was a Constituent Advocate for Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky having directly assisted constituents with the issues they had at various federal agencies. Abbey has served on several boards of nonprofit organizations in the Chicagoland area that aid and empower the immigrant community and concentrate on early childhood education. She serves as National Secretary for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) whose goal is to promote the welfare and wellbeing of Filipinos and Filipino Americans through advocacy and education. Abbey served on the board for Childcare Network of Evanston, CIRCA-Pintig, and the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE).

Jan Paul Ferrer
Tinley Park, Illinois
2014

Tinley Park, Illinois. Jan Paul is currently Associate Vice President at Morgan Stanley. He also serves as President of the Tinley Park Frankfort Rotary Club, where he oversees its daily operations and the delivery of its local projects. He is also a member of the Philippine Engineer and Scientist Organization, 10,000 Kwentos at the Field Museum, UP Alumni Association of Greater Chicago, Filipino American Network, and International Society of Filipinos in Finance and Accounting. Jan Paul graduated from Robert Morris University.

Ryan Letada
New York, New York
2014

Ryan Letada is CEO and Founder of NextDayBetter – a new media company that exists to rebrand migration. They tell untold stories of migrant communities and provide technology-enabled pathways for them to take collective action. Watch INTERSECTIONS: https://nextdaybetter.com/intersectionsph/ Their agency arm, NextDayBetter Studios, partners with mission-aligned brands such as AARP and Mailchimp to launch award-winning campaigns that engage multicultural, immigrant communities. They have told migrant stories related to veterans caregiving, LGBT rights, inclusive entrepreneurship, shame-free sex education, and more. Ryan is a Fulbright Fellow, Posse Foundation Scholar, and Google NextGen Policy Fellow. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Wheaton College Massachusetts.

Jason Tengco
Washington, D.C
2014

Jason Tengco has a decade of experience in community organizing and public service working for the White House, Congress, political campaigns, and non-profit organizations. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the youngest-ever Executive Director of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the largest national organization focused on advocating for the more than four million Filipinos in the United States. In 2016, Jason worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign as the National Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Director and helped her win 79% of the AAPI vote: the highest of any presidential candidate in recorded history. From 2012 to 2016, Jason worked for the White House Initiative on AAPIs under President Obama and was appointed as Deputy Director in 2015. Throughout his career, Jason has participated in fellowships with the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies in the office of former Congressman Mike Honda, Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute, LGBTQ Victory Institute, Filipino Young Leaders Program, New Leaders Council, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Center for Progressive Leadership, and Public Policy and International Affairs Program. Jason graduated from UCLA with honors with a B.A. in Political Science and is currently pursuing his Master’s in Public Affairs at the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

Julien A. Baburka
Bloomingdale, Illinois
2013

Julien is currently at the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority as a project manager. Previously, she worked for the Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority and for the non-profit Alliance For Children’s Rights as a project coordinator that helped foster youth ages 16-24 find opportunities in continuing education and employment. Her past experience is from the political realm, serving as a field organizer on the Obama For America 2008 Presidential campaign in North Carolina and working for former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn as a policy advisor. A project she has worked on with FYLPRO delegates was a dual-citizenship initiative to gain interest in the Midwest and East cost. Julien has a Bachelors in History and Political Science from the University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Originally from Illinois, she currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

Nico Barawid
Memphis, Tennessee
2013

Memphis, Tennessee. Graduate of Yale University (with honors) in Economics and currently pursuing Master of Public Policy at the University of Oxford; Served as president of KASAMA, Yale’s Filipino student association; Delegate to Climate Change conferences and founder of organization to fight environmental exploitation; Will start work at the European Investment Bank this summer and in management consulting at the Boston Consulting Group in Miami in September.

Rex C. Brown, Jr.
Daly City, California
2013

Daly City, California. Product Associate at Google Inc., where he actively takes part in the company’s mentoring programs to promote Information Technology and Research & Development among the youth; founded Baskets 4 Hope, a nonprofit organization that empowers inner-city youth through athletic events and mentoring services; graduated from San Diego State University, summa cum laude.

Randy J. Cortez
Honolulu, Hawaii
2013

Honolulu, Hawaii. Program Specialist at the US State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations in Honolulu; Current president of the JCI Hawaii Filipino Junior Chamber, where he was a Presidential Merit awardee; member of Knights of Rizal, Hawaii Chapter; Fulbright-Hays scholar, Phi Beta Kappa (honor society); and Dean’s List at the University of Hawaii.

