Member Spotlight: Trina Villanueva (Global FWN100™ '15) and Elizabeth J. Bautista (Global FWN100™ '15)

Trina Villanueva
Community Outreach and Foundation Officer, MUFG Union Bank
Oakland, California, USA

If there is one professional accomplishment and/or influential action that makes you very proud from your body of work, what would that be? As a board member of Filipino Advocates for Justice, I'm proud that I have helped the organization grow and helped them accomplish their mission of serving the Filipino community specifically, our youth, recent immigrants and low-wage workers for the past 12 years.

Workplace challenge as a Filipina woman and why: I always get mistaken for being a lot younger than I really am.  So many times I feel I have to prove myself to my colleagues because they don't realize how long I have been doing this work and the different experiences I have had in my career.

What do you think is the biggest challenge that faces the next generation of Filipina women? I think as with other generations, the next generation of Filipina women will take care of a lot of people including their parents, partners and children while juggling their own personal goals and aspirations.  They need to have a solid group of friends, mentors and colleagues to support them and help them pursue their dreams.

Elizabeth J. Bautista
Operations Technology Group Leader, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Daly City, California, USA

If there is one professional accomplishment and/or influential action that makes you very proud from your body of work, what would that be? I continue to create opportunities for women to consider a career in the Computing Sciences area.

What is the global impact of your work? By creating opportunities for women in Computing Sciences, I give them a tangible inroad into this area. They can experience the work they can potentially take part in and demonstrate the impact of what they do to further scientific research.
What's the best part of being a Filipina woman leader? I'd like to provide insight and opportunities to young women.

Workplace challenge as a Filipina woman and why: My industry is still very male-oriented and as a woman in a technical area, my co-workers and even management team, assume that I do not understand the technical aspects of our work. I am more known for my soft skills and not my technical skills. The challenge for me is to continue reminding management, that I cannot do my job well if I did NOT have a technical understanding.

WE ARE THE FILIPINA WOMEN'S NETWORK- Member Spotlight: Tessa Yutadco (Global FWN100™ '15) and Edith Mijares Ardiente (U.S. FWN100™ '07)

Tessa Yutadco is the founder and CEO of My Prime, a skin care line she launched in 2012.  My Prime is the first brand to introduce Pili oil, which is native to the Philippines, to the U.S. skin care market.  Having grown up in the Philippines until she was 16, Tessa is passionate about leveraging My Prime to give back to the Philippines.  In this regard, My Prime's corporate social responsibility focuses on programs in the Bicol region of the Philippines intended to create a sustainable source of income for the Filipino farmers who harvest the Pili fruit and the women who extract the Pili oil from the fruit.  Tessa has found these corporate social responsibility programs to be the most challenging, yet most rewarding, aspect of her work.

As the "face" of My Prime, Tessa has had to build and maintain her own "personal brand."  She has done so through all types of social media, public relations, blogging, networking and participating in charitable events in the U.S. and the Philippines.  Tessa has been a guest blogger on Maria Shriver's blog, and My Prime is a sponsor of Best Buddies International, the Ian Somerhalder Foundation's Causemetics and Dermstore's Best Cancer Awareness Month Beauty for a Cause.

Prior to founding My Prime, Tessa was an employment attorney in San Diego.  Tessa earned a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University, a J.D. from the University of Washington and an L.L.M. from the George Washington University.   

Edith Mijares Ardiente is Vice President, Environmental and Energy Affairs of Chicago-based Navistar, Inc. (NYSE: NAV), one of the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial and military trucks, diesel engines, school and commercial buses and recreational vehicles. She was elected to this position in May 2000, after serving as director of environmental affairs since 1991.

She is responsible for establishing corporate environmental policies and guidelines and providing technical and regulatory assistance to all Navistar locations and operations. Under Ms. Ardiente’s leadership, the company has been recognized for its environmental excellence and leadership as evidenced by over 100 environmental and energy awards received by the company for its operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Ms. Ardiente received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering, valedictorian, magna cum laude from the University of San Agustin in the Philippines. In college, she was a full university academic scholar and a Philippine National Science Development Board scholar. She received her M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She is a registered professional engineer (PE) and a qualified environmental professional (QEP). She was President of the Air and Waste Management Association in 2005. Ms. Ardiente has received numerous technical and civic awards, most recently an award from the President of the Republic of the Philippines for environmental excellence and community leadership.

Spotlight on FWN Members: Nora K. Terrado, GLOBAL FWN100™ '14 (PHILIPPINES) and Dr. Carmen Z. Lamagna, GLOBAL FWN100™ '14 (BANGLADESH)

Congratulations to Nora K. Terrado for a successful convening of the 2015 APEC Women and the Economy Fora.

