Filipina Movers and Shakers

To celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8) and Women’s History Month, Positively Filipino (PF) is republishing a three-part roster of outstanding Filipino women all over the world as recognized by Filipina Women’s Network (FWN). The FWN Foundation names the Most Influential Filipina Women Awardees, a distinguished assembly of leaders who have left an indelible mark on the global stage.

The awardees hail from 34 countries and were chosen through a rigorous global search for their exceptional contributions and enduring impact in the public and private sectors. Their stories are about success, transformation, and influencing industry sectors and local communities. They are nominated by their peers and are then meticulously selected by a seasoned panel comprising previous year's laureates, ensuring a legacy of excellence that transcends borders and generations.

The FWN celebrates these trailblazers and creates a platform for their collective power to inspire and catalyze change and to serve as a beacon for Filipina leadership and innovation worldwide. Additional research on each achiever was done by Positively Filipino. The following is Part I of the series.

Rechie Valdez, Member of Parliament

Ontario, Canada

Valdez was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2021 federal election, representing Mississauga-Streetsville as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She is the first Filipino Canadian woman and second Filipino Canadian, after former Manitoba Liberal Party MP Rey Pagtakhan, to be elected to Canada’s Parliament. In 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Valdez to his cabinet as Minister of Small Business. She owned a baking business and competed in The Big Bake on Food Network Canada and hosted and produced a television show, Fearlessly Creative, on Filipino TV. Born and raised in Zambia, Valdez immigrated to Canada with her family in 1989. She has been a member of various parliamentary committees and associations, including the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs and the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association as well as the Chair of the Canada-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Rosemarie Rafael, Airspeed’s Chair

Manila, Philippines

Rosemarie Rafael *(Source: Business Mirror)*

Airspeed is a logistics company with a worldwide presence. Founded by Rafael in 1985, it serves its stakeholders in freight solutions management, warehousing, distribution, customized logistics, and customs clearance. SM Investments Corporation is an Airspeed investor and partner. Last February 8, the company inaugurated its temperature-controlled storage facility for pharmaceutical products in Parañaque, Philippines. Rafael started as a passenger ticketing and reservations agent for an airline company and then a freight company until she decided to venture on her own. Within five years after founding Airspeed, the company claimed the number one spot in the IATA ranking. From a start-up with six employees and a single delivery van, the company now has over a thousand skilled personnel and a fleet of 300 vehicles. Rafael continues to empower women, allowing their innate vision and nurturing qualities to permeate throughout the company.

Myra Colis, Author and Lawyer

Amsterdam. The Netherlands

Colis started as a news reporter for a local radio station in the Philippines and then taught English at a public high school. She moved to China to study web design and development and business administration. She worked as a content manager for an information company catering to multinational companies in the medical biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. In 2012, she moved to The Netherlands and completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Law in Society and a Master’s Degree in International Technology Law at VU University Amsterdam. She founded MABIKAs Foundation, a civic organization dedicated to eradicating prejudice against indigenous people through awareness and education. After surviving breast cancer in 2019, she published a book, unwanted Adventure with Big C: a surprisingly REWARDing Journey of HOPE, STRENGTH & LOVE, in gratitude for the second life she had been given. She would like to contribute in bridging the gaps between law, technology, and well-being.

Delle Sering Fojas, Technology Salesperson

Rockaway, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Delle Sering Fojas *(Source: The FilAm)*

Sering was fired from her first clerical job but that didn’t faze her. When she married Mac Fojas, who was working on his MBA at Fordham, she became conscious about managing resources, growing investments, and making tough decisions. At Seven Seven Corporate Group, the company she and Mac founded, she became the “sales person” offering a wide range of information technology services to top U.S. insurance firms, Wall Street banks, and manufacturing and telecommunications institutions around Asia that included software development, infrastructure and application support, technical service desk, IT consulting and back office services. After 20 years, the company now 2,000 employees, a majority of whom are tech professionals based in the Philippines. The headquarters in Rockaway, New Jersey has a staff of about 200 people. To share her good luck, the family goes to the Philippines for the holidays and distributes gifts and meals to the less fortunate in Cavite where the Fojases are from.

Pamela Gotangco, Artist

Zurich, Switzerland

Pamela Gotangco *(Source: Manila Times)*

A Bachelor of Arts in Communication graduate from Miriam College in the Philippines, Gotangco is an advocate of alternative communication through relevant artistic media. She found painting to be the most compelling. A proponent of equal opportunity for women, she also draws insight from the role of women in our present society. Sometimes her work can be seen as self-portraiture of her private life, using iconic female figures. Her main focus is to engage the viewer to sense a connection in her subject matter and provoke discussion. Her work has been exhibited not only in Switzerland, but also in New York, Miami, London, and Manila.

Carmine Montesa Aldana, Medical Educator

Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A.

Carmine Montesa Aldana (Source: LinkedIn)

Aldana and her husband, Philipp, who is a pediatric neurosurgeon in Jacksonville, Florida, created The Neurosurgery Outreach Foundation, Inc., which promotes the advancement of neurosurgical care for the diseases of the brain in underserved communities globally through service, education, and support. Every two years, the couple takes a team of volunteer surgeons and other healthcare professionals on a week-long educational medical mission trip to their native Philippines where they teach neurosurgical techniques to Filipino doctors and work with them on neurological cases. They also bring about $100,000 worth of new surgical clips and other supplies.

Charina Amunategui, Mentor

New York, U.S.A.

