Amaryllis Tiglao-Torres is the Executive Director of the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC). Concurrently, she is Professor Emeritus, University of the Philippines, and Professorial Lecturer in the Doctor of Social Development and Master’s in Community Development Programs of the College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD), University of the Philippines.

She retired as Professor of Community Development from the CSWCD. She was Dean of the College of Social Work and Community Development from 2007 – 2010 and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs of UP Diliman from 1993 – 1996. She was Chairperson of the Department of Community Development from 1982-1984 and served as Director of UP Diliman’s Office of Research Coordination from 1987-1990, and then again in 1993.

Rebecca is the Executive Director of Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute, a non-governmental organization established in 1991 that supports citizens’ participation in peace processes and their advocacy for peace and justice agenda, with programs on advocacy and networking, education and capability building, and peace promotion and studies. She is also a member of the Third Party Monitoring Team, the mechanism that monitors and assesses the implementation of all peace agreements signed by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Jajo is currently a senior executive at First Philippine Holdings, a publicly listed Philippine conglomerate engaged in energy, property, construction, manufacturing,healthcare, and education businesses. He joined FPH in 2015 and is currently a board director in various operating subsidiaries of the group. He leads the business development efforts of FPH. In his operational role, Jajo runs the group’s newly established education business, First Industrial Science and Technology School, as its President. Jajo also runs the group’s recently acquired healthcare business, Asian Eye Institute, where he serves as the Chairman of the Executive Committee. In addition, Jajo also drives the digital technology initiatives of the group and serves as President of Infopro Business Solutions, FPH’s in-house shared services unit.

He is a shareholder of Prople, a privately held software and business process services company, where he previously served as CEO from 2009 to 2015. Jajo was also the former President of IBM Philippines. He held various management positions during a successful 27 year career at IBM from 1982 to 2009, including assignments at IBM’s headquarters in Singapore and New York. Jajo currently holds various board positions in leading companies and non profit organizations in the Philippines. He previously served the boards of De La Salle University Manila, STI Education Services, and iPeople, the holding company of Mapua Institute of Technology. He also serves as an advisor to many technology start up companies in the Philippines and abroad. He is a graduate of the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering, cum laude. He participated and completed the New York Marathon in 2007.

Virginia received her Bachelor of Laws (Ll.B.) degree from the University of the Philippines. She is a member of the Philippine Bar, and a Certified Public Accountant. She was a revenue officer of the Bureau of Internal Revenue prior to joining PJS Law, and served as legislative assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Finance. She is a professorial lecturer of Taxation Law at the University of the Philippines College of Law, and likewise taught Taxation Law at the Far Eastern University Institute of Law.

She advises companies across various industries, and assists several non-government organizations on their corporate and tax law concerns. She is listed as one of Asialaw’s Leading Lawyers in the Philippines in the fields of Banking & Finance, and Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions, and one of International Financial Law Review (IFLR) 1000’s Highly Regarded Lawyers in the Philippines in the fields of Banking and Capital Markets.

President of Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) and chairman of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea), said this was because they expected the number of enrollees, particularly in the first and second year of tertiary education to decline since the K to 12 program called for the addition of two more years of high school to add to the current four-year program.

Paolo is president and CEO of Agila Group Inc. As an architect, he believes that architecture speaks its own language communicating to a specific use in a specific place and for a specific society. Emerging from simple facts, his design approach is straightforward, honest, and sensible. He related these values to his design process through material, mood, and light expression belonging to the essence of the place.

Juliana Luz (Nana for short) is the co-founder and Director Business Development at Softype, Inc., a consulting services firm focused on creating integrated operations software solutions for Global 5000 companies. With offices in Palo Alto, Mumbai, Nairobi and Manila, the company works with customers in more than 20 countries who want to be on top with tools that allow them to track business metrics, innovate and scale in whatever field they choose to be.

Juliana has broad experience in the global business and has worked with business owners in Asia, the US, and the sub-Saharan African continent. She has expertise in manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, education and service industries. Her firm has worked with more than 200 companies to streamline their business operations and improve efficiency and profitability.

After leaving the Philippines in 1971, Gina lived with her family in the US, Jamaica, Taiwan and Sri Lanka, as well as one year at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) where her husband Robert worked for a year. She worked for the State of Wisconsin in the Departments of Employment Relations, Workforce, and Health where she retired as the Director of the Office of Civil Rights.

She returns often to the Philippines and is involved with local education projects and Gota. Gina continues to practice and teach yoga in Carson City, NV. She is married to the same person for 52 years, and has two accomplished adult children, Melissa and Jonathan, and a very tall granddaughter Natalia.

Anna Leah has an educational background in Anthropology, Public Administration and Development Communications. She has 25 years of experience specializing in Gender and Governance, Women’s Human Rights, Social Marketing and Communications, and Civil Society Engagement. Furthermore, she has experience in Radio and Television Production, Book Publishing and Multi-media Materials Production for over 20 years.

Mika Sarmiento is a corporate lawyer by profession and currently employed with Globe Telecom, Inc. Being a literature major, her passion lies in reading and writing. She has contributed to a number of publications and aims to do more in the future.