Anthony D. Guevara
Houston, Texas
2013

Anthony Guevara is an award-winning licensed Senior Loan Officer in the mortgage banking industry. He currently serves as Region 6 Chair for NaFFAA (National Federation of Filipino American Associations) serving Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma; Youth Chair for the US Pinoys for Good Governance (US4GG) Region 6 ; Vice- Chair for the Filipino American Caucus for Empowerment (FACE) and Board of Director for the Philippine- American Chamber of Commerce of Texas- Houston. He was also instrumental in helping establish and founding several organizations such as: the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS)- Houston chapter; Filipinx Artists of Houston; Filipino Young Professionals; Filipino Disaster Relief Task Force (FDRT)/ OFFER- (Offer of Filipinos & Friends for Emergency Relief) who has helped victims of natural disasters in the Philippines and those affected by Hurricanes such as Katrina, Rita and Harvey; a founder of the Houston Rockets Filipino Heritage Night and the youngest member to be elected to serve in several positions with Houston’s umbrella organization consisting of over sixty Filipino- American associations- The Filipino American Council of South Texas (FACOST).

Melissa A. (Medina) Dargan
Washington, D.C
2013

Melissa Dargan is a former Congressional House staffer turned tech entrepreneur. She is the Co-founder of TourTrackr.com, a platform that digitizes the tour management process for Members of Congress. While on-boarding staff during quarantine, Melissa also got many personal finance questions. Realizing staff did not have great financial resources on Capitol Hill, she created Congre$$: A Personal Finance YouTube Series for Congressional Staff interested in money tips. Prior to her current role, she started her political career working in Congress both in the personal office and then House Foreign Affairs Committee. After almost 5 years on Capitol Hill, Melissa left government and was part of a two-person team that launched the Congressional App Challenge (CAC). In 2018 she earned an MBA from Yale School of Management and completed her B.A. in Political Science and B.S. in Business Administration at UC Berkeley.

Rachelle Peraz Ocampo EdM
Levittown, NY
2013

Rachelle Ocampo, EdM, currently leads public health initiatives through fundraising and communications in the Asian American community as the Associate Director of Development at the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. She is also a Producer and Lead Co-Host for Makilala TV, the first Filipino American TV Talk Show in the NY metro area and a Public Relations Consultant for Niwa PR. Her passion for women’s health and reproductive justice is shown through her active leadership as part of the Board of Directors for Roots of Health, a nonprofit that provides health education and free reproductive services to the women and families in Palawan, Philippines. Her reputable track record in the Filipino community also stems from her various leadership roles within Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro). She earned a B.S. in Health Services Administration at St. John’s University and earned her EdM in Science and the Public from SUNY University at Buffalo. Follow her and her passions: @rockyrach16 @makilalatv @cbwchc @rootsofhealth @unipronow

Bea Rico
Seattle, WA
2013

Head of Supply Chain Management for New Shepard Program at Blue Origin. Bea leads the supply chain team for Blue Origin’s vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing, human-rated suborbital rocket program, New Shepard. Blue Origin is owned and led by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Prior to Blue Origin, led the supply chain team at Scaled Composites, an experimental aerospace company most known for SpaceShipOne and Stratolaunch. She also held leadership positions at the Port of Seattle, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin in the areas of strategic planning, program management, business development, and finance. She interned at the White House and California State Senator Betty Karnette. Community service is important to Bea and contributes her time at church and Puget Sound Filipino organizations. She is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Airports Council International, and the American Association of Airport Executives. She received a business degree at the George Washington University and an engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Universidad de Zaragoza International Logistics & Supply Chain Program. She also completed advanced studies at Stanford University in Advanced Project Management.

Dennis G. Rodriguez, Jr.
Tamuning, Guam
2013

Tamuning, Guam. Second-term as a senator in the Guam Legislature, where he is the Legislature’s Majority Whip and chairman of the Committee on Health and Human Services, Health Insurance Reform, Economic Development and Senior Citizens; previously served as research analyst at the Committee on Municipal Affairs, Aviation, Housing and Recreation; graduate of the University of Guam.

Edward N. Santos
New York, New York
2013

Edward Santos is a strategist and a seasoned project manager residing in New York, New York. Currently, Edward works in the Practice Group of 2U, where he supports the building and management of technology that enables the best learning outcomes for students enrolled in 2U-powered programs. Edward has a Bachelor’s in Statistics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a Master’s of Science in Teaching in Mathematics at Pace University. In his spare time, he enjoys CrossFit, soccer, and volunteering. Learn more about Edward at www.edwardnsantos.com

Melissa Apuya
California
2012

Melissa Apuya is the District Director for California Assemblymember Marc Levine, who represents Marin and Sonoma Counties. She has over thirteen years of policy and community experience working in the California State Legislature for elected representatives throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Melissa was born and raised on the island of Guam. After graduating from high school, she moved to California to attend the University of San Francisco, where she earned a degree in International Studies. Melissa serves on the County of Sonoma Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Advisory Board, and is also on the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Institute of Marin. In 2012, Melissa was selected to be part of the inaugural class of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), a network of high-performing, next-generation leaders in Filipino communities across the United States. She was also recently named one of the North Bay’s Forty Under 40 by the North Bay Business Journal.

