Cohorts
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Christian Aniciete
Beaverton, OR
Christian Aniciete is a story of firsts. Among them, Christian was the first to establish the social media marketing program at Oregon’s most diverse university, the first in his family to graduate with a business degree and give the commencement address and was the inaugural social media manager for the Port of Portland and Portland International Airport, “America’s Best Airport.” An accomplished, award-winning Filipino American immigrant, Christian brings over a decade of experience across the public and private sectors. His unwavering commitment to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community, particularly advancing the Filipino American people, has been a guiding force throughout his work.
For more than a decade, Christian has held various leadership roles, using his voice to make spaces more accessible, inclusive, and better than he found them. Christian was the founding co-chair of the AANHPI Employee Resource Groups for two of Oregon’s largest employers. He has been a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA) for over 15 years, serving as the inaugural Vice-President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a former Vice-President of Communications, and currently Co-President of the AMA’s award-winning Portland chapter. He also co-chairs the AMA’s Marketing for a Better World affinity group, a global network of marketers and communicators dedicated to using the power of marketing for good. Christian’s leadership is deeply influenced by his early involvement in Kaibigan, the Filipino American Student Association at Portland State University (PSU), and the Northwest Filipino American Student Alliance. He continues to mentor young professionals through the PSU School of Business and The Contingent’s SINE (Survival Is Not Enough) program and leads as President of API Forward, a nonprofit focused on the education and leadership advancement of AANHPI leaders, which has awarded over $50,000 in scholarships to AANHPI youth. A relentless passionate community organizer, Christian also volunteers with the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon and Partners in Diversity and organizes Michael Jackson Thriller flash mobs every fall to bring the community together over the joy of dance and raise funds for local charities.
Christian holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and advertising and an MBA from Portland State University. Christian’s compassionate and service-centered heart extends to his current professional work as a public affairs and communications coordinator for Washington County, Oregon’s most diverse county, while supporting the small business mission of the Portland Community College Small Business Development Center. His contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including the Portland Trail Blazers’ Hometown Hero Award, the President’s Diversity Award, and recognition as a Rising Star in Marketing.
Michael Baliton
Denver, CO
Michael Baliton is a 4th year medical student at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis and a Master’s of Science in Global Health at the University of California, San Francisco. He was born and raised in the Bay Area, California and traces his cultural roots back to Negros Occidental and Eastern Samar. Michael is invested in providing healthcare to underserved patients and communities. He has served as a leader and mentor through several organizations and initiatives focused on serving the needs of the Filipino community such as Bayanihan Clinic, Mabuhay Health Center, and the Filipinx Association for Health Careers (FAHC) at UC Davis.
His scholarly work focuses on understanding and addressing the barriers that Filipino and Filipino-American patients face regarding cancer screening, treatment, and surveillance. Michael was awarded the Robinson-Durst Global Health Scholarship to support his research in partnership with the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). As a member of the UP Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee, he is dedicated to the development of the Philippines’ national colorectal cancer control program.
Michael is a visionary, pioneer, and advocate working toward a more just and equitable world. Beyond his commitment to clinical excellence and nation building, Michael is passionate about music, performing arts, and community engagement.
Angela Rose David
Winnetka, CA
Angela Rose David is a first-generation Filipino American, born and raised in Los Angeles, California, with familial ties to the Philippines (Pulilan, Bulacan, and Naujan, Oriental Mindoro). She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2018 with a BS in Biology and a double minor in Spanish and Public Health. After spending two years interning with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on projects related to public health education and COVID-19 preparedness, she went on to complete a premedical postbaccalaureate program at UCLA followed by a yearlong research fellowship at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Utilizing these experiences, Angela Rose now works full-time at UCLA as the project manager for a lab that explores health disparities affecting the Filipino immigrant population while also pursuing her MPH in Community Health Promotion and Education.
Jessica de Leon
Burlingame, CA
Jessica de Leon is a behavioral neurologist and assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She practices at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center (MAC) and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where she provides clinical care for patients with a range of dementia diagnoses, including Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia, and primary progressive aphasia.
Jessica’s goal is to improve brain health for Filipino Americans and advocate for their dementia-related healthcare needs. Her research lab is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer’s Association. Her studies focus on bilingualism, cross-linguistic studies in dementia, and Filipino American brain health. Through this work, she and her team developed the first cognitive assessment battery for Tagalog speakers in the US, and they have established a Filipino American cohort for observational dementia research. She serves as the founder and lead of the UCSF MAC Filipino Outreach Program, which provides culturally and linguistically tailored education on brain health and dementia.
She is a member of several Filipino American organizations, including the Filipino Service Providers Network and Philippine Medical Society of Northern California. She also has a deep commitment to mentorship of Filipino Americans who are interested in research and healthcare fields.
Jessica earned a BA in Neuroscience and Spanish from the Johns Hopkins University and a medical degree from UCSF, where she also completed her medicine internship, neurology residency, and behavioral neurology fellowship.
Gabriel Kramer
Cleveland, OH
Gabriel Kramer is a Filipino American journalist born and raised in Medina, Ohio. He is a reporter for the NPR station in Cleveland and proudly focuses on issues of race and equity in the region that raised him. He’s a documentary producer for Cleveland’s PBS station and the host of “NewsDepth,” a weekly newscast catered toward elementary school students.
Kramer is the current president of the FANHS (Filipino American National Historical Society) Ohio Chapter and is a proud member of the Asian American Journalists Association.
Back in Cleveland, he’s on the executive committee for the Cleveland Asian Festival. He’s also been a festival emcee for several years. Kramer is also involved with OCA – Asian American Advocates and he volunteers for One World Day, a Cleveland international festival.
On Tuesdays, Kramer hosts bar trivia at the Academy Tavern on Cleveland’s East Side.
Michael Paranal
Oceanside, CA
Michael Constance Paranal is a distinguished finance and legal professional and a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He is admitted to practice law in New York, California, and England & Wales, and his academic background includes a post-law degree from the University of Oxford, a JD/MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School of Business, and a Master of Business Taxation from the University of Southern California (USC).
Michael’s legal career is highlighted by his time as a capital markets attorney for Latham & Watkins in London. He then joined the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, as the only non-European citizen to have the privilege of working in its finance law division, where his expertise in securities regulation earned him the prestigious US- Germany Robert Bosch Fellowship for Transatlantic Alliance. Transitioning from law to leadership, Michael became Director of Advisory for the U.S. operations of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate owner and developer.
He later joined the Finance Team of SpaceX in Hawthorne, California before then joining the National Football League (NFL) – Media team in Los Angeles, in its People, Culture and Business Operations .
Michael is also an award-winning professor at the University of Southern California and holds appointments as the Chief Diversity Officer of the Leventhal School and the Academic Director of its Masters in Business Taxation Program. A true champion of education and mentorship, Michael is the founder of two impactful programs: Guiding Exceptional Minds to Success (GEMS) and Real-World Ready. GEMS, an early-career development program for business students at USC, has mentored over 100 students and facilitated 50 corporate site visits, becoming a cornerstone of human leadership training at USC. Real-World Ready is a financial literacy program that partners with the Los Angeles Police Department to provide crucial financial skills to LAPD cadets and children in vulnerable neighborhoods. The program helps at-risk youth avoid street and gang violence. In 2024, Real World Ready signed a city-wide agreement with the LAPD to expand its reach across all cadet programs in LA.
Michael’s extraordinary work has earned him numerous accolades, including the 2024 recognition from the California State Treasurer’s Office, and praise from national and international organizations, including the National Association of Colleges and Employees and the global magazine Diversity, Inc.
A proud son of Filipino immigrants, Michael draws deep inspiration from his heritage. His parents, originally from Manila, made sacrifices to provide for their family, and their journey shaped Michael’s commitment to service. He credits his work ethic and passion for uplifting others to the resilience he observed in his parents and other Filipinos who move overseas to support their families both locally and back home. Michael’s career reflects a commitment to service, education, and inclusivity, with a focus on creating opportunities for underrepresented communities. He sees his selection as part of FYLPRO as both an honor and a responsibility- to continue to uplift the lives of Filipinos and Filipinos in the diaspora.
Paulo Romeo Geronga Pontemayor
Washington, D.C.
Paulo Romeo Geronga Pontemayor currently serves as Senior Director of Government Relations for the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), the national leadership organization of more than 2,200 Catholic health care systems, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other health organizations — the largest group of nonprofit health care providers in the nation. He also serves as the elected chair emeritus for the Partnership for Medicaid, made up of national organizations representing clinicians, health care providers, safety-net health plans, and counties whose goal is to preserve and improve the Medicaid program.
Prior to his CHA position, he worked at the Joint Commission, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, and as an aide for several members of the U.S. House of Representatives. In each of these positions he has been a national leader in advancing health equity, especially for those living in the U.S. Territories and the Pacific Islands. Paulo has been an invited speaker at national conferences, educational institutions and at policy convenings, including at the White House.
Paulo has an Executive Certificate in Health Care Leadership and Patient Safety from Georgetown University’s School of Health, a Master of Public Health degree from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University in DC, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. A believer in lifelong learning, Paulo is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he is a health equity scholar. Paulo has been recognized with several prestigious awards for his work in health policy, including being named a Top 40 Under 40 Healthcare Leader by the National Minority Quality Forum, Outstanding Health Advocate by Families USA, and recipient of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust award for Advocacy. In 2023, he was honored as a Top 20 Advocate by the Advocacy Association and has been listed as a Top 100 Lobbyist by the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics multiple times.
Active in the community, Paulo is a board member of several organizations including the Network for Victim Recovery of DC, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, and Filipino Americans in Lobbying, Government Relations and Advocacy.
