Deadline Extended for Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration (EPYC) Ambassadors Program
/
About NaFFAA
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’s vision is to serve as the voice of all Filipinos and Filipino Americans by uniting, engaging, and empowering diverse individuals and community organizations around three key areas: leadership development, civic engagement, and national advocacy. NaFFAA’s mission is to amplify the voices of Filipino Americans, advocate on behalf of their interests, and provide resources to facilitate their empowerment.
EPYC Ambassadors Program Background
Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration (EPYC) was born out of the 2014 NaFFAA National Empowerment Conference Pre-Conference Leadership Institute in San Diego, California. Young Filipino American leaders came together and formed a coalition of student leaders, youth development organizations, and individuals passionate about youth empowerment.
According to the U.S. Census, there are almost one million Filipinos between the ages of 18 to 34 living in the United States, making up one-fourth of the overall community. Through direct experience and after conducting focus groups, NaFFAA noticed that many students in college lack the resources and skills to successfully lead their student organizations, do not ask for help from community organizations outside of their campus “bubble,” and face difficulty juggling their extracurricular and academic priorities. Many young professionals who were previously involved in student organizations fail to continue remaining engaged after graduation due to burnout, lack of post-graduate mentors, place-based isolation away from Filipino American hubs, or professional and familial responsibilities.
As a federation of associations, NaFFAA aims to empower Filipino American leaders with tools, resources, and a shared network, while also helping build the capacity of Filipino American organizations in order to better serve their communities. NaFFAA’s EPYC Ambassadors Program aims to equip young leaders to refine their skills and learn new strategies in order to become stronger advocates and deliver more effective programs and services. Ambassadors will support NaFFAA's efforts around leadership development, civic engagement, and advocacy, and will help scale and build programs in their campuses and communities.
EPYC Core Values include:
Ambition. We are bold when we act on our empowerment and strive for community-building in spaces that demand it.
Collaboration.We are collaborative when we strengthen intergenerational coalitions and alliances.
Empowerment. We give ourselves power when we promote knowledge-sharing, learning, skill-building, and dialogue on the regional and national level.
Responsibilities
The EPYC Ambassadors Program is a one-year commitment with the opportunity to renew one additional year without reapplying, for up to a total of two years of service. Ambassadors will participate in monthly “train-the-trainer” webinars and share best practices around the following Learning Outcomes (LOs):
Digital Literacy and Social Media
Engaged Citizenship and Community Service
Professional Development and Networking Skills
Writing, Research, and Presentation Skills
Program/Event Planning Basics
Racial Justice, Multicultural Competency, and Coalition-Building
Ability to Identify and Develop Personal, Academic, and Career Goals
Filipino American History and NaFFAA Organizational Structures/Partner Organizations
Each EPYC Ambassador will have specific goals to:
Engage 500 fellow young Filipino Americans in person by speaking at events, facilitating workshops, or tabling on campus or during community events.
Reach 5,000 fellow young Filipino Americans through print or social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Hangouts, and online blogs.
Lead a capstone initiative called “My EPYC Project” by supporting NaFFAA efforts around leadership development, civic engagement, or advocacy.
Initiatives should have a measurable and lasting impact beyond their tenure as EPYC Ambassadors.
In addition, they are expected to commit at least 10 hours a month doing the following:
Regularly connect with a chosen mentor to identify opportunities to develop and achieve learning outcomes.
Attend regularly scheduled NaFFAA regional leadership meetings and meaningfully participate in decision-making processes.
Support regional student/community initiatives through representation, attendance, collaboration, facilitation, coordination of programs, and/or providing guidance based on the local community’s needs.
Serve as a liaison between local student/community leaders and NaFFAA national/regional officers.
Write a minimum of 2 blogs per year to be published via NaFFAA media channels.
Recognize and document noteworthy accomplishments and contribute to an annual report.
2017-2018 Program Period
June 2017 - Program Launch and Applications Open July - Applications Close and Ambassadors Announced
August - Inaugural Monthly All-Ambassadors Meeting and Learning Outcome #1 September - Prepare for Filipino American History Month (FAHM) and Learning Outcome #2 October - Support local FAHM events and Learning Outcome #3 November - Learning Outcome #4
December -Capstone Project Discussion and Mid-Program Reflection
January 2018 - Learning Outcome #5
February- Learning Outcome #6
March- Learning Outcome #7
April - Prepare for AAPI Heritage Month and Learning Outcome #8
May - AAPI Heritage Month Convening/“My EPYC Project” Presentations (pending available funding)
June - Debrief, Next Steps, and Gratitude/Appreciation
Eligibility
NaFFAA invites individuals who fit the following criteria to apply:
Between the ages of 18 to 34 years old at the time of application
Reside within the U.S. or territories of the U.S.
Currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program (i.e. undergraduate, graduate, or vocational program) ORgraduated from a degree-seeking program no more than 2-3 years before the time of application.
No more than 2 applicants will be accepted per NaFFAA region and/or state:
Program Leadership
Jason Tengco, Executive Director, NaFFAA
Over the past decade, Jason has worked for a presidential campaign, the White House, Obama Administration, Congress, and numerous non-profit and campus organizations. Prior to NaFFAA, Jason served as the National Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on AAPIs (WHIAAPI), and as an Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) Fellow with former Congressman Mike Honda. Jason launched the WHIAAPI E3! Ambassadors Program and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) Young Leaders Council. He graduated from UCLA with honors with a B.A. in Political Science.
Leezel Ramos, Head of Leadership Development, NaFFAA National Programs Council
Leezel F. Ramos has over 10 years of experience in nonprofit and higher education. Currently, she is the Assistant Director of Career Services at Seattle University where she aims to increase the visibility of possibility models. Leezel is invested in engaging her peers within the greater Filipino American community serving as Interim President for the Seattle Chapter of Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro). Leezel has previously worked for Duke University, University of Washington, University of California San Diego, and
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned her B.A. in Communication Studies from California State University, Fullerton and her M.Ed. in Student Development Administration from Seattle University.
Advisory Board (in formation)
Aldrin Carreon
Sarah Day Dayon
Miko Jao
Kristine Maramot
Application Instructions
Please email the following to pyc@naffaa.orgith subject line “EPYC Application” by Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 11:59pm ET.
Section 1: Contact Information
Please include the following information in the body of your email:
Full Name
Address for July 2017-June 2018
NaFFAA Region # (see map above)
Major/School/Year OR Position/Affiliation
Email Address
Phone Number
Section 2: Resume (1 page limit, 12pt ADA compliant font)
Please attach a detailed resume that highlights your leadership experience and/or demonstrates a capacity for leadership.
Section 3: Personal Narrative (2 page limit, double spaced, 12pt ADA compliant font)
Please attach a personal narrative that answers the following questions:
Why are you interested in the program and what skills or experiences do you have that make you a good fit for the program?
Can you describe both the strengths and needs of the Filipino American community in your region, and how you plan to engage young Filipino Americans through leadership development, civic engagement, and/or advocacy?
Depending on the issue area(s) you want to focus on, some suggested topics you may want to address include the following:
Leadership Development: How can you help empower fellow young Filipino Americans, or build the capacity of student/community organizations?
Civic Engagement: How can you help increase voter registration, voter education, voter protection, and Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts in the community?
Advocacy: How can you help increase local, state, and national advocacy efforts impacting Filipino Americans?
For any questions, please email epyc@naffaa.org.