FYLPRO

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FYLPRO FYLPRO is an organization of high performing next generation leaders that have a passion for advancing the Philippines and the Filipino people. Cuisia, Jr.

FYLPRO was established in 2012 by Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America, Jose L. and Mrs. Victoria J. Cuisia in cooperation with the Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) to identify, each year, ten outstanding young professionals in the Filipino communities across the United States and provide the delegates with invaluable community, business, and government insights and access to a distinguished network captains of industry and government. These selected individuals are called the FYLPRO delegates.

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.Today, meet Joel de Vera Moncadafrom Vallejo, Ca...
10/17/2026

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.

Today, meet Joel de Vera Moncadafrom Vallejo, California.

Joel de Vera Moncada is the Founder and Medical Director of Ritual Acupuncture Center in Vallejo, California. Integrating over 20 years of public health and Eastern medicine experience, he specializes in fertility, integrative oncology, functional medicine, and Neuropuncture™. A designated Fellow of the ABORM and a certified Oncology Acupuncturist, he is completing a second doctoral degree in Neuroscience Acupuncture to demystify acupuncture and bring it into 21st-century Western medical sciences. Driven by a commitment to healthcare equity, he also provides essential acupuncture services to marginalized and undocumented communities at OLE Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center.

His clinical expertise is deeply rooted in grassroots organizing. While earning his Public Health degree from UC Berkeley, he founded BIYUTI, establishing a safe, wellness-focused space for the q***r Filipino community. Prior to private practice, he delivered vital HIV/AIDS public health initiatives at the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center and the California Department of Public Health. To gain insight on direct medical services, he found clinical roles at UCSF’s Departments of Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology, alongside apprenticeships at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, CPMC Stroke Center, and Dr. Lifang Liang, an OB/GYN and acupuncturist. He firmly believes integrating medical care is essential to addressing systemic health inequities.

As a 2026 FYLPRO Delegate, Dr. de Vera Moncada is scaling his advocacy into global impact through his legacy project, “Acupuncture in the Archipelago.” This non-profit deploys diaspora traditional healers into Philippine medical missions and facilitates immersive educational exchanges between Western-trained physicians and indigenous provincial hilots to decolonize global healthcare and validate ancestral Philippine healing practices.

2026 delegates: https://fylpro.org/fylpro-announces-2026-immersion-program-delegates/

Support: https://bit.ly/FYLPROImmersionGivingFund

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.Today, meet Lillie Madali from Atlanta, Georgia....
10/16/2026

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.

Today, meet Lillie Madali from Atlanta, Georgia.

Lillie Madali is a strategy and transformation leader whose career spans public service, technology, business, and community building. She currently serves as Executive Director in the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office, where she advises executive leadership on enterprise strategy, organizational transformation, infrastructure investment, and complex cross-departmental initiatives. Her City experience has included leading Atlanta’s Smart City program, advancing a $2 million public-private smart street lighting partnership, improving government operations, and designing governance and performance strategies for the City’s Moving Atlanta Forward $750 million infrastructure bond program.

Beyond her professional work, Lillie is deeply committed to community building. Together with her husband, she founded BarkadaATL, a community initiative celebrating Filipino culture and creating stronger connections among Filipinos and Filipino Americans in Atlanta. She also founded the Delta Phi Lambda Foundation and has served with Hands On Atlanta and the Asian American Journalists Association.

Lillie holds an MBA from New York University, an MPA from Georgia State University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. She resides in Atlanta with her husband and is also a professional DJ, using music and the arts as another way to bring people together and celebrate culture.

Read more about the 2026 delegates: https://fylpro.org/fylpro-announces-2026-immersion-program-delegates/

Support the Immersion Program: https://bit.ly/FYLPROImmersionGivingFund

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.Today, meet Michelle Garcia from Lanesborough, M...
10/15/2026

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.

Today, meet Michelle Garcia from Lanesborough, Massachusetts.

Michelle G. Garcia is a second-generation Filipina American with family roots in rural Ilocos Sur. She is the Founder & Executive Director of Thriving Asians, with expertise in culturally meaningful mental health education, leadership training, and capacity-building.