Originally from the U.S. territory of Guam, he is a product of Catholic schools, educated by the Sisters of Mercy at Santa Barbara Catholic School and Father Duenas Memorial School. Paulo continues to draw strength, and inspiration for his policy work, from his Filipino immigrant family, beginning with his grandfather, who arrived in Guam as a contract laborer after World War II, to help rebuild the war-torn island.
Myla Ramirez
Haledon, NJ
Myla Ramirez (she/her) is an Environmental Health Scientist bridging the gap between science and policy. She currently serves as the Manager in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Office of Environmental Justice. In this capacity, she integrates environmental justice into the government operations and policies within the NJDEP and the State of New Jersey. Prior to joining NJDEP, she worked on international public health program evaluation and environmental remediation projects through various non-governmental organizations. Inspired by her Filipino culture, she believes strongly in people power and that change begins at the local level. She is committed to supporting actions that create meaningful impacts in communities and uphold human dignity.
Myla received her Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences from Columbia University and her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from Montclair State University. She is a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program Network and alumni of the Bonner and AmeriCorps programs. In her free time, she enjoys cycling, delving into spirituality books, and traveling with family.
Alyssa Trinidad
Brooklyn, NY
Alyssa Trinidad is a community builder, civic engagement leader, and DE&I advocate. Originally from Boston, Alyssa is a first-generation Filipino American based in New York City. She is currently a Senior Bank Examiner in the Supervision Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, specializing in capital markets risk. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Alyssa previously worked at Deloitte in Boston as an auditor, serving clients in financial services. She also completed independent research on economic development at Ateneo Graduate School of Business in Manila as a Fulbright Scholar.
Alyssa holds a Bachelors in Business Management from UMass Boston and a Masters of Accounting degree from Boston College. Alyssa also holds a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government. At Harvard, Alyssa served as the President of the Asian American Caucus and the Treasurer of the Filipino Caucus, student-run clubs.
She currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the International Society of Filipinos in Finance and Accounting (ISFFA) New York Chapter, where she advocates for the advancement of professional development for Filipinos in underrepresented industries. She is also the Treasurer of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) New York Chapter.
In her free time, Alyssa enjoys traveling, volunteering, going to yoga, and cooking spicy food.
Dyanna Volek
San Francisco, CA
Dyanna Volek is a government relations and public affairs professional. Currently, she serves as the Manager of Government Affairs for the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). At SFO, she successfully supervises the legislative process and protocol affairs for a $1.6B operating budget department. Prior to her current role, Dyanna served as a Vice President at national lobbying firm Strategies 360, Legislative Aide to San Francisco Supervisor Katy Tang, and Policy Aide to San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee. In public service, Dyanna was recently elected as a Delegate for California Assembly District 17.
She also serves as a Deputy Marriage Commissioner and on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Northern California. A first-generation college student and daughter of Filipino immigrants, Dyanna started in public policy as a legal intern at the East Bay Community Law Center and the USDOJ’s Civil Rights Division and as a Judicial Fellow with the California Administrative Office of the Courts. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis in Sociology and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a licensed attorney and moonlights as a certified yoga/Pilates instructor and wedding officiant.
Sheila Larang Whittle
Houston, TX
Sheila Larang Whittle has worked in the education and nonprofit spaces since 2006 serving at-risk and vulnerable populations.
As a licensed educator in multiple states, Sheila taught Special Education and English Language Arts (ELA) at Title I Middle Schools, where she also served as the ELA Department Lead. Her commitment to educating and empowering youth earned her the Teacher of the Year award.
Following her teaching career, Sheila worked directly with children and adults who have experienced human trafficking assisting with education, social services, employment, training, and recovery programs locally in the Greater Houston Area and abroad in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sheila has also designed and developed human trafficking prevention education curricula for students in middle and high school. She delivers training and presentations to diverse audiences at schools, local conferences, government agencies, businesses, places of worship, and community organizations.
She currently works for an education nonprofit focused on building educator well-being, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and resilience. As Owner and Founder of Larang Consulting & Design LLC, Sheila conceptualized, created, and facilitated trauma-informed training for caregivers and direct service providers.
Sheila holds her M.Ed. in Neuroscience and Trauma from Tabor College, B.S.E. in Special Education and English from Seton Hall University, and a Nonprofit Management Certificate from The University of Texas Austin.
In all her work, Sheila strives to provide the resources, skills, and support needed for others to realize their potential, discover their passion, and walk boldly in their purpose in order to make a difference in their own communities.
Nanor Wong
Honolulu, HI
I am an immigration attorney at The Legal Clinic in Hawai‘i, where I advocate for asylum seekers and the underserved immigrant population in Hawai‘i who are seeking help to navigate the complexities of the United States’ ever-changing immigration laws. My legal practice is driven by a deep commitment to human rights and social justice.
My story began in the vibrant city of Hong Kong, where I was raised by an extraordinary single Filipina mother who unofficially adopted me. Her unconditional love and endless support profoundly shaped my morals and values, and inspired me to dedicate my life to transforming people’s lives the way she has done to mine.
My pursuit of justice led me to study International Development at UCLA followed by a Juris Doctor in Hong Kong, where I proceeded to work with a nonprofit organization to provide a voice for victims of trafficking, abuse, exploitation, and discrimination by pursuing civil claims against their perpetrators. This work not only honed my legal skills but also reinforced my resolve to fight for those who deserve justice for having been wronged in more ways than one.
Furthering my legal education, and with the help of a generous scholarship, I earned a Master of Laws degree from UC Berkeley. Upon passing the California Bar, I moved to Hawaii where I constantly face unique challenges and opportunities to grow in my line of work. Here, I continue to channel my passion into meaningful humanitarian work, where I strive to make a tangible difference in the lives of those seeking a new chapter in their lives, or better yet, a new beginning.
Tracy Badua
San Diego, CA
Tracy Badua is an attorney serving as a Senior Housing Program Officer in the Office of Housing Counseling at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. At HUD, she is vice president of the Department’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group and has collaborated with partners across all levels of government in planning heritage month celebration events, promoting workplace and federal initiatives, and striving to ensure that AANHPIs are represented in data, policies, and the workforce. Tracy is also active in the Filipino American lawyer community, serving in leadership roles in the National Filipino American Lawyers Association and the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego.
In addition, Tracy is an award-winning author of books for young people. According to her grandmother, Tracy inherited this love of the written word from her great-grandfather, a school teacher in the Philippines. To her, this means writing is in her blood, and she continues this family tradition by telling stories with her own spin in an accessible, heartfelt way.
Tracy has served as an Article Editor for the California Real Property Journal and was a Round 8 mentor for Author Mentor Match and 2021 Pitch Wars mentor. She was awarded the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ 2023 Sid Fleischman Humor Award, the inaugural SCBWI Out from the Margins Award, and a Conference Choice Award at the 2017 San Diego State University Writers’ Conference. She continues to write books featuring Filipino American main characters and is slated to publish three books in 2024.
Arienne Calingo
South Bend, IN
Arienne Calingo serves as the Communications Specialist for Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative (RLI) and is responsible for executing the RLI’s marketing efforts. Her role involves the dynamic intersection between writing, graphic design, public relations, higher education, student outreach, social media management, and other communication-related tasks. As a champion for diversity and inclusion, Arienne feels honored to work for one of the largest academic institutions in the world dedicated to promoting, protecting, and defending religious freedom for all people. She is also a contributing writer for The Manila Times and is dedicated to advancing pertinent Filipino and Filipino American issues.
Arienne previously worked as the Senior Educational Consultant and Video Producer for Leap Finance, where she helped lead their Dubai office. She was the first woman to serve as EducationUSA Ambassador for the U.S. Embassy in Manila and has given advice to outbound Filipino students, alongside former U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim and consular officers. Prior to that, she taught Arabic language and Middle Eastern culture at Holy Angel University in Angeles City, Philippines. Arienne also served as the International Cooperation Assistant in the Bureau of International Cooperation Strategy, an agency of the Office of the Higher Education Commission of the Thailand Ministry of Education.
She graduated with honors from Georgetown University and obtained her master’s degree in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. While at Harvard, she served as the project lead for developing an open e-learning course on diversity, equity, and inclusion for the UNESCO Chair in Open Technologies for Open Educational Resources and Open Learning. Immediately after graduation, Arienne was a Teaching Fellow for the Center for Asia Leadership and taught a Harvard Business School course on leadership development to students and business executives in Malaysia, South Korea, and China.
She is extremely passionate about empowering the youth, particularly in the ASEAN region, to take action and help reform education. Arienne has publicly spoken about cultural diplomacy, diversity and inclusion, and international higher education at various venues, such as Harvard University, Georgetown University, Office of the Higher Education Commission of Thailand, Fulbright Thailand, ASEAN Youth Organization, and the British Council.
In addition to her extensive work in education, Arienne enjoys playing basketball every day after work, winning in Mario Kart, and exploring all forms of art. She is currently pursuing several artistic endeavors that span across different forms, including mixed media art, photography, poetry, graphic design, dance, music, and fashion design. Her mixed media art, photography, and poetry have been featured in exhibitions at Harvard University, the St. Joe County Public Library, and University of Notre Dame. Arienne seeks to use her artwork as a vehicle to raise awareness of international human rights and social justice issues. One of her first pieces, Droga at Dugo (Drugs and Blood) sought to call attention to the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines’ war on drugs. Arienne is excited to further explore her Filipino culture and bring her international perspectives to the FYLPRO team.
