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.

Filipino Film "Imbisibol" Debuts at Toronto International Film Festival

Filipino Film "Imbisibol" Debuts at Toronto International Film Festival

Director Lawrence Fajardo’s film Imbisibol (Invisible), which had its international debut at the Toronto Film Festival yesterday, tells the stories of four OFWs living in the city of Fukuoka in the aftermath of a 1989 Japanese crackdown on overstayers – workers who remain in the country after their work contracts expire.

“That’s why we chose the title,” says producer Krisma Fajardo, who is also Lawrence’s wife. “They’re not supposed to be in Japan. Legally they’re not there. And then they’re also not in the Philippines, physically, so it’s like they’re invisible. These people tend to lay low and not attract ­attention.”

News story courtesy of The National

Filipino Food Hits the Mainstream

Filipino Food Hits the Mainstream

Filipino immigrants have struggled to have much impact on mainstream U.S. culture, especially around food and drink. The problem is compounded, Ponseca adds, by a well-documented trait: It’s called “hiya” (pronounced “hee-yah” in Tagalog), and the word translates into English as “shame” or “dishonor.” Some Filipino immigrants in America have felt a sense of hiya around their food, with its duck embryos, pig’s blood, shrimp paste and other potentially hard-to-swallow ingredients.

News story courtesy of Washington Post

Filipina-American Shoe Designer Ivy Kirzhner Aims to Empower Women through Footwear

Filipina-American Shoe Designer Ivy Kirzhner Aims to Empower Women through Footwear

With a contemporary footwear line that is one of the highest grossing brands in Saks 5th Avenue, Filipina-American designer Ivy Kirzhner is ruling the footwear industry--both in the U.S. and abroad. But when asked about her global success, Kirzhner gives a lot of credit to her immigrant upbringing and her beloved Queens, the New York borough from which she hails.

Kirzhner was born in Cabanatuan City, Philippines, though most of her early childhood was spent in Manila, the country's capital. In 1989, she moved to the United States, where her family settled in Woodside, Queens, an area with a large Filipino-American community.

News story courtesy of NBC News

Asian American Voters Likely to Punish Candidates with Anti-Immigrant Views

Asian American Voters Likely to Punish Candidates with Anti-Immigrant Views

Last week, Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina came under fire for their offensive comments on Asian immigrants. Bush noted in his visit to border city McAllen, TX, that the phenomenon of so-called “anchor babies” was “frankly, more related to Asian people,” while Fiorina called in Le Mars, Iowa for the urgent resolution of “festering problems” like the Chinese birth tourism industry in the United States.

This brings up an important question of whether anti-immigrant rhetoric could hurt candidates among Asian American voters. 

News story courtesy of AAPI Data.

BALITA: 17 year-old Filipina-Canadian Inventor Ann Makosinski “Flashlight Girl” Shines Bright

BALITA: 17 year-old Filipina-Canadian Inventor Ann Makosinski “Flashlight Girl” Shines Bright

Ann Makosinski is a Victoria-based Canadian student inventor who made headlines two years ago for her invention of a body-heat powered flashlight when she was just 15. Last year, she developed a hands-free headlamp version of her initial concept and went on to win the Google Science Fair in 2013 for both versions. Her latest invention, the e-Drink, harnesses energy from the heat of hot drinks to power electronic devices.