A macro social worker by training, Michelle’s early career was marked by emerging leadership in global health & education – spanning K-12 schools in Southeast Asia; human rights in the Middle East; refugee resettlement in New York; and healthcare & higher education DEI in Boston. Following her own burnout & trauma, Michelle transitioned to the mental health field. As an educator & trainer, she learned self-compassion & self-care strategies transformative for her wellbeing.

In 2019, Michelle founded Thriving Asians (TA) to uplift mental health, leadership, and holistic success across Asian communities. She notably piloted TA Cultural Mental Health Education Programs, which integrate Asian values into empowering mental health messaging; and Youth Mental Health Leadership Programs, which train Asian youth to be peer advocates and supporters, and pursue careers in the mental health fields. A proud Filipina founder, Michelle directs Filipino mental health initiatives to reach kababayan across the US and Philippines (Bacolod, Legazpi, Bulacan). Michelle’s efforts grew Thriving Asians from “passion project” to global organization reaching 3,000+ community members.

Michelle’s advocacy spans local to global levels. She spearheaded efforts behind NYS’ Inaugural AANHPI Mental Health Day. She represented mental health interests at the 2024 Biden White House Briefing for AANHPI Community Leaders. Notably, Michelle was an honoree of the 2025 Philippine Consulate General in NY Evening with Distinguished Women.

Read more about the 2026 delegates: https://fylpro.org/fylpro-announces-2026-immersion-program-delegates/

Support the Immersion Program: https://bit.ly/FYLPROImmersionGivingFund

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.Today, meet Dr. Angelica Cortez from San Jose, C...
10/14/2026

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.

Today, meet Dr. Angelica Cortez from San Jose, California.

Dr. Angelica “Gel” Cortez is an award-winning nonprofit founder, activist, and civic leader dedicated to building Filipino American and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community power through civic engagement, public policy, leadership development, and health equity.

She is the Founder and CEO of LEAD Filipino, a national nonprofit organization she founded in San José to strengthen the civic and community infrastructure serving Filipino and AAPI communities. What began as a grassroots initiative in San José has grown into a multistate organization with work across California, Texas, and Nevada, building pathways for Filipinos to lead, organize, participate in civic life, and shape the decisions affecting their communities.

Dr. Cortez brings nearly two decades of experience spanning government, advocacy, public policy, and the nonprofit sector. She has spoken at the White House, and her leadership has been recognized by institutions across California, including the Golden State Warriors, which honored her with its 2025 Impact Award, and Stanford University, which named her its 2025 Community Health Advocate. Her scholarship has also been published in the Filipinx/a/o American Encyclopedia. She is a 2026–2027 fellow with UC Berkeley’s Democracy & Civility Center and serves as a national trustee for the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS).

Her approach to community power also extends to health equity. After losing her best friend, Carina, to cancer in 2024, she founded Carina Mae Scholars to support young people pursuing cancer research, health equity, and medicine. Through LEAD Filipino, she has advanced community-engaged cancer research with the Stanford Cancer Institute and developed initiatives that equip Filipino community health educators to address disparities in their communities.

Dr. Cortez earned her Doctor of Education from the University of Southern California, a Master of Public Administration from the University of San Francisco, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San José State University. During her free time, she enjoys painting, reading and hanging out with her dog, Soul.

Read more about the 2026 delegates: https://fylpro.org/fylpro-announces-2026-immersion-program-delegates/

Support the Immersion Program: https://bit.ly/FYLPROImmersionGivingFund

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.Today, meet Drea Castro from Glendale, Californi...
10/13/2026

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.

Today, meet Drea Castro from Glendale, California.

Drea Castro is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, creative leader, and community advocate dedicated to championing underrepresented voices through film, television, photography, and editorial storytelling. A two-time Gold Telly Award winner, she is an alumna of the Women in Film Mentorship Program and Women Who Create cohort, and a recipient of the Woman of Her Word grant.