Walbert Castillo
Las Vegas, NV
Walbert Castillo is a creative industries leader with a history of working in journalism and documentary storytelling. Walbert currently works at Amazon as an Associate Creative Director for AWS Global Brand Creative and is the Founder/Owner of Istorya, a Filipino pop-up restaurant that serves culinary journeys inspired by Pre-Colonial Philippines. He hopes to provide food experiences that inspire joy, drive exploration of Filipino identities, and rekindle a connection to our roots. Prior to that, he worked at USA TODAY as a Multimedia Journalist in Washington, D.C. and co-founded the network’s first Asian-American Employee Resource Group (ERG). He is currently on the Filipinos@Amazon Leadership Team, the Young Professionals Coalitions Director for the National Federation of Filipino American Association (NaFFAA) Nevada State Chapter, and the Director of Special Projects for the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Nevada (FACCGN). Walbert received his B.A. in Journalism in 2016 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Nikki Chan
Stockton, CA
Nikki Chan is a community advocate, graphic designer, small business owner, and journalist from Stockton, CA. She comes from a family of field workers of the “Manong” generation who immigrated to the Central Valley to work in the agricultural fields.
She uses her skills in design and journalism to raise voices of marginalized communities. She has designed for various social justice campaigns like Stop Asian Hate, get out the vote, and police-free schools. She has also written and published headlines at Fusion Media and Mahalaya.
She has lent her skills to city health initiatives like the Healthy Beverage Ordinance, Greenlining the Hood, and issues affecting Asian American Pacific Islanders. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities (EMAC) in Stockton, CA, an organization that serves and supports marginalized Southeast Asians by empowering communities through advocacy and healing from our present and past disparities to build an equitable and robust future. Some of EMAC’s programming includes supporting victims of violence, re-entry services, and youth leadership development.
On the side, Nikki runs her small food business Sarap Sa Chan, that specializes in Filipino and Asian inspired eats that are “yummy for your tummy” and shares taste that are reminiscent of your childhood. She was also finally diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and has been actively navigating and engaging in care practices that support those who are neurodivergent.
Yana Gilbuena
Oakland, CA
Yana Gilbuena, a Philippine-born, critically-acclaimed, ancestrally-taught chef, started SALO Series as a way to educate folks about the history, culture and rich heritage embedded in Filipino cuisine. Their work centers on the decolonization/redigenization through food. Their pop-up, the Salo Series, seeks to celebrate the beautiful pre-colonial tradition of eating with one’s hands, called Kamayan, and disrupt the western constructs of dining. They founded LAMON: a Filipino Food and Wine Festival, happening this year in October in Berkeley, California.
Their pioneering odyssey of bringing Filipino cuisine and Kamayan to all 50 states in 50 weeks back in 2014, influenced the trajectory of the popularity and awareness of the Filipino Food Movement and inspired them to take this concept globally by extending their tour to Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and their home country, the Philippines.
They are a 2017 Stone Barns Exchange Fellow, a 2021 Real Food Real Stories Facilitator Fellow, a 2021 Mae Writing Fellow, a Food Culture Collective Stewardship Council Member and have also been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, SF Chronicle and National Geographic and more. They’re a contributor to Serious Eats, AllRecipes, and have been published in The Cherry Bombe Cookbook, Feed the Resistance and have self-published their own: No Forks Given in March 2019. This global Filipinx food evangelist aims to further their mission and host a Salo on every continent (and resume this quest once we’ve all been vaccinated for COVID 19). You can follow their adventures @saloseries.
Trish La Chica
Mililani, HI
Representative Trish La Chica represents Hawaii’s 37th district in Central Oahu, which encompasses Mililani Town, Mililani Mauka, Koa Ridge, and Waipi’o Gentry. Governor Josh Green appointed her in February 2023 following the resignation of the incumbent. With over 15 years of leadership experience, Trish has made significant contributions to non-profit organizations, state, and county government, focusing on public health, Medicaid, housing, and homelessness. Raised in the Philippines by her single father, Trish experienced economic hardship that fueled her determination to overcome challenges. After attending Ateneo de Manila University, her academic achievements caught the attention of ABS-CBN’s The Correspondents, the top investigative documentary show in the Philippines. Immersing herself in the lives of people across the country, Trish passionately pursued human interest stories, shedding light on their struggles and fighting against corruption.
In 2009, Trish embarked on a new chapter, migrating to San Francisco amidst the financial crisis. Despite numerous rejections, her perseverance paid off when she secured a position at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), a national health advocacy organization. Collaborating with Filipino organizations, Trish successfully advocated for an ordinance requiring language access services in Tagalog, the third most spoken language in San Francisco. Simultaneously, she pursued a Master’s in Public Administration, graduating with honors while balancing her full-time responsibilities.
Trish’s work at APIAHF caught the attention of the Office of the Governor in Hawaii, where she applied to join Governor David Ige’s policy team. Facilitating collaboration among Cabinet members and forging strong relationships with stakeholders, Trish played a pivotal role in shaping health policy initiatives. Later, as the Policy Director at the Hawai’i Public Health Institute (HIPHI), she led impactful advocacy campaigns resulting in the passage of crucial public health legislation. Her achievements include banning smoking and vaping in vehicles when children are present, establishing the “Double Bucks” program supporting local farmers and providing healthier food options for families, implementing “Healthy by Default” children’s meals by removing sugary drinks from kids’ menus, and expanding Medicaid coverage to include preventive dental benefits and 12 months of postpartum care.
In 2022, Trish assumed the position of Executive Director for the Mayor’s Office of Housing in the City and County of Honolulu. Embracing a compassionate and people-centered approach, she tackled the complex issues of affordable housing and homelessness. Recognizing homelessness as a public health concern, Trish prioritized addressing its systemic causes over short-term fixes, ensuring the well-being of vulnerable community members. As a Representative, Trish proudly represents her Filipino heritage, lending a strong voice in the legislature. Active in the Filipino caucus and serving on key committees including education, higher education, economic development, and tourism, she advocates tirelessly for her constituents. Notably, Trish’s achievements during the 2023 legislative session include enacting comprehensive regulations for e-cigarettes and vaping products into law. Trish is currently raising her two children with her husband in Mililani. She finds joy in hiking, exploring the beach, traveling, and experimenting with new recipes.
Athena Lao
Astoria, NY
Athena Lao has devoted her career to building and supporting initiatives that provide educational access and opportunity, with a particular focus on the intersections of international development and higher education. She currently works at the Institute of International Education (IIE) as a Program Development Lead, where she helps develop large-scale scholarship, exchange, and workforce development programs for U.S. and foreign governments, corporations, and foundations.
She is a seasoned professional in the education, nonprofit, and social impact sectors and has worked with or in 23+ countries. Athena has taught in the U.S. and abroad, led social impact consulting projects and teams, and served as Head Counselor at a college admissions counseling firm. Her past achievements include founding, leading, and growing successful nonprofits, as well as overseeing the implementation of multimillion-dollar international education exchange programs.
Born and raised in Athens, Georgia, Athena holds an AB from Harvard College, MSEd in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and an MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. She is currently President of the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance (H4A), a volunteer-run organization serving the school’s 20,000+ Asian and Asian American alumni. She is also a proud alumna of the Fulbright Program (English Teaching Assistantship to Bulgaria), Coca Cola Scholarship Program, and Gates Millennium Scholarship Program.
Juslyn Manalo
Daly City, CA
Juslyn Cabrera Manalo was born in San Francisco of Filipino parents and was raised in Daly City, California. She is raising her 4 year old and 2 year old son with her husband in her hometown. Her lifework to date pushes for equity and justice for the community and creating policies that enhance the quality of life for the residents, ensuring small businesses thrive and supporting youth development and older adult programs.
Early in her career, in the non-profit sector, Juslyn became a Community Service Worker providing direct service to the Filipino World War II Veterans who were deemed inactive from U.S. Congress-an injustice that needed to be resolved. She along with others started SAVE (Student Action for Veterans Equity) to built a national campaign advocating for the Veterans’ rights. Juslyn also managed the Bill Sorro Housing Program (BiSHoP), a program that helped low to moderate income families find, defend and sustain their housing. She also worked in the corporate private sector as a Community Engagement Manager for Brookfield Properties, building partnerships to create community development such as affordable housing, local job creation, cultural district support, open green space, and youth development- one of the most comprehensive Community Benefits in a Development Agreement in the City and County of San Francisco.
In 2016, Juslyn became the first Filipino American woman on the City Council in Daly City and was appointed Vice Mayor in her first year. Right away, she pushed the needle to bring the issue to support all immigrants. Also, she led raising the minimum wage in Daly City and is still above CA state minimum wage to date. She was an appointed Personnel Board Commissioner for the City of Daly City and was previously chairwoman for the SamTrans Citizen Advisory Committee ensuring that local community voice is represented on transit. She is also on the board of Senior & Disability Action, an organization that fights for policy locally and beyond for older adults and those with disabilities. Manalo earned her Masters of Public Administration, from San Francisco State University’s School of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement. She has also obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Asian-American Studies and a Minor in Women Studies from San Francisco State University. She believes local activism is key in communities. Juslyn is the President of the Filipino American Democratic Club of San Mateo County which has been in existence for 40 years and active in the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee. On the state California Democratic State level, Juslyn is on the Executive Board for the Filipino American Democratic Caucus(FADC) as Chairwoman. For the League of California Cities, a bi-partisan CA statewide organization with 479 member cities, Juslyn is the President of the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus. In 2017, Juslyn became the first Filipino American woman to become Mayor in Daly City. She was re-elected in 2020 with the highest votes ever for a City Council race in Daly City’s history. In December of 2020, she became Mayor for her second term.