Amunategui is a finance professional with two decades of experience in asset management operations. She currently holds the position of Executive Director of Fund Finance Business Execution at MUFG Investor Services, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she and her family immigrated to Canada when she was 14 years old. As the Chair of the 100 Women in Finance New York Mid-Career Bridge, she spearheads initiatives to empower women in their career progression, providing professional development, leadership coaching, and peer engagement programs. She also serves as Treasurer of Inspiring Girls USA leveraging her financial and governance expertise to make a meaningful impact. She is pursuing her MBA at Yale University and poised to graduate in May 2024.

Myla Arceno, Physiotherapist

Stevenage, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Arceno grew up in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, and came to Stevenage from the Philippines in October 2003 with her five-year-old son, John Benedict, to join her husband, Joseph, recruited by the East and North Herts NHS Trust from the Philippines. She arrived in Stevenage in January of that year. Her daughter, Mary Sophia, was born on her birthday in 2005. For the past 20 years, Arceno has worked in various areas of Physiotherapy in Lister and QE2 hospitals and now focuses on her area of expertise as a cardiac rehab specialist physiotherapist. She will continue to work in Cardiac Rehab Clinic and exercise classes during her Mayoral year. She is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Trade Union. She was elected as a Councilor for the Martins Wood Ward in 2021. She has served on various committees -- Audit, Planning and Development, Overview and Scrutiny, Community Select, General Purpose, and Licensing. Arceno is a co-founder of the Stevenage Filipino-British Community and Barrio Fiesta in Hertfordshire. She is an active European Network of Filipino Diaspora member and was on the Board of Trustees for two years.

Anna Patrizio, Pharmpreneur

Ontario, Canada

Anna Patrizio *(Source: Canadian Healthcare Network)*

Patrizio grew up in a family of drugstore and farm business owners in the Philippines. At 12 years old, she already knew how to work a cash register. When she moved to Canada, she spent her pharmacist career in a corporate environment, which she grew tired of. She took the leap to become an entrepreneur. Her advice to colleagues who want to become entrepreneurs: “Be open to learning and to not get discouraged with failure. The most positive aspect of ownership for me is appreciating how perfectly capable I am as a woman and as a woman of color. It is surprising how much I learn about myself by owning a business. We seldom give ourselves the credit for our hard work with the fear of being accused of being self-absorbed. With all the work that goes to opening a small business and staying open especially the last three years and on top of the economic uncertainties, I say, we don’t celebrate enough!”

Maria Santos Greaves, Hearing Loss Advocate

British Columbia, Canada

Maria Santos Greaves *(Source: Surrey Hearing Care)*

Since 2009, Greaves has nurtured Surrey Hearing Care Inc. with this mission: To improve the lives of people with hearing loss through better hearing—both at the consumer and industrial levels. More people, young and old, of various races, can now hear and listen better through the quality of service Greaves and her staff provide. The slogan of her company “Helping You Hear the World” says it all. Greaves has experienced hearing loss since her 20s. Because of this, she has made it her life’s purpose to help the hard of hearing, especially the elderly. She said, “I understand the severity of hearing impairment and how vital hearing is to be able to communicate with my loved ones and enjoy life to the fullest. At Surrey Hearing Care, everyone is welcome. Just come in and we will care for you like family.” Now a trailblazer in her own right, Greaves has made sure that her company is accessible to everyone. Through the Surrey Hearing Care mobile hearing clinic van, communities across the lower mainland—including visible minorities, homeless shelters, and First Nations reservations—are able to receive free hearing tests. Because of her tireless efforts to help and give back to the community, Greaves was voted across Canada as one of the Top 25 Immigrants in 2015. She was also a finalist in the Surrey Women in Business Award Entrepreneur category both in 2015 and 2016. Maria was also recognized by the Rotary Foundation and was named a Paul Harris Fellow Awardee for her charitable contributions.

“Their stories are about success, transformation, and influencing industry sectors and local communities.”

Lorna Patajo-Kapunan, Lawyer

Manila, Philippines

Kapunan has been a practicing lawyer for 38 years and is recognized as one of the leading litigation lawyers in the country, known to handle and win controversial cases. Recently she was recognized among the Top 100 Lawyers of the country. She also writes for Business Mirror and Women Today where she discusses corporate concerns and gives free legal advice especially to marginalized sectors. She is a TOWNS (The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service) Awardee and has received other awards as well. Kapunan is an expert in Family Law, but she is also an advocate for women and children’s rights, taking on pro bono cases for battered women and abused children. She is also very knowledgeable on intellectual property law, trademarks and unfair competition, and is an advocate for the environment. She is the founding partner of Kapunan & Castillo Law Offices.

Geri Alumit Zeldes, Filmmaker and Professor

Michigan, U.S.A.

Geri Alumit Zeldes *(Source: DocLab Michigan State University)*

Zeldes is a tenured professor in Michigan State University’s School of Journalism. In 2022, she received an MSU William J. Neal Outstanding Faculty Award, only given to ten or fewer faculty each year for outstanding achievement in teaching, advising, research, publications, art exhibitions, committee work, public service, and continuing education. She doubles as an academic and practitioner with a dozen best paper awards from international communication associations and 100+ honors and screening for her documentary films. Her film, Breed & Bootleg, was recognized as the Best Documentary by the Society of Professional Journalists-Detroit in 2020. Her latest film, Brenda’s Story, received the 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Award and an Award of Excellence in the Faculty Video category from the Broadcast Education Association, a Regional Emmy nomination and Regional Edward R. Murrow Award. She is writing her first book, Flow & Flint Town, which looks at musical and psychological flows experienced by rap artists and reporters in the city since the 1980s.

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