10 young Fil-Am leaders chosen for Philippines immersion

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two engineers, two lawyers, two marketing and communications professionals, a Broadway producer, an educator, a transportation infrastructure specialist, and a culinary enthusiast, form the fifth batch of young Filipino-American leaders who will embark on an immersion trip to the Philippines to meet with influential Filipino personalities and deepen their understanding of issues affecting their country of heritage.

Now on its fifth year, the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) continues to give high-performing, next-generation Filipino-Americans the opportunity to reconnect with their roots and engage with government leaders, business executives, cultural experts, social entrepreneurs, and innovators in different fields in the Philippines.

The following are the 2016 FYLPRO delegates:

• Noel Aglubat (New York), a civil engineer at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the New York Regional Office; 
• Tiffany Batac (Washington, DC), manager of the asset management service area at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff; 
• Joanne Boston (Daly City, California), an oncology reimbursement specialist at a private practice in San Francisco and vice president of the Filipino Food Movement; 
• Mark Calaguas (Chicago), a staff attorney at the Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, where is a member of the discovery practice group; 
• Brandon Dela Cruz (Honolulu), director of marketing for the international, Hawaii-based restaurant chain L&L Hawaiian Barbecue; 
• Elizabeth Frilles (Honolulu), educator; 
• Christopher Lapinig (Los Angeles), Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA’s Skadden Fellow in the Impact Litigation Unit; 
• Maria Teresa Quintans (Tamuning, Guam), a special assistant at the Office of the Governor of Guam, where she focuses on the Lieutenant Governor’s public relations, marketing, events and social media; 
• Donny Rojo (Seattle), integrated product leader of innovation and development at Philips; and 
• Jhett Tolentino (New York), three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer.

Minister Patrick Chuasoto, the Embassy’s Chargé d’Affairés ad interim and chair of the FYLPRO Selection Committee, noted the high caliber crop of applicants to the 2016 edition of FYLPRO.

“The application process has been highly competitive this year and we are proud of the ten delegates who made the final cut. They have enormous leadership potential, and all have exhibited the will to be involved not only in shaping the future of the Filipino-American community but also in contributing to Philippine development,” said Minister Chuasoto.

The 2016 FYLPRO immersion trip, which will be held on November 23 to December 2, 2016, is a joint undertaking by the Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the United States, the Ayala Foundation, Inc. and the Filipino Young Leaders Program Organization.