Mark T. Ng with fellow executives of Wells Fargo kicked-off a Filipino Leaders Roundtable last year with a SF Giants Game Watch Party at the AT&T Park to explore better ways to serve and connect with the Bay Area's Filipino community. The roundtable of influential leaders include Marily Mondejar (Filipina Women's Network), Al Perez (Filipino American Arts Exposition), Lillian Galedo (Filipino Advocates for Justice), Bernadette Sy (Bayanihan Foundation), Mona Lisa Yuchengco (Philippine International Aid), Alleluia Panis (KULARTS), Terry Valen (Filipino Community Center) and Luisa Antonio (Veteran's Equity Center) among other key influential Filipino American leaders in the Bay Area. The roundtable just concluded its last quarterly meeting for 2016.
Key findings:
- There is still a need for data/ research re Filipino Americans, especially at regional/ local level
- While most of the Filipino nonprofits/ services/ centers are based in San Francisco, data shows changing residential trends including growth in Daly City, Hayward, Union City, Milpitas, north San Jose, southern San Francisco, and south Solano county
- The Filipino community in the Bay Area is “in motion”. Where the community lives, works, socializes/ plays are each distinct.
- Filipinos are a working community. There are certain industries where Filipinos over-index including healthcare (nurses), accounting, hospitality, airport workers
- There is opportunity to promote citizenship and voter registration (non partisan). Approximately 50% of Filipinos eligible to register are not registered to vote. In only two counties - San Francisco and Kings Counties - are more than 50% of Filipinos eligible to register, taking advantage of their voting right.
- There is power in Filipino organizations / leaders working as a collective to engage supporters (public/ private)
Source: Mark T. Ng, Pacific North Region Manager, Regional Marketing & Field Support, Wells Fargo