Cindy Martin
Chicago, IL
Cindy Martin is an award-winning Filipina-American documentary filmmaker from Chicago committed to enhancing voices from underrepresented communities, especially Filipino, AAPI, BIPOC and women’s stories. The youngest of three children, Cindy – or Cynthia as is her birth name – was born curious about the world and loved to hear stories from her father, an avid writer, photographer and traveler. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, she drove her parents crazy by asking endless questions, especially the dreaded: “Why?” Her parents, Silvino and Zenaida Martin, were both celebrated athletes in the Philippines and later, Chicago. Her mother even played for the Philippines’ National Volleyball Team. This tenacity and ambition were something instilled in her from a young age, the dual persistent spirits of being an athlete and a Filipina. Coupled with her inquisitive nature, this led her to obtain a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Psychology and Politics. Six months after graduation, Cindy moved to London, England, where she started her international broadcast career at ABC News – where amongst her first stories was the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
She then worked as a reporter/producer for Reuters Television for 11 years, covering the arts and general news across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, she moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a freelance producer for Sky News, the Associated Press Television Network (APTN) and CGTN. In 2018, she was part of the all-woman team at Sky News that covered the deadly Kilauea Volcano Eruption, which won the award for Best Breaking News by the Newswomen’s Club of New York.
In 2020, Cindy made the leap from news to documentaries, returning to her birth city of Chicago to begin filming her first feature, “Love Is A Stranger”, her family’s nearly 80-year journey to find their long lost Japanese grandfather, while attempting to uncover the roots of Filipino identity and imagining what the Philippines might have looked like had it never never been colonized or occupied by Spain, the United States and Japan. In 2021, Cindy was selected for the Community Film Workshop’s Production Institute, followed by a 2022 fellowship in the prestigious Diverse Voices in Docs program at Kartemquin Films (“Hoop Dreams”, “Minding the Gap”), Chicago’s legendary documentary production company. Also in 2022, she was selected for the CNN/Film Independent Docuseries Intensive Fellowship as a Co-Producer on the feature documentary, “EJ Lee: All-American”. Cindy is the Founder and CEO of production company King Horse Films; a film programmer at the Asian-American Showcase in Chicago; an organizer for the non-profit Doc Chicago filmmakers’ initiative, and a member of the Sundance Institute, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Asian-American Documentary Network (A-Doc), Asian-American Journalists Association (AAJA) and Mezcla Media Collective.
Christine R. Melendres
San Ramon, CA
Christine R. Melendres, LCSW (she/her), is a Psychotherapist and Founder & CEO of Sweet Mango Therapy Group, Inc. With a deep commitment to providing compassionate, culturally-responsive psychotherapy for the AAPI and Filipinx community, Christine’s roots trace back to Iba, Zambales—recognized as the home of the world’s sweetest mangoes, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. A descendant of the Kapampangan and Sambal people, her ancestral ties extend to Bacolor, Pampanga, and Botolan, Zambales. Born in Iba, Zambales, Christine serves as the Co-Coordinator of Mentorship for the Asian American Psychological Association Division on Filipinx Americans (2023-2025), further dedicating herself to fostering growth and support within the community. Having immigrated to the United States at the age of 3 with her parents, Christine has emerged as a trailblazer within her family, being the eldest granddaughter on both sides, the first to graduate college in the United States, and the only licensed therapist.
Growing up in Daly City, California, she has actively engaged in community work since the age of 12, serving the Filipino American community. Her own immigration experiences and bicultural identity have fueled her passion for the mental health field. Specializing in providing psychotherapy to high-achieving BIPOC women facing burnout, anxiety, and imposter syndrome, Christine has gained over a decade of experience across various clinical settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, and a group home for homeless pregnant women in crisis. Alongside her practice, Christine has been sought after as a speaker by large and mid-size Bay Area companies, sharing valuable insights on mental health and wellness. Furthermore, she has cultivated collaborative relationships with local and national organizations, contributing to the healing and empowerment of the Filipino community.
Lourdes Moldre
Vallejo, CA
Lourdes Moldre is a Nurse Executive Patient Care Director at UCSF Health Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco. She has over 20 years of healthcare experience as a front-line registered nurse, an acute care nurse practitioner and an executive nurse leader. In her current position, Lourdes has 24/7 leadership over inpatient hospital operations, which include various acute care patient settings. Prior to this role, she was the Clinical Director for UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, which included outpatient clinics (Adult/Peds Clinics, Adult/Peds Infusion Centers, Stem Cell Transplant Program, Radiation Oncology, Supportive Oncology, Satellite Infusion Centers), inpatient oncology units (Heme/BMT units) and the Cancer Care Network. Her clinical expertise ranges from critical care (cardiovascular, pulmonary and transplant) and aesthetic nursing (dermatology and plastic surgery), to industry-sponsored (medical device and pharmaceutical) clinical operations, R&D management. Lourdes’ progressive leadership responsibilities started when she left her position as a seasoned Critical Care Nurse Practitioner for Sutter & Mercy hospitals (under Pulmonary Medicine Associates) and became the Sr. Clinical Manager for Cutera (Medical Device laser company) in 2012. During that time, she opened a Clinical Research Center from the ground up, where she was instrumental in 3 novel FDA-approved laser indications, plus published multiple laser journal articles as the Principal Investigator.
Lourdes received her Master’s Degree in Nursing from University of California in San Francisco with a specialty on Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in 2008; an Associate’s Nursing degree in 2003 and a Bachelor’s Nursing in 2004 both from Pacific Union College School of Nursing. She plans to pursue her Doctorate in Nursing Practice in 2024. Most recently, she was recognized as one of 2022 honoree for 40 under 40 by San Francisco Business Times, given to young and influential leaders across the San Francisco region. Lourdes also received the Healthcare Hero Award in 2021, awarded by the California State Senator Richard Pan, for her dedicated work with focused Covid-19 education within the Filipino communities in Sacramento and San Francisco. Additionally, Lourdes has only been a member of Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) for only 2 years but has been very involved. She is the current President-Elect of Philippine Nurses Association of Northern California (PNANC), and an advisor for both PNA Napa/Solano and the newly launched PNA California Capital City chapter. Furthermore, she was recently appointed by American Nurses Association (ANA) as one of the Commissioners to the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing.
Lourdes Moldre is a female Filipino immigrant, a working mother of 3 biracial children, and a resilient executive nurse leader wanting to improve healthcare equity and access to the underrepresented and be the voice for Filipino nurses.
Christian Osmena
Phoenix, AZ
Christian Osmeña is the vice president for enterprise planning at Arizona State University, which has been named the most innovative university in the United States eight years in a row. In this role, Osmeña contributes to the strategy of the ASU Public Enterprise; leads planning, analysis, and research to advance the ASU Charter; and guides new initiatives, affiliations, and alliances that grow the enterprise’s impact. He leads the executive-level team charged with advising ASU’s president on the enterprise’s budget and finances. He has also been elected as a trustee of California College of ASU, an independent nonprofit college affiliated with ASU and located in Los Angeles. In addition to this leadership on the enterprise’s planning, Osmeña is a professor of practice in ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, where he teaches courses on public policy and finance.
Before joining ASU, Osmeña served for more than a decade as a leader in California’s state government. Most recently, he was a vice chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the largest system of higher education in the country. As the leader responsible for the college system’s finance and facilities planning, he served on the chancellor’s executive team, managed the allocation of resources to the state’s college districts, and advocated before the Governor’s administration and the state legislature on the chancellor’s behalf.
Earlier, he worked at the California Department of Finance, the Governor’s budget office, as a legislative analyst, budget analyst, and principal analyst. He advised state policymakers on education policy and finance, and his most significant assignments included supervision of the team responsible for appropriations to the University of California, to the California State University, and for state financial aid programs, among other programs. He also served in the Office of the Governor of California as a deputy cabinet secretary responsible for coordination of state education, labor and workforce development, information technology, and service and volunteerism agencies.
He began his public service as assistant to the Governor’s chief of staff. Osmeña serves on the Arizona Early Childhood Health and Development Board, the state’s early childhood agency also known as the First Things First State Board. He was appointed by the Governor of Arizona, and his nomination was confirmed by the state senate. In addition, he is a past member of the board of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, a law school affiliated with the University of California, as an appointee of the Governor of California.
Osmeña earned a doctorate in education from the University of California, Davis, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He has been a Flinn-Brown Fellow through the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership; a Pahara Fellow through the Pahara Institute; and a California Education Policy Fellow through the Center for California Studies and the Education Insights Center. He is a member of the Filipino Young Leaders Program.
Rey Paolo Roca
Norwalk, CA
Rey “Paolo” Ernesto J. Roca III is a distinguished clinician who is passionate about healthcare, education, and advancing the Filipino community. With an exceptional academic background, he is revolutionizing clinical practice, enhancing patient care, and advocating for healthcare equity.
Currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing at the esteemed University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Paolo’s research focuses on improving the health outcomes of Asian Americans, specifically the Filipino community, in relation to type 2 diabetes. His commitment to understanding cultural factors in healthcare allows him to provide holistic and patient-centered care, making him a recognized leader in the field.
In addition to his academic achievements, Paolo holds licenses as a Registered Nurse and Public Health Nurse, along with certifications as a Nurse Educator and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse – Board Certified. This diverse expertise strengthens his impact within the nursing profession.
Paolo’s clinical experience is extensive and meaningful. As a Clinical Educator at Providence Health System, he supports a team of 200 nurses by providing guidance in nursing assessments, care planning, and complex problem-solving. He also leads the development of innovative educational programs to enhance the skills and competency of the nursing staff.
Paolo’s dedication to education is evident through his roles as an Adjunct Professor at Charles R. Drew University and a Teaching Associate at UCLA. He takes pride in mentoring and instructing nursing students, shaping the future generation of healthcare professionals.
Beyond his clinical and teaching roles, Paolo actively engages in community leadership. As the former President of the Filipino Cultural School Board, he works collaboratively to develop educational initiatives that celebrate and promote Filipino culture.
