Trafficked Filipino Teachers Win $4.5 Million Lawsuit Over LA-based Recruitment Company

Trafficked Filipino Teachers Win $4.5 Million Lawsuit Over LA-based Recruitment Company

Excerpt: A U.S. appeals court Monday, December 1 upheld a jury’s $4.5 million award to a class of roughly 350 Filipino teachers who accused recruitment companies of demanding they pay massive processing and placement fees or face losing their jobs in Louisiana. A class of 347 Filipino teachers, who came to the United States to work on H-1B guest worker visas, said recruitment agencies and their agents misled them and collected millions of dollars in fees, according to Courthouse News Service. They reportedly paid up to $16,000 each to work in public schools in Louisiana. News story from Inquirer.net.

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U.S. Marine Scott Pemberton Found Guilty for Killing Jennifer Laude

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U.S. Marine Scott Pemberton Found Guilty for Killing Jennifer Laude

A Philippine court has found Scott Pemberton guilty of killing Filipina transgender woman Jennifer Laude. Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton was convicted of killing Jennifer Laude in a hotel room in Olongapo city, north-west of Manila, last year. The marine was on leave in Olongapo on 11 October 2014, after joint military exercises with the Philippine army, when he met Ms. Laude in a bar. Police said they left together and checked into a hotel, where she was found dead the next day, apparently strangled and with her head inside the hotel toilet. Pemberton will face between six and 12 years imprisonment. News story courtesy of BBC.com.

 

Bay Area Artists! Apply for the Artist-in-Residence Program in Hunter's Point/Bayview. Deadline: December 14

Bay Area Artists! Apply for the Artist-in-Residence Program in Hunter's Point/Bayview. Deadline: December 14

This is a call for artists of all visual or cross-disciplinary media  for an 18-month long artist studio residency. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and must work, live, or are involved or have a personal history with the Bayview/Hunters Point Community. The artist residency will take place from January 2016-May 2017. To apply or learn more, visit http://www.shipyardtrust.org/artist-in-residence-program/

Entrepreneur Myrna T. Yao (Global FWN100™ '15) Shares Her Global Vision of Women in Business in Exclusive ABS-CBN Interview

Entrepreneur Myrna T. Yao (Global FWN100™ '15) Shares Her Global Vision of Women in Business in Exclusive ABS-CBN Interview

Myrna T. Yao, CEO of Richprime Global Inc. (Global FWN™ '15) got her first entrepreneurial start at her family's sari-sari store and selling accessories to her classmates in Bicol.  She now heads Richwell Trading,  a leader in distribution and retail of branded consumer goods in the Philippines. Yao was recently interviewed by ABS-CBN where she shared meaningful insight on micro-entrepreneurship as the chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Women. In support of women's entrepreneurship, Yao shared, “if you have an idea, don’t wait, and if you’re afraid to make mistakes, mistakes will make you learn and will make you grow. So any problem that comes, you just have to face it and then you will learn from it and you will grow from it. And then you will be a better person and a better entrepreneur." Watch the video interview after the jump.

Ramona Diaz, The Visionary Behind 'Imelda' and 'Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey' on Global FWN100™ '15 Award

Ramona Diaz, The Visionary Behind 'Imelda' and 'Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey' on Global FWN100™ '15 Award

PhilStar's Joanne Rae M. Ramirez pays congratulations to filmmaker Ramona Diaz on her Global FWN™ '15 award. "It is a much deserved accolade for Diaz, whose film Imelda, a full-length documentary about the former First Lady of the Philippines, garnered the Excellence in Cinematography Award for documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and the ABCNews VideoSource Award from the IDA. In an interview with FWN, Diaz said she makes films about “the Filipino experience for a global audience. We are often represented as minor characters, even in our own narratives. We seldom see ourselves represented on the screen in a lead role." News story from PhilStar.

U.S. FWN100™ '09 and Chairwoman of the New York City Commission on Human Rights Weighs in On Her Leadership Style

U.S. FWN100™ '09 and Chairwoman of the New York City Commission on Human Rights Weighs in On Her Leadership Style

Chairwoman and Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights Carmelyn Malalis (U.S. FWN100™  '09)  weighs in on her leadership style, the virtue of multi-tasking and being comfortable in her own skin as a queer woman of color in this interview with Adam Bryant for Corner Office, a weekly New York Times column on leadership. 

OP ED: The Internet is Critical to Asian Women's Careers and Survival by Marily Mondejar, Founder & CEO of Filipina Women's Network

OP ED: The Internet is Critical to Asian Women's Careers and Survival by Marily Mondejar, Founder & CEO of Filipina Women's Network

Is the Internet slowing down for all of us? 

Eight months ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began an unprecedented effort to regulate the Internet with telephone rules from the 1930s. Since then, the private investment needed to create better Internet service has declined noticeably.  During the first half of 2015, Internet investment dropped 8%, according to figures released by major Internet providers. Excluding wireless providers, the fall was even greater – down 12%.

For FWN100™ Awardees Only: Call for Abstracts: DISRUPT 2.0

For FWN100™ Awardees Only: Call for Abstracts: DISRUPT 2.0

This is a call for abstracts for the next book on Filipina Global Leadership. The book builds on the FWN’s first leadership book titled “DISRUPT. Filipina Women: Proud. Loud. Leading without a Doubt.” launched in October 2014. Go to http://www.filipinaleadership.org/  for more info.  Key themes for individual chapters include disruptions in your life that you have overcome and disruptions that you have initiated; leadership competencies you developed for yourself, for leading others, and your organization; and, legacy building for the next generation.  A synthesis chapter will pull together key themes and make recommendations for aspiring leaders and thought leaders in the sectors represented.  

This CALL for Abstracts is for U.S. and Global FWN100™ Awardees (2007-2015) and are in good membership standing with the Filipina Women's Network.

To join or renew your FWN member dues, please go to http://ffwn.org/MembershipApplication before you submit an abstract: http://www.filipinaleadership.org/call-for-abstracts-disrupt2/