For Immediate Release
Media Contact: communications@fylpro.org
August 4, 2025
Filipino Young Leaders Program’s Tayo Awarded Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) 2025 AAPI Community Impact Award
SEATTLE – Filipino Young Leaders Program’s Tayo was awarded the 2025 AAPI Community Impact Award by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) at the organization’s annual convention gala in Seattle, Washington on August 2, 2025.
According to AAJA, “this award recognizes journalism and journalists that amplify and make space for the AAPI community, with a special focus on solutions and impact.” Other previous winners of this award include: Asian Media Initiative at the CUNY Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and The Very Asian Foundation.
Tayo cofounders Leezel Tanglao, Mark Calaguas and Donny Rojo were on hand to receive the award.
“It’s an honor to receive this recognition for the work we’ve done to increase public health and media literacy by meeting the community where they are at,” said Tayo cofounder and Project Director Leezel Tanglao. “To be among peers and other storytellers and journalists, it’s given us inspiration to keep innovating and collaborating across multidisciplinary spaces.”
The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a membership nonprofit advancing diversity in newsrooms and ensuring fair and accurate coverage of communities of color. AAJA has more than 1,500 members across the United States and Asia.
Tayo, a project of FYLPRO, is an innovative data hub that empowers Filipinx/a/o communities by collecting data, fostering partnerships, publishing culturally relevant insights, and developing leaders to create an equitable and sustainable future.
Tayo was developed by FYLPRO’s COVID-19 Task Force in the Fall of 2020 in response to the ongoing pandemic and to tackle the specific needs of Filipinos in the diaspora and back home. It was also known as the Caretaker project. The current help desk has expanded to encompass information that pertains to Filipinos worldwide beyond COVID-19.
Today, Tayo has participated and led research projects and studies around mental health, heart health and vaccine hesitancy. In addition, Tayo works to continue to combat misinformation by publishing explainers and fact checks.
Currently, Tayo is a member of the Asian American Disinfo Table (anchored by NCAPA), Tiny News Collective and NHLBI’s Healthy Hearts Network.
About Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO)
FILIPINO YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAM (FYLPRO) is a network of high performing, next-generation leaders who advance the Philippines and the Filipino people through their advocacy and expertise in various industries.
We continually expand the pipeline of Filipino young leaders in the diaspora. By connecting them to the motherland, we foster collaborative multinational relationships that create innovations and support the socio-economic progress of the global Filipino community.
For more information, visit http://www.fylpro.org
About Tayo
Tayo, a project of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), is an innovative data hub that empowers Filipinx/a/o communities by collecting data, fostering partnerships, publishing culturally relevant insights, and developing leaders to create an equitable and sustainable future.
For more information, visit tayohelp.com.
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