FWN Fellows Alumni
Leah Laxamana
Leah Laxamana is thrilled to be the first Fellow for the Filipina Women’s Network, from 2011 to 2012. Through this role, she hopes to nurture deeper ties with the Filipino community through her service, as well as be instrumental in helping the women find their voices, as she develops her own.
Leah was born and raised in Manila and has lived and worked in San Francisco since 2000 and is currently with Korn/Ferry International. She has worked in various project management and administrative roles in the corporate and nonprofit sectors. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras from 2006-2008. Leah has an undergraduate degree in social sciences from Ateneo de Manila University with a minor in Hispanic studies and is fluent in Tagalog, Kapampangan and Spanish.
Leah ended her FWN fellowship with honors when she received the 2012 Monach Award from PAAWBAC (Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition) for her outstanding work at a memorable awards ceremony on June 3rd, 2012 at the Intercontinental Hotel. She was nominated by Marily Mondejar and Elena Mangahas, officers of the Filipina Women’s Network. Thereafter, she became a National Urban Fellow with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in New Jersey.
Leah currently works for Twitter as its Public Policy Program Manager. She was selected as Emerging Leader for the Global FWN100™ Awards in 2017 convened in Toronto, Canada.
Rebecca Corteza
Rebecca Corteza graduated Magna Cum Laude at Notre Dame de Namur University with a double major in English & Fine Arts in 2012.
Having dedicated 14 years to tennis, playing competitively in high school and the United States Tennis Association, she received a scholarship to play NCAA Division II college tennis where she played as the top ranked player of the team.
Rebecca was born in San Francisco and spent 7 years living in Texas until she began her college career in Northern California. In addition to tennis, her passions include creative writing and oil painting.
Rebecca was FWN’s 2012-2014 Fellow. She currently works for the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development after a tenure at the undergrad admissions at the Academy of Art University.
Raissa Alvero
Raissa Alvero is a First Generation Filipino-Canadian millennial and visual arts industry professional living in Montreal and Vancouver. She was Associate Director of the Douglas Udell Gallery in Vancouver, Canada where she curated, organized and promoted art exhibitions and art-related special events. She then became Associate Director of Communications for the Edmonton gallery with a wide range of marketing, copy writing, social media and communications design responsibilities.
Raissa also freelances as an artist advisor and advocate working with visual artists one-on-one to develop strategies to aid in their career development. Projects include grant and exhibition proposals, creating websites, catalogues, videos and other promotional material to support clients in securing commercial representation and other opportunities to engage more directly with art audiences. She was a peer reviewer for the first book in the FWN Leadership Series, Disrupt. Filipina Women: Loud. Proud. Leading Without A Doubt. Raissa is now an Associate for the Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver, Canada.
Raissa was the FWN Fellow at the 2015 Filipina Summit in San Francisco and at the 2016 Filipina Summit in Cebu, Philippines. She received her Bachelors of Arts degree in Art History with a concentration on Western Art: 19th Century French Art and Californian Modernism from University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She also attended Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver and studied Publication Design and Print Production at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, SFU Continuing Studies.
Jordan Ricarte
Jordan Ricarte was the 2018 FWN Fellow for the annual Filipina Leadership Global Summit held in London, UK.
He graduated cum laude from Robert Morris University - Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. His academic path was unconventional, attending his alma mater on an athletic gaming scholarship for their Esports program. During his time there, he achieved Top-16 finishes in tournaments that spanned across North America and was featured on popular streaming sites such as Twitch, YouTube and ESPN.
After graduating, he utilized his gaming industry experience as the Marketing Coordinator for MassVR, a virtual reality gaming tech startup in downtown Chicago.
Being a FWN Fellow has taught him many valuable career skills such as event management, networking and has helped him establish worthwhile relationships with influential Filipinas across the world.
He is currently back to school at Northwestern University to become a Web Developer.
Isabelle Santiago
Isabelle Santiago was a 2022 FWN Fellow and helped coordinate the Filipina Leadership Global Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.
Eljean Chan
Eljean Chan was a 2023 FWN Fellow.
Sally Valencia
Sally Valencia a 2023 FWN Fellow.
Chee Secuya-Andresio
Chee Secuya-Andresio was a 2024 FWN Fellow.
FWN Fellowship Program
The FWN Fellowship program is designed for entry-level professionals, recent graduates, returning to the workplace career women and motivated individuals seeking to enhance their work experience and portfolios through involvement with the Filipina Women's Network.
This is an opportunity for increased learning of the programs and initiatives to advocate the activities, careers, and status of Filipina women all over the world. The Fellow provides vital administrative support to FWN and its mission of becoming the top resource for leadership, professional and personal development for Filipina women worldwide.
The FWN Fellow has opportunities to network and participate in special FWN programs and events, as well as attend a variety of events and career training sponsored by FWN partner organizations relating to women and Filipino culture issues.
The FWN Fellow program cycle runs for 12 months and may be renewed for an additional 12-month cycle. Fellowship begins with the Fellow's selection to demonstrate desired skill sets in the administration and support of the annual Filipina Leadership Global Summit.
Participation in the FWN Fellowship Program may include the opportunity to travel to FWN summit venues for the planning and execution of FWN’s Annual Filipina Leadership Global Summit. Previous summits have been held in Manila (2014), Cebu (2016), Toronto (2017), London (2018). Paris (2019), San Francisco (2021). Bangkok, Dubai, Mexico, Rome, and South Korea are potential venues for 2023 and beyond.