Her feature documentary, Baldy for the Blind, follows a group of blind hikers as they journey to summit Mt. Baldy and continues to inspire audiences, particularly within the disability community.

Most recently, Drea directed Nurse the Dead, the first Filipino American television series filmed in Los Angeles. In 2025, she helped produce the Italy and Switzerland episodes of GMA Network’s Sanggang Dikit and locally produced Big Tiger in the Philippines, starring Alden Richards, Luke Goss, and Kat McNamara. These projects fostered collaboration between Filipino and American talent while creating opportunities for mentorship on both sides of the camera.

Drea is currently producing a show for Netflix and developing projects including The Night Shift and Crab, exploring identity, culture, resilience, and perspectives often left out of the frame.

Her photography has appeared in ELLE Magazine, Times Square, Kapwa Magazine, and Run Wild Magazine, featuring artists including Lil Wayne, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Eve, Raven-Symoné, Jaleel White, Swizz Beatz, and Eric Benét. She previously served as chief program officer of FilAm Creative and festival director of the FilAm Creative Film Festival.

Read more about the 2026 delegates: https://fylpro.org/fylpro-announces-2026-immersion-program-delegates/

Support the Immersion Program: https://bit.ly/FYLPROImmersionGivingFund

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.Today, meet Monica Batac from Winnipeg, Manitob...
10/12/2026

: Over the next few weeks, we will highlight a 2026 immersion delegate.

Today, meet Monica Batac from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Dr. Monica Anne Batac is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Social Work. A 2026–2027 Fulbright Scholar and 2018 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar, she is a critical qualitative researcher, community practitioner, writer, and educator. Informed by self-help and empowerment traditions, her interdisciplinary work bridges scholarship and community organizing to advance Filipino Canadian community development, capacity-building, and collective action.

Born and raised in Toronto, Dr. Batac brings her experiences as a second-generation Filipina Canadian to her scholarship on migration, labour, diaspora, and decolonization. Her research draws on feminist, anti-racist, and decolonizing methodologies, including autoethnography, participatory action research, community-engaged inquiry, and decolonizing ethnography.

Dr. Batac is a founding member and co-organizer of the Filipino Canadian Social and Community Workers Network (FCSCWN), a national network connecting Filipino social work scholars, practitioners, and community organizers. Her current projects examine Filipino helping professionals working with Filipino and Indigenous communities across urban, rural, remote, and Northern contexts; support Filipino non-profit organizations with program and organizational development; develop case studies for anti-racist social work education; and investigate Asian Canadians’ experiences of racism. She also fosters collaborations among universities, community organizations, and emerging scholars to strengthen Filipino Canadian research and practice.

Her writing appears in Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, Qualitative Inquiry, Asian Canada Is Burning: Theories, Methods, Pedagogies, and Praxes (Brill, 2025), and Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing (Cormorant Books, 2024).

Read more about the 2026 delegates: https://fylpro.org/fylpro-announces-2026-immersion-program-delegates/

Support the Immersion Program: https://bit.ly/FYLPROImmersionGivingFund

: Tomorrow is the voting deadline. If you’ve supported FYLPRO Tayo Help Desk's Mag Vax Tayo, thank you. Please share th...
10/12/2026

: Tomorrow is the voting deadline.

If you’ve supported FYLPRO Tayo Help Desk's Mag Vax Tayo, thank you. Please share the entry with one colleague, friend, or community partner who hasn’t seen it yet. Tell them why the storytelling connected with you.

If you’ve been meaning to vote, cast your Audience Honors vote today.

https://shortyawards.com/11th-impact/mag-vax-tayo

Voting ends October 13. Help us finish with the same community spirit that brought these stories to life. Shorty Awards

: Leadership grows when you know where you come from.The FYLPRO Immersion Program takes a delegation of Filipino profes...
10/11/2026

: Leadership grows when you know where you come from.

The FYLPRO Immersion Program takes a delegation of Filipino professionals from North America across the Philippines for on-the-ground learning, cultural connection, and leadership development. Delegates return as FYLPRO alumni with relationships and perspectives they bring into their workplaces and communities for years to come.