Louella Rose Cabalona
Chicago, IL
2012

Louella Cabalona is the lead singer and Co-Founder of SamaSama Project, a Filipino folk fusion band she started in 2008 to encourage local musicians to play and propagate authentic Filipino music in Chicagoland. She is a newscaster on Chicago Philippine Reports Television broadcast on Chicago Cable 25 on WOW, RCN, and Comcast Cable throughout Chicagoland and writes for Via Times News Magazine about local happenings, celebrity features, Filipino culture, food and travel. Before moving to Illinois, Louella worked as a musical theater actress for Repertory Philippines and Tanghalang Pilipino in Manila and Theaterworks in Singapore. She also dabbled in Philippine Television acting in soap operas, the Knowledge Channel TV shows and ABS-CBN’s Star Studio Presents. If you lived in Manila in the early 2000s, you may recognize her in the widely popular Selecta Sundae “Jolex” andLucky Me Spicy Hot Mami TV commercials Over the years, she has sang and performed in many concerts, festivals and stages in the Midwest including the Windy City Ribfest, Oak Park Thursday Night Outs and even World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. An active community leader, she and husband Baron has been holding workshops and providing opportunities for kids and teens to learn how to sing in Tagalog, Waray and other Philippine languages. Louella’s current goal is to partner with local Film Festivals to bring Filipino made movies into the mainstream audiences starting with the Signal Rock Fundraiser held last October 2019, a fundraiser that raised over $2000 for FYLPRO. A Senior Architect for Platform Business Product – Big Data in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (HCSC), she serves as Board of Director for the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Chicago (PACCGC), Asian Popup Cinema, Filipino Musicians of Chicago (FMOC), Midwest Pilipino American Coalition (MPAC) and FYLPRO. She is passionate about sharing Filipino culture in the modern world and actively supports all outstanding Filipinos around the globe. If you would like to connect, email [email protected]

JR Calanoc
San Francisco, CA
2012

JR Calanoc is founder and CEO of Panalo, a business process services firm that provides software development, graphic design, and call center support to US companies through Philippine-based talent. Panalo supports a broad customer base of hundreds of US companies. The company is also heavily invested in driving awareness of the expertise and skills found in the Philippines and frequently sponsors and speaks at industry events on this topic. JR is also a co-founder of Kala Coworking, a San Francisco-based 10,000 square feet coworking / office space focused on incubating Filipino and FilAm startups. Prior to Panalo, JR spent eight years in the financial services industry with US Bank as the Assistant Vice President and as Director of Business Development for Rendition Digital. He received a Bachelor of Economics from the University of San Francisco. Outside of work, JR currently serves as the 2019 FYLPRO president where he and the executive committee are focused on driving alumni engagement, FYLPRO immersion program, and sponsorships. JR enjoys staying active and is a private pilot, scuba diver instructor, and 3-time Ironman Finisher.

Gregory Cendana
Washington, DC
2012

Dancer, Strategist and Entrepreneur Gregory Cendana is President and co-founder of Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting, Chief Creative Officer of Greg Dances and co-founder of The People’s Collective for Justice and Liberation. He was the first openly gay and youngest-ever Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership & Advancement. Gregory was also first openly gay Chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, co-founder of the diversity initiative Inclusv, and serves on the board of directors for United We Dream as Treasurer and 18 Million Rising as Chair. He co-authored Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) Behind Bars: Exposing the School to Prison to Deportation Pipeline, a first of its kind report on the impact of mass incarceration and mass criminalization in the AAPI community. Gregory was President of the United States Student Association (USSA), where he played an integral role in the passage of the Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act and Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act.

Gregory is also a graduate of the Rockwood Leadership Institute, the Management Center’s Managing to Change the World, the Midwest Academy’s Organizing for Social Change, Training for Change’s Training of Trainers, Spitfire’s Executive Training Program, Center for Story Based Strategy’s Advanced Training and re:power’s Political Training Program. Prior to his current role on the Board of Pharmacy, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also appointed him to serve on the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs after he served a two year term on the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Advisory Committee under the leadership of Mayor Vince Gray. Gregory also co-founded the Washington Highlands Civic Association and served as its Vice President. He has been named one of Washington DC’s most influential 40-and-under young leaders, one of the 30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30, 40 Influential Asian Americans in Washington, DC’s Inaugural Power 30 Under 30™ Award Recipients and the “Future of DC Politics”. In his spare time, Gregory enjoys singing karaoke, choreographing dances and trying new recipes.

