Date: Saturday, April 14, 2018
Forum: 9:00AM — 5:00PM
Reception: 6:00PM — 9:00PM
Location: Kalayaan Hall, Philippine Consulate in San Francisco
Address: 447 Sutter St; San Francisco, CA 94108
A livestream of the forum from 9:30AM-5:00PM PT will be available on NaFFAA’s Facebook page. The Elected Officials Panel from 1:30-2:30PM PT will also be live streamed on Balitang America’s Facebook page. For Twitter, please follow @NaFFAA_National and #NorCalCLF.
NaFFAA is organizing a day-long forum focused on civic leadership and empowerment within the Filipino American community. Sponsored by the CLF Foundation and hosted at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, the forum will feature prominent Filipino American speakers who will discuss topics ranging from personal and professional development to civic engagement and local advocacy. Whether you’re looking to network, sharpen your skills, or even run for office: the forum will help SPARK new ideas, CONNECT you to dynamic leaders, and EMPOWER attendees to get involved within the community!
Agenda
SPARK (9:00AM-12:00PM)
Breakfast and Registration
Opening Remarks:
- Emcee: Miguel Guerrero, Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration (EPYC) Ambassador, NaFFAA
- Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr.
- Anthony Ng, Executive Director, CLF Foundation
- Wai-Yan Sandy Chau, Board Chair, CLF Foundation
Icebreaker Activity
Development and Fundraising Presentation:
- Paul Ocampo, Director of Development, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
- Genevieve Jopanda, Festival Director, Pistahan
CONNECT (12:00-3:00PM)
Keynote Remarks
- Assemblymember Rob Bonta, 18th Assembly District
Lunch
Elected Officials Panel:
- Co-Moderator: Rudy Asercion, Northern California Region Chair, NaFFAA
- Co-Moderator: Rodel Rodis, Former Trustee, San Francisco Community College Board; Board of Governors, NaFFAA
- Former Mayor Jose Esteves, City of Milpitas
- Council Member Dianne Martinez, City of Emeryville
- Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell, President, SF Board of Education; Deputy Chief of Staff, SF Office of the Mayor
- Mayor Gabriel Quinto, City of El Cerrito
- Vice Mayor Malia Vella, City of Alameda
EMPOWER (3:00-5:00PM)
Civic Leadership Panel:
- Moderator: Kevin Suarez, Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration (EPYC) Ambassador, NaFFAA
- Angelica Cortez, Founder, LEAD Filipino
- Roderick Daus-Magbual Ed.D, Director of Program Development, Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP)
- Arvin J. Garcia, External Co-Chair, Northern California Pilipinx American Student Alliance (NCPASA)
- Mario de Mira, Community Development Manager, SOMA Pilipinas
Advocacy in Action Presentation:
- Joe Garbanzos, MPH/EMBA, Executive Council Member (Volunteer), CA-AARP
- Rudy Asercion, NaFFAA Northern California Region Chair
Closing Remarks:
- Jason Tengco, Executive Director, NaFFAA
COMMUNITY RECEPTION (6:00-9:00PM)
Welcome Remarks
Entertainment
Certificate Ceremony and Community Partner Announcements:
- Balitang America (BA) / The Filipino Channel (TFC)
- Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce (FPACC)
- Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ)
- Filipino Food Movement (FFM)
- Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO)
- Kubo
- LEAD Filipino
- National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA)
- Northern California Pilipinx American Student Alliance (NCPASA)
- Philippine American Press Club (PAPC)
- Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA)
- Pilipinx American Student Alliance (PASA), California State University East Bay
- Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP)
- Positively Filipino
- Rotary Club of Daly City and Colma Evening
- San Francisco Filipino American Chamber of Commerce (SFFACC)
Space is limited. RSVPs will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis.
Confirmed Speakers
Geraldine Alcid became The Filipino Advocates for Justice’s (FAJ) new Executive Director in 2017. She previously served as FAJ’s Programs Director (2006 to 2012), focusing on FAJ’s civic engagement work. In that role, she provided leadership on voter engagement efforts, including new access to Filipino voter data and shared state-wide analysis, Filipino voter mobilization and GOTV in numerous elections, participated in the Tagalog Language Advisory Committee of the Alameda County’s Registrar Of Voters, and coordinated volunteers with the Asian Law Caucus to poll monitored for language access. She also led FAJ’s outreach for the 2010 census. After leaving the Bay area briefly in 2012, she returned to do fund development and grassroots fundraising for FAJ.