Paolo’s connection to his Filipino roots extends further through his fluency in conversational and written Tagalog. This linguistic proficiency enables him to provide culturally sensitive and personalized care, bridging the gap between language and healthcare delivery.
As a visionary leader, compassionate caregiver, and unwavering advocate, Paolo is dedicated to advancing nursing practice and uplifting the Filipino community. His commitment to bridging gaps, promoting equity, and advocating for sustainable healthcare policies will leave a lasting impact on the field of nursing and beyond.
Jan Tancinco
New York, NY
Jan Tancinco specializes in media, culture and technology. She is currently a Music and Podcasts Content Strategy Lead at YouTube, where she is responsible for launching cultural campaigns and overseeing operations for a global team. Prior to tech, she worked at Atlantic Media.
Jan graduated from UCLA, holding degrees in World Arts & Cultures and Political Science. She has been awarded a Public Engagement Fellowship with the Vera List Center at The New School, which she will begin in the fall.
Outside of work, she is interested in building a softer and more just world. She enjoys carving out calmness, finding balance and engaging with the documentary arts. She was born in the Virgin Islands, raised in San Francisco and currently lives in New York. She owes everything that she is to her parents and the Bay Area immigrant community that raised her.
Patricia Tumang
Glendale, CA
Patricia Tumang (she/her) is a Queer Filipina American writer, arts journalist, digital media producer, arts and entertainment marketer, and energy healer based in Los Angeles. She is passionate about highlighting the stories and works of underrepresented contemporary Filipinx/a/o artists, often overlooked in mainstream media. Her awards include a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship (2009) and an Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant (2012), which enabled her to delve into the profound impact of Filipina women’s contributions to Philippine and American history, living traditions, and contemporary art. She holds an MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills College. An advocate for LGBTQ+ issues and an active supporter of the community, Patricia’s dedication to amplifying marginalized voices within the arts showcases her commitment to fostering inclusivity and celebrating diverse perspectives.
Michelle Amor
New York, NY
Michelle Amor joined Lev, a digital commercial real estate fintech startup, in 2021 to help launch the firm’s new direct-lending business. Now, she is a Manager within Lev’s strategy and innovation team, Lev Labs. Prior to Lev, Michelle worked as a Fixed Income Credit Trader at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and has held previous roles at firms including J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Balyasny Asset Management. Michelle has been on the board of the Filipino American National Historical Society’s Metropolitan New York Chapter for four years, She currently serves as Treasurer and was previously the Chair of Communications. She also currently serves as Treasurer of the National Federation of Filipino American Association’s New York State Chapter. In addition, she works for Steven Raga’s campaign for New York State Assembly, District 30. Michelle received her BA in Financial Economics at Columbia University in 2019. At Columbia, Michelle served as the President of Liga Filipina (2018) and the Social-Cultural Chair (2017). Prior to college, Michelle danced with American Repertory Ballet, Arch Contemporary Ballet, and the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts.
Grace Arupo Rodriguez
Roseville, CA
Grace Arupo Rodriguez lives in Roseville, CA with her supportive husband and witty 7-year-old son. She serves as the Assistant Deputy Director of Legal Affairs at the California Department of Consumer Affairs, which is the umbrella entity that administers more than 3.4 million California licenses in more than 280 license types from accountants, architects, boxers, engineers, dentists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists to veterinarians. Grace served as the first Deputy Director of Legal Affairs in the then-newly created Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development from 2013 to 2017 and was instrumental in re-structuring various tax credit incentives for California, including the Film Tax Credit and the California Competes Tax Credit. She also assisted with the implementation of the Office of Travel and Tourism’s expanded tourism assessment fee. Grace previously served as the Senior Deputy Counsel in the Sacramento City Attorney’s Office from 2012 to 2013, working on bond financing of public works projects. Grace was the first Corporate Counsel for the California Independent System Operator (California ISO) from 2007 to 2012 (the California ISO manages the flow of electricity across 80 percent of California’s grid and a small part of Nevada). Grace began her professional career as a transactional attorney at Downey Brand LLP. Grace has been active with the Pilipino National Day Association (PNDA)’s Filipino Fork events since its inauguration in 2017, held various board positions, including President of the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento and served as a Board Member from the Alumni Association of the University of California, Davis (King Hall Law School) for two-terms. Grace earned a Juris Doctor degree from University of California, Davis School of Law and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics, with a minor in Accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) graduating from the UCLA’s prestigious College Honors program, cum laude.
Joshua De Leon
Long Beach, CA
Josh De Leon is an organizational changemaker, local political leader, and community organizer, currently based in Southern California. As a senior consultant for a diversity, equity, and inclusion firm, he collaborates with major companies to assess and transform their culture and processes. He was elected as an assembly district delegate representing his hometown to the statewide party; becoming one of the first Filipinos in the district to ever hold that role, and has deep ties to grassroots activism in the area. He serves on the board of FilExcellence, with a mission to support, empower, and elevate the Filipino/a/xs globally, as well as the nonprofit Rising Organizers. Josh previously has worked in or alongside NGOs, government agencies, private companies, and education programs, and will bring that interdisciplinary and multisectoral background to FYLPRO. He holds a master’s degree from Stanford University.
Daniel Galeon
Montvale, NJ
Daniel Galeon IV currently resides in New Jersey with his wife Christine and their 3 children – Daniel Antonio, David Ricardo and Gabriella Rose. He is a Product Risk Strategist at Stripe, a developer-oriented commerce company, where he leads risk governance for the financial services business vertical. Previously, he was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in both their Asset Management and Global Markets businesses, where he designed and led programs for operations, electronic trading, and prime services. He also held analytical and product roles at First Quadrant LP, Blackrock and Fisher Investments. Daniel is an active member of the Filipino-American community. He currently serves on the National Executive Board for the International Society of Filipinos in Finance & Accounting and was previously the President for the New York Chapter. He also serves as the President of the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of New York. Daniel is a firm believer in higher education and is actively involved in outreach and admissions for Yale University, UC Berkeley, and The Riordan Programs at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Daniel obtained a B.A. with Honors from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He also studied at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati, Philippines.
Genevieve Jopanda
San Francisco, CA
Genevieve Villafranca Jopanda is the first American born of Ilonggo and Karay-a parents. She is a leadership executive with over 20 years of business operations experience across non-profit, corporate, and political and government environments. Genevieve has the most recent immediate impact at the California State Treasury where she served as Chief of Staff/ Chief Deputy Treasurer and top advisor to the elected State Treasurer. There she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of numerous state programs and divisions including upwards of 450 geographically dispersed staff across the state overseeing more than $2 trillion in transactions and an investment portfolio of over $100 billion within a typical year.
Michele Josue
Glendale, CA
Michele Josue is an Emmy award-winning Filipino filmmaker. Her debut MATT SHEPARD IS A FRIEND OF MINE is the winner of 10 Best Documentary and Audience Awards from festivals worldwide and the 2016 Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Special Class Special.” Michele is the Creator and Director of HAPPY JAIL, the Netflix Original documentary series about the world-famous Filipino “Dancing Inmates” that won the 2021 Silver Telly Award for Series Documentary for Television. Michele was selected as a 2021 Film Independent Fast Track Fellow with NURSE UNSEEN, her upcoming documentary about the unsung Filipino-American nurses risking their lives on the frontlines of the pandemic while facing a resurgence of anti-Asian hate in the streets.
Agnes Lopez
Jacksonville, FL
Agnes Lopez is a Filipino-American editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, MIT Technology Review, The Local Palate, on the Food Network, in cookbooks, and advertising campaigns for national brands. For the past five years, Lopez has been hard at work directing her first documentary, JAX Filipino Chefs, following the journey of a group of Filipino-American chefs as they set out to change the culinary scene of her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida with their food. Her portraits of Filipino World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors, The Faces to Remember Project, is a traveling exhibit that has been featured at galleries and museums across Florida. Lopez recently launched a new talent agency, Pose Well Models, that focuses on providing a diverse and inclusive roster of models for today’s brands and ad campaigns.
Angelo Mathay
Raleigh, NC
Angelo Mathay is an Administrative Judge at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission based in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he adjudicates employment discrimination claims filed by federal employees in three southeastern states. He completed a detail as a Trial Attorney with the Immigration and Employee Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, providing the office assistance with investigations related to citizenship status discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, national origin discrimination, unfair documentary practices during the employment eligibility verification, Form I-9 and E-Verify, and retaliation or intimidation. Previously, he worked at various immigration law and policy-related organizations in Washington, D.C., such as the National Immigration Law Center, Migration Policy Institute, and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Before coming to North Carolina, he was a Program Officer with the Robin Hood Foundation in New York City, where he managed part of the immigration legal services and the food security portfolios.
Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos
Sicklerville, NJ
Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos, EdD, MSN, WHNP, is an assistant professor and an Engaged Civic Learning Faculty Fellow at Rutgers University in Camden, NJ. She practices as a board-certified women’s health nurse practitioner in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. She is an award-winning author and educator, and a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP). Dr. Nagtalon-Ramos currently serves as the treasurer of FAANP’s Executive Committee, a member of the Editorial Board of the Women’s Healthcare Journal, and was recently elected as a Board member of the Filipinx/a/o Community Health Association (Fil-CHA). She is an active member of the Philippine Nurses Association of America and the Philippine Community of Southern New Jersey.