Ms. Nora K. Terrado is the Undersecretary for Management Services and Chief of Staff of the Department of Trade and Industry. Before entering the civil service, Usec. Terrado was the Country Manager of Headstrong Philippines and Vice President for IT Services and Capital Markets of Genpact Philippines.

As an IT pioneer and industry leader in the Philippines with solid track record in leading successful change programs for global clients, the Undersecretary has significantly made solid contributions in the Ease of Doing Business (EODB)  initiatives. She is this year’s Chair for the APEC Women and the Economy Fora. She was among the 2014’s 100 Influential Filipina Women (FWN100TM).

The Undersecretary is an alumnus of the University of Asia and the Pacific for her graduate studies in business economics and the University of Saint La Salle for her degree in Commerce. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Born in Manila, Philippines, Dr. Carmen Z. Lamagna, earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Adamson University, Manila in 1978, passed the licensure examination for Chemical Engineers on the same year, she obtained her Masters degrees from the Philippines and a Doctoral degree from California. 

Dr. Carmen Z. Lamagna, was selected as top 100 women of the world under the education category by the International Alliance for Women (TIAW) for 2012.  The humble story of Dr. Lamagna, being the first woman Vice Chancellor at the American International University in Bangladesh has inspired women to take actions in support of women’s empowerment and advancement in society.  Her extraordinary accomplishments in promoting women through education-based programs, initiatives or personal action in a developing country like Bangladesh have earned for her the most coveted recognition.

Spotlight on FWN Members: Rocio Nuyda, US FWN100™ '12 and Vivian Zalvidea Araullo, US FWN100™ '12

Rocio Nuyda

Owner, Grace Events; U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance

Reseda, California

Community Involvement: Secretary of the Board of Trustees for the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance. In this capacity, she supports the organization's advocacies to promote upright ethics in public service. She is also actively involved in community programs in Los Angeles for the advancement of Filipino Culture and the Filipino American community as a whole. 

First job in the US: Office Manager

FilAm Shero In America: Loida Nicolas Lewis embodies the spirit of Godliness in advocating her favorite causes. In a speech before the Global Summit of Filipinos she said, "Whether we sit in an executive office as a CEO or a babysitter in a private home, our being Filipinos enables us to anticipate how the other person is feeling and we respond positively or react humanely." On many occasions I have partnered with her in advancing many worthwhile programs or projects that have significant impact or influence on the global community, and doing so has made me a firsthand witness to her understated elegance in leadership.

Proudest Professional Achievement: As an immigrant and naturalized citizen, she started from the ranks. Through hard work and dignified performance, she rose to the highest position in corporate America, second to the owners of the companies that she worked for. Without any intent to be braggadocious, she has many proud moments. But, the one that she is proudest about is leaving a trail and reputation of successful leadership in mentoring budding managers who reported to her. These managers continue to be trailblazers in the credit card industry; and they are quick to acknowledge that it was through her mentorship that they learned the ropes.

Biggest workplace challenge as a Fil-Am woman: Throughout the course of her career in America, she was pitted against Ivy league educated men who held equal rank executive positions as her. These men's first impression of a minority, petite woman who spoke with an accent, was less positive than the norm. At the onset, she had to prove herself. When they soon found out that she could hold her own, she could not be intimidated, and what she had to say had substance they treated me with reverence not only as a peer but as a woman of equal competence.

Vivian Zalvidea Araullo

Executive Director, Westbay

South San Francisco, California

First job in the U.S.: Associate Editor, Filipinas Magazine

Fil-Am s/hero in the U.S.: Natalie Coughlin. This Filipino American Olympic gold medalist proudly acknowledges her Filipino Heritage. She is a strong, determined Filipina American woman who is proud of her roots.

Proudest professional achievement: She created a series of public service fairs that brought together service providers who donated their time and talent to give Filipino Americans free service and advice immigration, health, debt, and foreclosure. The events helped thousands by raising funds to help less fortunate Filipinos in the Philippines. They were able to create a circle of giving and helping that crossed the Pacific and created a global Filipino community that exemplified the value of "bayanihan."

Biggest workplace challenge as a Fil-Am woman: As a female leader and a single mother in the corporate structure, she sometimes felt that she had to work harder to achieve respect and credibility within her organization. This also affects her work-life balance.

Five year goal: To create a truly powerful global community of overseas Filipinos who can affect changes in policy in the Philippines. I plan to achieve this by initiating a portal for information and news sharing among overseas Filipino communities across the world, now estimated at about 11 million strong.

The one thing that nobody would guess about me: She is a yoga instructor whose dream is to open a studio that could be a safe, quiet place to help people achieve wellness through yoga and meditation.

Filipino custom or tradition I would like to pass on to others: Bayanihan, which she would define by harnessing the community spirit to help others. In her opinion, Filipinos are generally hospitable, friendly and really want to help others. Bayanihan would go a long way in today's world.