Mr. Rudy Asercion Is an elected official in San Francisco and is no stranger to the Filipino community having served as the former Executive Director of West Bay Filipino Multi Service Center for eight years. Through his work, he served disadvantaged, at risk youths by helping them transition to responsible, productive adults. He currently serves as Commissioner of the Veterans War Memorial Commission and continues to advocate for Filipino WWII veterans in San Francisco. Before West Bay Mr. Asercion worked as an engineer with over 18 years experience as a senior level business executive actively engaged in providing consulting and energy conservation services to clients located in the United States and Asia. He has held senior executive positions in both international and domestic organizations, serving as President and CEO of the Environmental Energy Management System of Singapore, President of EMS Hong Kong, Principal of AB Engineering- USA, and President of EMS-USA. Mr. Asercion is a board member of the Philippine American Press Club and the San Francisco Filipino American Chambers of Commerce.
A career diplomat, lawyer, professor and former student activist, Mr. Bensurto is one of the Philippines’ leading experts on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and West Philippine Sea issue. Prior to his posting in San Francisco, Mr. Bensurto served as the Assistant Secretary of the West Philippine Sea Center in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary-General of the Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs, a coordinating body on the Law of the Sea and other maritime issues.
Mr. Bensurto initially conceptualized the legal framework which formed the core of the Philippine legal approach in its arbitration case against China. The Arbitral Tribunal in the Hague ruled on 12 July 2016 in favor of the Philippines against China. For his work on the protection of the West Philippine Sea, Mr. Bensurto received the Presidential Award from President Benigno S. Aquino III in 2013. He also received a Presidential Award from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2010 for helping shepherd the passage of the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law. He also shepherded the submission of the Philippine Extended Continental Shelf over the Benham Rise before the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Mr. Bensurto has been a speaker on the UNCLOS and South China Sea issues in various fora. He has also written various articles on international law.
He is married to Ms. Ann Mariza Sanchez-Bensurto, and has a son, Henry Matthew Bensurto.
Assemblymember Rob Bonta was elected to the California State Assembly’s 18th District in 2012, where he represents the cities of Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. He is the first Filipino American legislator in the 165-year history of California.
Rob’s passion for justice and equality was instilled in him at a very young age by his parents, who taught him to understand injustice and the importance of joining the struggle to empower vulnerable communities. His father was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and stood with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Deep South—marching for equality and justice in Selma. His mother was and continues to be a long-time leader in the Filipino social justice movement.
Growing up in a trailer just a few hundred yards from César Chávez’s home, Bonta watched closely as his parents organized Filipino and Mexican American farm workers, infusing his formative years with first-hand experience of one of the greatest peaceful social, racial, and economic justice movements of all time. This had a huge impact on Rob’s life choices and pursuits, inspiring his life’s commitment to helping people.
Rob believed legal training was one of the most powerful ways to effect positive and profound change in the lives of those who needed it most. He worked his way through college cleaning laundry rooms and, with the help of financial aid, was able to achieve his dream of attending some of the best universities in the world, obtaining his Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School after attending Yale College and Oxford University in England. Earning honors in college, Rob was also a scholar athlete, captaining the Yale Soccer team. He also paved the way for the advancement of students of color as a mentor and volunteered in support of local children struggling with poverty. His legal career included work as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco,
where he represented the City and County and its employees, and as a private attorney, where he fought to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling. Rob was undefeated at trial, never losing a jury verdict for his clients.
Prior to being elected to the Alameda City Council, Rob served as the Chair of the City of Alameda’s Economic Development Commission, where he focused on business attraction and retention efforts, and as board president for the Social Service Human Relations Board, where he fought to protect safety net services for the most vulnerable members of the community. As Vice Mayor of the City of Alameda, Bonta strongly supported public safety, fostered economic development, and exercised fiscal responsibility.
Bonta currently serves as the Assistant Majority Leader. He serves on the Appropriations,
Communications and Conveyance, Governmental Organization, Revenue & Taxation, and Health Committees. He is also chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.
Rob and his wife Mialisa live in Alameda with their three children.
Wai-Yan Sandy Chau, Founder of Acorn Campus Capitals and Universal Semiconductor, he is a servant leader in social justice and a modest philanthropist with global focus in civic leadership. Mr. Chau is a successful software entrepreneur and seasoned investor with more than 40 years experience in US, Taiwan. China and the Pacific Rim that left an impressive tracks in the areas of real estate, biotech, IT, media and telecom.
Born in Shanghai, Mr. Chau was raised in Hong Kong and Vietnam. He received his B.S. in
Engineering and MBA in the US. Since 2013, Mr. Chau has 50 merge and acquisitions (M/A) among portfolio companies. He personally engaged about 20 M/A with 5 portfolio companies went IPO. He is both Founder and President of Trident USA: a diversified holding company that invests in real estate and provides venture capital throughout Greater China and the United States.