Alexander De Ocampo

2012

Senior Program and Project Manager of Saban Family Foundation and Saban Capital Group Corporate Affairs. First Filipino American elected as President of California College Democrats and California Young Democrats. Member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Asian Americans Pacifics in Entertainment. Former member of the California Advisory Board on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency. Graduated from California State University, Northridge.

Angela Cabellon

2012

Senior Analyst at the Office of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. Founded Maryland Democratic Party’s Asian American/Pacific Islander Leadership Council. Recently elected as delegate to the Democratic National Convention to represent Maryland Congressional District 7. Recognized with a Philippine American Foundation for Charities Dakila Achievement Award for Public Service. At the University of Maryland, where she graduated, served as first Asian American female to become Student Body President following stint as President of the Asian American Student Union. Obtained her Master’s degree at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she started the Religion, Ethics & Public Policy Interest Caucus and was a member of the Diversity Committee.

Francine Maigue

2012

Francine has been recognized as “The Face of Global Pinay Power” and as “1 of the 100 Most Influential Filipinas in the World.” In 2020, she was included in San Diego Metro Magazine’s “Top 40 under 40” selected as “Woman of the Year.”

She graduated with her Master’s in Management from Harvard University and her Bachelor’s in World Arts & Cultures from UCLA. She received awards from both including the Commencement Speaker Prize, Young Humanitarian, Outstanding Senior, Chancellor’s Service, Woman for Change, and Homecoming Queen Awards.

She is an accomplished performer & director. She studied the Royal Academy of Dancing technique, receiving High Honors. Francine danced at The Kennedy Center, The Lincoln Center and The Seoul Olympic Stadium, to name a few. She’s contributed to multiple Emmy Award-winning shows and was the Director and Choreographer of the World Premiere Theatrical Production of Disney’s MOANA.

She is in her eighth year as District Director for California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, tenaciously working to develop and sustain programs and events that help ensure equity, inclusivity and resources for all of their ~500,000 constituents. Francine is in her 12th year as a weekly columnist for The Filipino Press and is the Poet-in-Residence for New Americans Museum, advocating for immigrant rights through her art.

Steven Raga
New York, NY
2012

Steven Raga currently works as the Executive Director for Woodside on the Move, a 45-year old advocacy and education non-profit in NYC. Most recently, he served as Northeast Regional Manager for Policy & Advocacy for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Chief of Staff at the NY State Legislature, Campaign Manager for Assemblyman Brian Barnwell, and was previously Senior Strategist for Multicultural Leadership at AARP. Currently, he is also a NY State Advisory Committee Member for the US Federal Commission on Civil Rights, appointed under President Obama, where he has conducted investigations on housing, policing, education, and prison reform. He also currently sits on the boards of Queens LGBT Pride, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), and Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro) which he founded in Woodside in 2009. Steven also holds appointments as a Member of NYC Community Board and the Queens District Attorney Advisory Commission.

Steven is currently completing Cornell University S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management’s and Weill Cornell Medicine’s Dual MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership program and an Executive Certificate in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice. He holds an MPA from the Baruch School of Public Affairs via the National Urban Fellow Program, a Graduate Diploma in International Human Rights Law from the American University in Cairo, a Masters in Public Policy & B.A. in Political Science from Stony Brook University, and recently graduated from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program.

Michael Vea

2012

Dr. Michael Vea is a Strategy & Instructional Support Officer at the San Diego Unified School District, co-leading the design of California’s first-of-its-kind prenatal to 12th grade public Montessori school. In 2020, earned his doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University.

Kit (Zulueta) Furukawa
Maui, Hawaii
2012

After more than 15 years of doing organization and creative work for the public and private sectors, Kit now operates Kit Zulueta Productions LLC full-time, and provides business solutions to start-ups and nonprofits. Prior to her current role, she was the Marketing Director for the University of Hawaii Maui College, Communication Director for the Maui County Council and Deputy Chief of Staff to Maui County Mayor’s Office. She also worked in Hawaii Public Television (PBS Hawaii) and served as an executive assistant to a Philippine senator. Kit is a Ka Ipu Kukui 2015 fellow and was a former president of the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce, where she continues to serve on the board. She also serves on the board of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Hawaii and the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui. She occasionally writes for the FilAm Courier and owns and operates Mystery Maui Escape Room.