We’ve opened the Immersion Program Giving Fund to support the next cohort. Gifts start at $250 for a shared delegation meal, and $5,000 sponsors one delegate’s full experience.

Choose a giving level below and help support the next cohort:
-$250 brings the delegation together over a shared meal and meaningful conversation
-$500 hosts a delegation dinner that builds connection, community, and lasting relationships
-$1,000 supports travel across the Philippines for immersive, on-the-ground learning
-$1,500 welcomes the cohort through an Opening Ceremony that sets the tone for their Immersion journey
-$2,500 celebrates the delegation at the Closing Ceremony and marks the beginning of their next chapter as FYLPRO alumni
-$5,000 invests in one delegate’s Immersion experience, from cultural connection and leadership development to relationships that continue long after the program

If FYLPRO has shaped your path — or you want to invest in the leaders shaping ours — we’d be grateful for your support.

https://bit.ly/FYLPROImmersionGivingFund

: FYLPRO Announces 2026 Immersion Program DelegatesThe Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) today announced the ten ...
10/08/2026

: FYLPRO Announces 2026 Immersion Program Delegates

The Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) today announced the ten delegates selected for its 2026 Immersion Program, marking the organization’s twelfth cohort of emerging leaders.

This year’s cohort also marks an important milestone in FYLPRO’s continued growth across North America with the expansion of the program to Canada. This expansion builds on the work that FYLPRO has undertaken over several years to intentionally build and strengthen relationships with Filipino Canadian leaders, organizations, and communities. This expansion reflects FYLPRO’s broader commitment to creating and strengthening connections among Filipinos around the world, whether in the Philippines, the United States, Canada, or elsewhere in the global Filipino diaspora.

FYLPRO is excited to announce the 2026 Delegation, which includes, for the first time in the organization’s history, Filipino Canadian representation. The 2026 Delegates are:

Monica Batac — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Drea Castro — Glendale, California
Angelica Cortez — San Jose, California
Joel de Vera Moncada — Vallejo, California
Michelle Garcia — Lanesborough, Massachusetts
Lillie Madali — Atlanta, Georgia
Joseph Navales — Eastvale, California
Ria Pretekin — Chicago, Illinois
Caroline Raquel — New York, New York
Carlo Velayo — Decatur, Georgia

The 2026 Immersion Program will take place November 29 through December 4 in Metro Manila and Bulacan, where delegates will meet directly with leaders across government, business, nonprofit organizations, and local communities, while gaining a deeper understanding of the issues, opportunities, and lived experiences shaping the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora today.

https://fylpro.org/fylpro-announces-2026-immersion-program-delegates/

: FYLPRO board member Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos is sharing a tracker she's created to keep the college application process...
10/05/2026

: FYLPRO board member Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos is sharing a tracker she's created to keep the college application process organized:

In many immigrant families, we're the first to go to college in America. Our parents may have earned degrees in the Philippines, but we were the ones figuring out applications, deadlines, and financial aid here, often without anyone to show us the way.

I remember how confusing and frustrating that felt. So, when it was my kids' turn, I wanted to guide them while still giving them the space to own the process.

Drawing on 20+ years in higher education, including 7 years as an Associate Director for a graduate program at Penn, where I worked on admissions and recruitment, I created a college planner and tracker to help with everything from researching schools and comparing costs to tracking essays, recommendation letters, and deadlines.

Over the years, I've shared it with friends and family in the same college-application boat. Now I'm sharing it with our FYLPRO community, in hopes it helps you or someone you love, too.

p.s. My son is now a senior at Rutgers, graduating in May 2027, and my middle daughter is also at Rutgers, graduating in May 2028. Go, Scarlet Knights! 🎓❤️

Instructions:
Click on the link
Make a copy
Save the spreadsheet to your phone/computer/iPad
You can then edit the document as you see fit

https://bit.ly/JNRCollegeAppTracker

Address

123 W NYE Lane, Suite 129
Carson City, NV
89706

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