As a Hua Yuan “Angel,” Mr. Chau has been an active investor in several companies started by Hua Yuan members including: Achievo, Viador, Servgate, Photonify, EnReach, and Televigation. Prior to Trident USA, from 1986 – 1999 Mr. Chau actively invested in real estate and provided venture capital in Taiwan, China, and the US. He served as Chairman of CITIC Shenzhen Properties from 1994 – 1997 and from 1992 – 1995 served as President of Pacific Constructions, one of the largest public real estate development companies traded publicly in Taiwan. Before real estate, Mr. Chau also worked for Asian Inc. briefly before he founded Universal Semiconductor and ran the company as its CEO.
Mr. Chau is currently the board chair of Pacific Vision Foundation Inc., Vision New America, and executive board member of Shin Shin Educational Foundation, APAPA and APALI. As founding board member of AAMA, he also served on board with many non-profits in the Bay area, such as Chinese for Affirmative Action, Children Head Start program and the Emmy awarded film program of Chinese Heritage.
Influenced by the importance of cultural identity, political participation, and public interest issues, Angelica founded LEAD Filipino in 2015 to involve more Filipinos in civic leadership. Since LEAD Filipino’s formation and the joint-work of many students and young adults, the organization has grown to serve hundreds of community members each year.
A second generation Filipina American, Angelica is a Bay Area native and graduate of both San Jose State University and the University of San Francisco. She became involved in issues of Filipino justice as a college student, where she helped advance the Filipino Memorial Project, served as a student officer with campus organizations, and ran SJSU’s Pilipino Commencement.
Her professional background blends local government, policy advocacy, and research, where she has worked for the California State Assembly and a number of policy organizations in the Bay and Los Angeles Areas. Angelica’s currently a Senior Associate at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group – a business trade association – and is active with several political and nonprofit groups in the South Bay.
In 2017, she was honored by Asian American Recovery Services with their Sister-to-Sister, “Legacy Award” and by NBC Bay Area for her work within Asian Pacific Islander communities.
Angelica holds her BA in Political Science and Master in Public Administration. In her spare time, she looks for new music, plans her next vacation, and rides her bike around town.
Dr. Roderick Raña Daus-Magbual is the Director of Program Development for the Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP). Over the past two decades, he brings community and teaching experiences where he has worked at various non-profits in southern and northern California and has taught at various colleges and universities. He received his BA in Liberal Studies from UC Riverside in 2000, his MA in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU) in 2004, and his Education Doctorate at the University of San Francisco (USF) in the Organization and Leadership (O&L) Program with a minor in the International Multicultural Education (IME) Program. Rod currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Planning Commission for Daly City, CA and is running for city council in 2018.
Jose Esteves has served for many years as a volunteer and leader in various civic, non-profit, community, church and business organizations before becoming involved in public service in the City of Milpitas. A ‘Milpitas Citizen of the Year’ awardee, a Character awardee, excellence in public service awardee, and many more, he has kept his involvement with various associations keeping him in direct connections with various groups of people and citizens and making himself accessible and accountable.
In the City of Milpitas, he focused on building structures for the future like the new Milpitas Library which was completed, on budget and on schedule, during his mayoral term, a new Senior Center, the Milpitas downtown development, and others. He strongly advocated for ethics in public service, open government, fiscal responsibility and full City services.
Former Mayor Esteves was elected number one to the Milpitas City Council in 1998 and won six mayoral elections with landslide victories. He garnered 73% plus in his mayoral election in November 2012. Jose has Civil and Industrial Bachelor Degrees in Engineering and an MBA. He has taken Communications Academy at UCLA Anderson School of Business and finished Leadership in the 21st Century at the JFK School of Government, Harvard University. He was voted Milpitas’ “Best Elected Official” in 2003-2008, yearly, and again in the years 2011-2016, yearly, while serving as Mayor. He was also voted as Milpitas’ 2016 Best Government Employee.
Jose and Susan are the proud parents of Irene, a university instructor; they have lived in Milpitas for over 35 years.
Joe works as a healthcare consultant at Harbage Consulting, specializing in Medicare-Medicaid programs. He is a volunteer Executive Council member at CA- AARP. His portfolio is on the AAPI population and the implementation of Livable Communities Initiative.
He serves as Board Chairman at Samahan Health Centers, a FQHC in San Diego. He was appointed by the San Diego Board of Supervisors to the Aging & Independence Services (AIS) Advisory Council. The council provides advice and oversight to the county on policies for seniors and people with disabilities.