Constancio Paranal III
Honolulu, HI
Constancio Paranal III is a lawyer specializing in the field of cybersecurity law. While in law school, he served in various government institutions including the Office of the General Counsel of the University of Hawai’i, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Hawai’i, and the Office of the Attorney General of Guam. In private practice, he worked in the field of Family law and Criminal Defense. Outside of legal practice, he is a faculty fellow at the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. In addition, he helps the City and County of Honolulu at the Office of Economic Revitalization, with the goal of promoting innovation and technology to support the city’s future economic growth post pandemic by creating “good jobs.” Constancio was born and raised in the Philippines. He is an alumnus of De La Salle University – Manila and was recently admitted to the Asian Institute of Management. Outside of work and school, Constancio and his spouse run their own non-profit organization, the Finley Fort Foundation, in memory of their beloved frenchie, Finley. During their spare time, they love to check new restaurants in town with their new baby frenchie, Franklin.
Danicole Ramos
Waialua, HI
Danicole Ramos is from Waialua, Hawai‘i on the North Shore of O‘ahu. He is in his final year of law school at the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law. He also serves as Military Equal Opportunity Officer in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard, working to promote an environment free from personal, social or institutional barriers that could prevent Air Force members from rising to their highest potential.
Angelico Razon
Pasadena, CA
Angelico “Iko” Razon (he/him) is an internist, pediatrician, and public health professional. His father is from Pampanga, and his mother is from Cebu. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, medical degree through UCLA’s PRIME-LA Program, master of public health at Harvard, and master of science in health policy research at the University of Pennsylvania. After combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Michigan and the National Clinician Scholars Program at Penn, Iko served as an Attending Physician with the Adult Care & Transition Team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a Medical Specialist at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health in the Division of COVID Containment. Iko is now an Assistant Professor at the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine in the Department of Health Systems Science. He also serves as the Operations Chair of the Council of Young Filipinx Americans in Medicine (CYFAM), a FYLPRO Legacy Project. Iko loves painting, dinosaurs, cooking, dancing, and storytelling
Melissa (Michi) Trota
Chicago, IL
Michi Trota (she/her/hers) is a writer, editor, and fire performer who is a five-time Hugo Award winner, British Fantasy Award winner, and Ignyte Award finalist. She is the Features Editor of Prism, a former Editor-in-Chief of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), and the first Filipina Hugo Award winner. Michi has been a guest on NPR programs and a speaker at multiple venues including the Chicago Humanities Festival. Her publications include the WisCon Chronicles Vol. 12 co-edited with Isabel Schechter (Aqueduct Press) and the Wing Luke Museum 2018-19 exhibit Worlds Beyond Here: Expanding the Universe of APA Science Fiction. Michi performs with the Raks Geek/Raks Inferno Fire+Bellydance troupe and lives with her spouse and two cats in Chicago.
Neil Wingkun
Houston, TX
Neil Wingkun works as an emergency physician in Houston, Texas, at Houston Methodist Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center. During COVID, Neil served on the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) public health committee, helping to improve public health awareness with discharge planning in the emergency department. Outside of his clinical duties, he serves as the Chief Mentorship Chair for Council for Filipinos Americans in Medicine (CYFAM).
Eileen Agahan Igcacenza
Barrigada, GU
Born and raised on the beautiful island of Guam, Eileen Agahan Igcasenza currently serves as executive director of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce while actively practicing commercial and residential real estate. She earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Guam where she participated in a number of local economic development projects, including the Guam Enterprise Initiative (One Village One Product) and Buy Local Guam.
Eileen has always pursued opportunities to aid her local community. She served as president of the University of Guam Alumni Association and Rotary-sponsored service leadership organization, Rotaract Club of the Marianas, where she led members to help raise funds for Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts in Manila. Rotaract was able to purchase relief goods and medium-sized boats for fishermen to regain their livelihood and continue supporting their families.
As a result of her career and service achievements, Eileen was recognized in 2014 as one of Guam Business Magazine’s 40 leading professionals under the age of 40, nominated for the Filipino Community of Guam’s Gawad Ulirang Pilipino Award for Corporate, Economic and Entrepreneurial Leadership in 2015, and received the Gawad Ulirang Pilipino Award for Family Volunteerism with her mother in 2016.
Sergio Alcubilla III
Honolulu, HI
Sergio Alcubilla serves as Staff Attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii and focuses his work on improving access to justice and increasing resources for Legal Aid’s clients. Sergio helped implement Hawaii’s court based self-help centers and continues to oversee the firm’s technology driven initiatives. He serves on various committees of the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission, is a Board Director of the Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association, and is a Hawaii State Bar Association Leadership Institute Fellow. He is currently part of the Hawaii team working on the Legal Navigator platform, a collaborative project of the Microsoft Corporation, LSC, Pro Bono Net, and the Pew Charitable Trusts to develop statewide legal access portals that simplify the process of finding legal help. Sergio is a graduate of the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, the Unification Theological Seminary, and the University of Florida.
Krystle Canare
Arlington, VA
Krystle is a strong advocate for mental health and addressing disparities experienced by underserved and under-represented communities. Krystle is currently a full-time Program Specialist for Georgetown University’s Center for Child and Human Development where she coordinates the day-to-day operations of the Center of Excellence for Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. Prior to working at Georgetown, Krystle worked as a senior project coordinator for the National Council for Behavioral Health and consultant for the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. Krystle has served as an Ambassador for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders during the Obama Administration, Steering Committee Member for the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health, and currently serves as a Vice President for the Asian Mental Health Collective and Health Equity Ambassador for the American Psychological Association.
Krystle’s mental health advocacy and non-profit leadership expands to the Filipino American community as COVID-19 Task Force Fellowship Director for the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), Advisor to the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue, Inc’s (FIND, Inc) Alumni Network, and Coach for the National Federation of Filipino American Association’s Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration (NaFFAA EPYC) program. She is the former Region Chair for NaFFAA’s Capital Region, Board Director for FYLPRO, and President of the Philippine American Foundation for Charities, Inc.
Raised in the Washington D.C metropolitan area, Krystle graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S in Neurobiology & Physiology. Krystle attributes her passion for community building to the university’s Filipino American History & Biography course, Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy Office, and the Filipino Cultural Association.
Fred Docdocil
Carson, CA
A Planning Commissioner for the City of Carson, CA, Frederick Alain Docdocil is an active member of multiple Filipino American organizations, including the Filipino Community of Carson (FCC), the UCI FilAm Alumni Chapter, and the National Federation of FilAm Associations (NaFFAA), in addition to having been a Public Relations Commissioner for the City of Carson, CA. A passionate community leader, Fred is the President of the Philippine Independence Day Foundation, Inc. (PIDF); a Founding Board Member and President Emeritus of the FilAm Chamber of Commerce of SouthBay LA Area (FACC-SLAA); the Vice President of Kagay-anons of SoCal (KSC); the Treasurer of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO); a Household Head & Speaker for Couples for Christ (CfC), and an Executive Board Member for the Coalition of FilAm Chambers of Commerce, Inc, (COFACC).
Professionally, Fred is the Mabuhay Branch and Business Development Coordinator for Mabuhay Credit Union, which is among the very first full-service Financial Institutions to specifically serve the FilAm and greater Community in Southern California and beyond with their financial services needs.
In addition to having been a proud recipient of the Top Outstanding Pilipino (TOP) award for Community Leadership, Fred has also been among the awardees for Outstanding Filipino Americans in the USA.
Everett Icao
Chicago, IL
Everett Icao is a 2016 graduate of Loyola University Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies with a minor in Psychology. An active volunteer in the Filipino-American community, Everett strongly believes and advocates for change in issues of social and economic injustice, community collaboration, and youth leadership engagement. He has served in several leadership capacities through organizations such as The Philippine-American Cultural Foundation, Filipino-American National Historical Society Chicago and Knights of Rizal just to name a few.
In his professional life, he is employed at Cooney & Conway, a plaintiff’s personal injury firm based in Chicago that proudly serves clients who seek assistance when finding themselves at the most vulnerable time of their lives. He continues to grow by aspiring to complete his legal education and one day represent those who need an advocate. Everett continually strives to build strong and positive relationships through his work in his professional and community organizing by involving people from different groups, ages, and backgrounds by emphasizing the importance of educating, engaging, and empowering so change can be met with action. In his free time, Everett enjoys spending his time outdoors and participating in various physically healthy activities.
Joyce Roldan King
Frederick, MD
Joyce King is a proud Filipino American, born and raised in New Jersey, who currently resides in Maryland. She is the Chief Counsel at the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office. She leads the Frederick County Cybercrimes Task Force, serves on the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and is cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney through the Department of Justice. In addition to prosecution, Joyce manages operations and communications for the State’s Attorney’s Office, provides legal counsel for multi-agency criminal justice policy initiatives and projects, and serves on the Legislative Committee for the Maryland State’s Attorney Association.
This past year, Joyce assisted in expanding Maryland laws on possession of child pornography. She hopes to bring this passion and leadership to produce meaningful change and progress to combat the sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines. Joyce is an alumna of George Washington University, American University: Women & Politics Institute, and the David A. Clarke School of Law.
Bernadette Lim
Berkeley, CA
Bernadette is a community activist, healer and daughter of Filipinx and Toisanese immigrants. She is the founder and director of the Freedom Community Clinic – a grassroots initiative that imagines and works towards a Healing Feature that uplifts community-centered healing for the bodies, minds, and souls of underestimated communities. By providing free whole-person healing services combining the strengths of Western medicine and ancestral/holistic healing, they have helped 2,300+ people in the Bay Area and beyond, with a particular focus on Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities. Bernadette is also the co-founder of the Institute for Healing and Justice in Medicine, the creator and host of the Woke WOC Docs podcast, and the founder of the Freedom School for Intersectional Medicine and Health Justice.
By day, Bernadette is a medical student at UCSF School of Medicine. She recently earned her Master’s at UC Berkeley School of Public Health through the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. She graduated from Harvard University in 2016 with cum laude honors, and went on to be a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar in India. Bernadette is also a meditation/hatha yoga teacher.
Bernadette will continue to expand whole-person healing for under-resourced communities through holistic healing and primary care. She envisions and works towards a world where each person is affirmed, loved and cared for.
Antonio Moya
Los Angeles, CA
Antonio Moya, M.D., M.P.H. is a neurologist and UCLA National Clinician Scholar. A physician of the Los Angeles Department of Health Services at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, he cares for underserved patients. Through his community partner, the Filipino American Service Group Inc. (FASGI) in LA’s Historic Filipinotown, Antonio leads a community-based participatory research project to promote healthy behaviors through media among Filipino Americans with a focus on emergency stroke care. He also is in collaboration to develop a national network of young Filipino American physicians in the U.S. with an emphasis on educational pipeline programs.
Dr. Moya completed his neurology residency at New York – Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience at UCLA, he traveled to the Philippines on a Fulbright Fellowship with a focus on telemedicine and acute stroke units. He completed his medical school training at UCSF as a PRIME-US Scholar, master’s of public health training from the Harvard School of Public Health, and has pursued his research interests in stroke and public health throughout both residency and fellowship.
Dr. Moya is particularly interested in improving health systems in resource-poor areas of the United States, the Philippines, and other Asian countries. He continues to advocate for improved physical and mental health for Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants and their communities in the U.S. and the Philippines. Antonio is also passionate about music, learning languages, and storytelling as powerful tools for healing.
Rizza O’Connor
Vidalia, GA
Rizza O’Connor is the Chief Magistrate Judge of Toombs County and the first Filipina Judge in Georgia.
TJ Simba-Medel
Bridgewater, AR
Timothy “TJ” Simba-Medel holds a BA in Theater Arts from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. He is a professional performing artist, creative consultant, and arts educator with pedagogical methods rooted in the art of Spoken Word (2006 New Jersey Youth Slam Team in HBO’s Brave New Voices, 2008 New York Knicks Poetry Slam Top Finalist, and the 2009 Southern Fried “King of the South” Individual Poetry Slam Champion).
As a 2015 Second City Chicago Bob Curry Fellow, he has become the living embodiment of his ancestors’ wildest dreams. He has understudied Second City Main Stages (A Red Line Runs Through It) and holds stand-up credits in the NBC Breakout Comedy Festival, CBS’s Diversity Showcase, and was a Featured Poet in Fifth Star Honors: A Night Dedicated to the Artists of Chicago at Pritzker Pavillion on behalf of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. His television credits include a guest spot in EMPIRE on FOX and a special guest spot on CNNPhilippines in promotion of Manila Improv Festival in 2017.
TJ was the first Filipino-American Diversity and Inclusion Facilitator for Second City’s Business to Business Department SCWorks, was awarded the Jim Zulevic Award for Community Excellence and became the first Filipino-American faculty member of The Second City Training Center as well as the first Filipino-American faculty member of the historical Annoyance Theater and iO Improv Olympic Theater. In 2016, TJ co-founded and served as Artistic Director of the World Famous Improvised-Spoken Word Collective PREACH, where he has performed at festivals and taught workshops with universities and theaters across the US and in the Philippines.
He continues to use his platform to serve and advance underserved communities as a creative consultant to community organizations including but not limited to: the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) as Board Member and COVID-19 Task Force Member, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C, and the Philippine American Foundation for Charities (PAFC). His most recent collaboration, in partnership with TaxWhiz Mon Abrea and the Asian Consulting Group, resulted in the release of the TaxWhiz App – a mobile all-in-one application tailored for the Philippine market to make taxes easily understandable, accessible, and convenient to do on the go.
At the heart of TJ’s creative profession is being a teaching artist. While in Chicago he was a teaching artist for the American Theater Company, Mudlark Children’s Theater Company, The Poetry Center of Chicago, Chicago Improv Productions, Silk Road Rising Theater, Theater Unspeakable, and collaborate with After School Matters on numerous programs and events geared towards Youth Advocacy and Mentorship. In his return to Arkansas, he has collaborated with UALR’S Children’s International Program and became the first Filipino faculty member for The Arkansas Repertory Theater.
Philjay Solar
Boston, MA
Philjay Solar currently serves as the Commissioner of the Asian American Commission for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where he sits as Secretary and Chair of the AAPI Young Leaders Symposium. He also is the youngest and only Commissioner of Filipinx descent. He is the son of Ilocano immigrants and was raised in Massachusetts where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree from Lasell University and Juris Doctor degree from New England Law | Boston where he was the President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and Executive Treasurer of the Student Bar Association. Philjay previously served with the AmeriCorps program, City Year, to bridge the educational gap and end the school to prison pipeline. He is also the founder of Fil-Lennials of New England which highlights young Filipinx-American professionals to inspire youth and build a stronger Fil-Am community.
Philjay currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Philippine American Mainstream Advocacy for Non-Partisan Associations, Inc. (PAMANA) where he has contributed to their annual Philippine Independence Day celebrations and Filipinx-American High School Leadership Workshop.
Additionally, Philjay serves as Massachusetts Vice Chair and EPYC Coach for the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA), volunteers for the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation, and was recently appointed to his hometown’s Human Rights Commission. Philjay aspires to develop the next generation of young Filipinx-Americans leaders and lives by the saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.
Leezel Tanglao
New York, NY
Leezel Tanglao is a bridge journalist at the intersection of editorial, product, business development and sales. She currently leads membership and innovation at HuffPost. She consults with companies through her company, StatFury. Leezel’s other previous stints include: Associated Press, CNN, CBSNews.com, VICE News, NowThis, ABCNews.com, KCBS/KCAL and Press-Enterprise. She is a 2019 Filipino Young Leaders Program delegate and currently sits on the FYLPRO Board of Directors and is the Chair of the FYLPRO COVID19 task force. She’s the project director and spokesperson for the Caretaker Project’s Tayo help desk. If you’re wondering how to say her name, it’s pronounced LEE-ZEL (not Liesel from the “Sound of Music”).
Earl Valencia
New York, NY
Earl Valencia is a venture advisor for start-ups and corporate innovation teams where he focuses on growing companies or emerging business units from seed to scale. Based in San Francisco, he is currently a Managing Director for Digital Transformation for a Fortune 500 bank and Co-founder of Cognity Labs, one of the first virtual startup accelerators connecting emerging markets and Silicon Valley tech diaspora. He was part of the Advanced Engineering team for Dell EMC and previously was the Program Manager for Corporate Data at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund.
Mr. Valencia was a Business Incubation Manager at Cisco’s Emerging Technologies Group, a Senior Systems Engineer at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems in Los Angeles, and worked in VC firms H&Q Asia Pacific in Manila as well as Investor Growth Capital in Menlo Park. He is a member of the Science and Technology Advisory Council and co-founded both QBO and IdeaSpace Foundation, in his passion to contribute to the Philippine start-up ecosystem.
Earl obtained a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from Boston University, a master’s degree in Systems Engineering from Cornell University and a M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Kevin Zagala
New York, NY
Bay Area born and raised, Kevin Zagala has seen first-hand the significant impact technology can have on society at a local, state, national and international level, which spurred his interest to pursue a career in the field. As a ten-year veteran of the industry, he is currently a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at Reputation.com, and has worked at numerous companies throughout the technology sector such as Life360 and Zynga.
Mr. Zagala is also the CEO and Project Lead of the mobile app Bay Area Casual Carpoolers, known as BACC. Despite the challenges of developing a start-up in a crowded marketplace, BACC has a gained a small, but growing market share and is rising in registered users through the efforts of a dedicated grassroots, word-of-mouth community of daily active users despite minimal marketing spend. Kevin graduated summa cum laude from UMT Arlington Virginia and is a member of the Delta Epsilon Tau Honor Society. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, video games, reading and spending time with his family.
Melissa Palma
Chicago, IL
Melissa Palma, MD, MPH is an Iowa-raised daughter of Filipino immigrants. She graduated with degrees in biochemistry and medicine from the University of Iowa and began her career dedicated to the health of underserved populations. Dr. Palma is a Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine resident at Cook County Health in Chicago, IL, one of the oldest and largest safety-net health systems in the US. She graduated with a Masters of Public Health from Northwestern University and serves on the Organization of Resident Representatives for the American Association of Medical Colleges as well as the Council of Young Filipinx Americans in Medicine (CYFAM). Dr. Palma also serves as medical advisor to TayoHelp.com, a FYLPRO initiative to promote culturally tailored COVID-19 information for Filipino American communities.
Joshua Ang Price
Little Rock, AR
Joshua Ang Price is from Maumelle, Arkansas. His father is from the small town of Antoine, Arkansas and his mother is a registered nurse from Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines who was recruited to work in rural America. Joshua is the owner and CEO of Hybrid Strategies, a public relations consulting firm specializing in economic development projects, tourism, nonprofit organizations, women and minority-owned small businesses, and government communications and policy. Joshua is also the Director of Marketing & Growth for LumoXchange, an international money transfer FinTech company. Joshua is involved with civic, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations focused on advancing minority small businesses, access to mental health care, historic preservation, and the arts. Joshua is the president and co-founder of the Asian American Pacific Islander Democratic Caucus of Arkansas. In 2018, he ran for State Representative — the first Filipino-American to run for that office in Arkansas’s history. Joshua serves on the board of two organizations with missions in the Philippines – the Basilia Womens Foundation, which provides shelter to abused women and children; and the Meguko Foundation, which provides scholarships to underserved children. Joshua attended the University of Central Arkansas, where he studied sociology, public administration, and community and city planning.