A Faculty/Lecturer at the California School of Management & Leadership, Alliant International University, San Diego campus. He teaches business and health care courses in the Undergraduate and MBA programs. Alliant is a private, non-profit school known for its smaller-size classes and an international student population.
Joe is University of the Philippines alumnus with degree in Mass Communication / Journalism. He also has an MBA degree from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management and completed his Master of Public Health (MPH) from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, CA.
Joe is married to Florence Angeles Garbanzos. They have two sons, Anthony and Miguel. They are long-time residents of San Diego area.
Arvin J. Garcia is currently a recent graduate from Cal State East Bay with a B.A. in Political Science (Public Administration Focus) with an Asian American Studies Minor. He, along with other Fil-Am collegiate leaders went along to reform NCPASA, and currently serves as one of two Co-Chairpeople. In college, he was President of the Pilipinx American Student Association, Vice President of Alpha Kappa Omega Fraternity and worked with Asian Pacific American Student Success while going to conferences in other universities across NorCal. In the past and professionally in the community, he has Interned for the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, Filipino Advocates for Justice, and for Assemblyman Rob Bonta as well as being a Student Delegate for NaFFAA’s EPYC and UniPro sponsored back in 2016 . His involvement in the community and in pursuing higher education continues as he plans to get his Master in Public Admin in the near future while staying in touch with passions to contribute to the Fil-Am’s community civic engagement, representation and visibility, connecting to the homeland and pursuing of justice everywhere.
A San Francisco native, Miguel Guerrero attended the University of California, Davis, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science. During his time there, he became involved in student government upon election to the Associated Students, University of California, Davis (ASUCD) as a senator, where he represented students at large, while keeping his community close at heart. Miguel also became involved with government at the state and local level while at UC Davis and after graduation. He had internships with Lieutenant Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, Speaker of the California State Assembly, Anthony Rendon, and the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee. He also served as a Career Transition Specialist for the Treasure Island Job Corps Center through the US Department of Labor in San Francisco, CA. In his position, he worked with students of the program, mainly economically disadvantaged youth in the San Francisco Bay Area, to obtain a job upon receiving a trade and vocational education. Currently, he works as a Field Representative and Caseworker in the District Office of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Genevieve is the first American born of her Filipino Immigrant Family. She is a San Francisco Bay Area native who has been feeding her passion for community advocacy for the past 20+ years. She carries a background in leadership development and business operations management with previous positions with the San Francisco Chronicle, the Hertz Corporation as South Santa Clara County Regional Manager leading the 8th most profitable region out of 200+ markets, and Northern California General Manager for Zipcar, Inc. bringing the $15 Million operation to profitability during her tenure between 2006-2008.. Her work in public service and non-profits includes Marketing & Events Director for the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, District Liaison to former California Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Fiona Ma where she served as staff jockey for AB199, implementing the stories of Filipino WWII Veterans into our history books, and the first Executive Director of San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign where she led the largest Hep B screening in the nation serving upwards of 10,000 people funded by the U.S. Centers for Diseas Control and Prevention.
Genevieve is a founding member of KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress, which was born from the Filipinos for Obama 2008 campaign and is the State Chair Emeritus for the Filipino American Caucus of the California Democratic Party. Over the past 13 years, she has held multiple volunteer positions such as the Pistahan Festival Director for the Filipino American Arts Exposition, Co-Director for Filipina Women’s Network’s anti-domestic violence awareness production of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” as well as serving as a mentor to youth and young professionals navigating them through college-career transitioning.
Genevieve currently serves as the Chief of Staff to Chairwoman Emeritus Fiona Ma, CPA of the California State Board of Equalization serving upwards of 10 Million constituents over 23 California Counties.
Dianne Martinez has served on Emeryville City Council since 2014, and served as Mayor in 2016. Dianne graduated from USC’s School of Cinema-Television and is an established media professional with 20 years of experience creating content for such outlets as Comedy Central, MTV, and PBS.
She serves on the board of StopWaste, a public agency responsible for reducing the waste stream in Alameda County. She also serves as a director at East Bay Community Energy, the newly formed community-governed power supplier that will be a greener alternative to PG&E.
In addition to her municipal duties, Dianne serves as an elected member of the Alameda County Democratic Party.
Since 1997, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) has been the standard-bearer for promoting the welfare and well-being of the four million Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the United States. NaFFAA is the largest non-partisan, non-profit organization and national affiliation of Filipino American institutions, umbrella organizations, and individuals. Its fourteen-member regions cover the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands.