Tony DelaRosa
Miami, FL
Tony DelaRosa is a Anti-Bias Speaker, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion Strategist, Educator, and Writer. He resides in Miami, FL and serves the community as a Leadership Coach with Teach For America. He founded Pulse Poetry is a national youth spoken word and public speaking organization that exists in Indianapolis, Boston, and now Miami. His written word has been published in CNN, NPR, Harvard, Columbia’s Teacher’s College, and Hyphen Magazine: Asian Americans Unabridged. His latest project has been Tony Rosa Speaks which is his motivational speaking and equity consulting LLC. To book him visit TonyRosaSpeaks.com
Catherine Sy Luib
San Diego, CA
Proud Cebuana, Former Cruise Ship Doctor and Globe Trotter, Dr. Catherine Sy Luib of San Diego was honored a prestigious recognition for her Global Influence, Service & Footprint as 2018’s “Most Influential Filipina Woman In The World” in London, 2018’s “Woman Of Worth” in Los Angeles, her “Inspirational Filipino Immigrant” story featured in the New Americans Museum of San Diego, highlighted in ABS CBN TFC’s “BUHAY” tv series, selected by the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC as a 2018 Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) Delegate for her global legacy project in Filipino Traditional Medicine, 2019 Hiyas Awardee & 2020 TOP Hats Awardee for her healing work in the community through Hilot. Chiropractor, Acupuncturist, Nutritionist, Herbalist and Shamanic Medicine Practitioner of Luib Health Center, Dr. Cat is here to holistically serve the Mental, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual health needs of communities around her. She partners with Civic Leaders, Business Entrepreneurs, Parents & Children who are having challenges with stress, sleep, weight, pain or improving performance.
Dr. Cat regularly hosts her Annual Philippine Health/Medical Missions as her own Personal Philanthropy Project. She is an Engaged Civic Leader, Entrepreneurial Business Leader and Community Health Educator who powerfully teaches that “Health Is An Inside Job”, to “Think Well, Eat Well and Move Well” and that “Heart Base Living is The Major Step to Increasing Personal, Social & Global Coherence.”
Restoration of Filipino Indigenous memories, Reactivation of Filipino Traditional Medicine (Hilot) & Remembering The Connection To Ancestral Healing are her legacy projects. She encourages fellow kababayans to experience the Ancient Filipino Healing Arts, Philippine’s Healing Plants and Therapeutic Herbs to help improve health and healing of dis-eases. She believes that Filipino Healers hold a significant impact on natural healthcare delivery, progressing our collective human consciousness, and of the healing of our sacred lands and ancestral traumas from our colonized past. Dr. Cat’s Integrated Medicine & Holistic Wellness Center is officially the first in the USA to promote and offer the fullness of Hilot.
Brian Tajo
Washington, DC
Son of Marjorie Cuachon and the late Daniel Tajo, Brian is a successful business professional having held prominent roles at various Fortune 500 organizations. He started his career at IBM where he spearheaded a new consulting practice to help clients implement Software-as-a-Service solutions. He received Johnson & Johnson’s CEO award for leading a multi-million dollar project where he helped to grow a global shared service operation from Paranque, Philippines. He was named IT Leader of the year at Salesforce and his work leading the Employee Success product team has garnered speaking invitations at multiple technology conferences as well as publications in industry white papers. As a member of JCI Philippines New York, he helped to organize community events such as Beauty with a Purpose, a campaign for high school females to pursuit careers in male-dominated industries, a musical show to raise funds for streets of dreams project in the Philippines, and East meets West, an annual week-long student exchange program where middle school students from Japan interact with Filipino American students during United Nations week. Brian received a Master of Business Administration from the University of California Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Technology from Virginia Tech.
Amanda Bantug
Washington, DC
Amanda Bantug was born in Washington, D.C., but spent most of her life in the Philippines. She is an award-winning multimedia and graphic designer, with nearly a decade of experience in video production, animation, motion graphics, typography, print and layout design. Amanda is highly skilled in using a wide range of media to tell a compelling story; her multicultural background has given her unique insight and understanding of Filipinos’ experiences both in the Philippines and in the US. She is interested in the preservation of indigenous Filipino culture, and passionate about advocacy and mission-driven work in the community. When she’s not working, Amanda volunteers in the Filipino-American community, and helps teach design thinking classes for children from first through fifth grade.
Lauren Lalicon
Jackson, NJ
Lauren Lalicon is a first-generation Filipino American, born and raised in New Jersey. She currently serves as the policy director to First Lady Tammy Murphy of New Jersey. As policy director, Lauren helps to craft the First Lady’s policy agenda as it relates to maternal and infant health, energy and environment, and women and children. Lauren earned a B.A. in international studies from The College of New Jersey, where she served as president of TCNJ Barkada. After college, she began working as the Director of Government Relations for the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce. While at the Chamber, she co-found the Asian American Women’s Networking Group of Trenton to build a much-needed community within Trenton politics. She continued her work in the Filipino American community through involvement with UniPro and MakilalaTV and has most recently co-founded Professional Filipino American Youth (PFAY), a New Jersey based networking group that seeks to nurture the careers of Fil-Am young professionals who go against the grain to become leaders in their industries. She currently serves as PFAY’s Executive Director.
Baron Lloyd Cabalona
Chicago, IL
Baron Lloyd Cabalona is the Musical Director and Co-founder of the Chicago-based Filipino Folk Fusion band, SamaSama Project. A Nurse by profession, he Co-founded the League Of Volunteers for relief Expeditions (L.O.V.E), a medical mission group that consistently provides medical, surgical (minor) and dental assistance to patients that live in remote and underserved areas. His passion for music is only equaled by his passion to bring medical care to poor communities and disaster stricken areas in his home country, the Philippines. Since 2013, he has been mobilizing a dedicated group of doctors, nurses, dentists and volunteers to conduct “Sagip Kalusugan” Programs in Mindoro Occidental, Bukidnon, Lipa City, Abra, Tacloban City, Verde Island, Helpingland in Tondo, Manila and other areas. Completing over 19 Medical and Dental missions, 6 feeding programs, and 2 infrastructure projects to this date. Baron has partnered with Project pearls for 3 years and sparked new partnerships with University of Hawaii in bringing in Filipino-Americans to gain exposure and learn about the Philippines and its challenges. He is also traveling to many Blue Masonic lodges and spreading word of the medical missions, feeding programs, infrastructure projects to Fil-Am as well as Americans and many have voiced interest in participating. To the community that he serves, Baron is a leader and a mover in their collective cultural and philanthropic endeavors. Through his leadership, SamaSama Project whose objective of promoting Filipino Culture through music and the arts have proven themselves to be outstanding representatives of the community in established cultural events in Illinois and winning the “Battle of the bands 2017” held in Elgin, as well as internationally, such as the World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain. As part of SamaSama Project, he led charity events that gathered hundreds of volunteers to raise money for victims of natural calamities that hit the Philippines. In the arts, he has utilized his creative talent in arranging musicals and shows that touch on our peoples’ struggles and successes with the hope of giving a voice to the community as Filipinos, and most importantly, as Americans. Moreover, Baron has and continue to contribute immensely in paving the way for Filipino Arts and Fil-American artists to be on the Cultural map of Illinois with performances invitations and shows throughout the year and annual ground breaking concerts that showcase Filipino music, dance and theater arts to a broader audience. A jack of all trades, Baron is also a painter whose works are displayed in Oakton Community College, the Choir Director for Saint Joan Of Arc Filipino Choir, a music teacher, and a 2 time marathon runner, having 26 half marathon medals to his name and currently a new father to a 5 month old baby, Reign Malaya.
Charlynne “Char” McGinnis
Aiea, HI
Charlynne “Char” McGinnis is a Major in the United States Air Force serving as a strategic planner at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawai’i. Born and raised in the Philippines and the US, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from West Virginia University and her Master’s degree in Business Administration from American Military University. As Chief, Strategy Support Plan Branch, her team assesses Commander, Pacific Air Forces’ strategic objectives across the Indo-Pacific Command from India to the West Coast of the United States. A career intelligence officer, she managed over 5,000 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions directed by the President of the United States in support of military operations in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Indo-Asia-Pacific. However, she considers her time with Special Operations Command, Pacific as the most fulfilling when she served as Chief, Intelligence and Security Cooperation. In this capacity, she led the training program for her Filipino counterparts that would enable them to conduct organic airborne ISR missions to counter terrorism in Southern Philippines. In addition, Char deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. She lives in Aiea, HI with her husband Air Force Lt Col Kenneth McGinnis and their daughter Mayumi.
Meriden Villanueva
Los Angeles, CA
Meriden Villanueva is a Filipino American actor, writer, and producer. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcasting and Visual Media with a concentration in TV and Film Production from Seton Hall University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Pilipino Workers Center and was former Executive Director for FilAm Creative. She was also one of the ten selected delegates for the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) in 2018 and received an award for Emerging Leaders at the The Outstanding Pilipinos Awards in 2019. She has acted in Filipino American movies including “Lumpia With A Vengeance,” “Stateside,” and “Jeepney.” She wrote, produced, and starred in her short film called “The Coconut Chick.” She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and is represented by SoCal Talent, Pretigious Models, and Image Powerhouse.
Marjorie Baltazar
Chicago, IL
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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, NY
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
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
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
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, HI
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
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
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, NY
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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, CA
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, CA
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, CA
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, NY
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, HI
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, DC
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, IL
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, IL
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, NY
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, DC
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, IL
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, TN
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, CA
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, HI
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, TX
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, DC
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
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
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, GU
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, NY
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
San Rafael, CA
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
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 louellarose@gmail.com
JR Calanoc
San Francisco, CA
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
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
Los Angeles, CA
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
Ellicott City, MD
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
Chula Vista, CA
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
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
San Diego, CA
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, HI
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.