Filipinos have been in the United States since the 16th century, yet many of their stories remain untold. For the past year, Positively Filipino has been running a series on notable Filipino Americans who have made their marks in this country. There are hundreds, or maybe even thousands more, that need to be added to this story, and we need your help. If you know of a Filipino American who deserves to be included in this line-up, please send us their names and any supporting documents you may have to pfpublisher@yahoo.com. For now, we are including only those who are currently active and visible in the media and the community, regardless of their religious, sexual or political orientation. Thank you.

Teresita Batayola, Health Advocate

Teresita Batayola (Source: bizjournals.com)

Last December 20, 2021, President Biden named Teresita Batayola to the 25-member President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. “The commission will advise the President on ways that public, private and nonprofit organizations can work together to improve outcomes for these populations that have often been kept out of the halls of power.” Batayola is president and CEO of International Community Health Services, Washington state’s largest Asian and Pacific Islander non-profit organization providing primary health care services. An active public speaker and advocate for affordable health care, she was named one the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in 2019; in 2014 she was recognized as a White House champion of change; and in 2010 she was named an outstanding leader in health care by Seattle Business Magazine. She holds a BA in Public Affairs from Seattle University and an MS in Urban Administration from Bucknell University. Prior to entering the health care field, she worked and practiced in economic development, community and international development, and strategic planning.

Ty Penserga, Mayor of City of Boynton Beach, Florida

Born in the Philippines and raised in Palm Beach County, Mayor Ty Penserga graduated from Temple University, Philadelphia where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Biology. He attended Florida Atlantic University to earn his master’s degree in Biology/Neuroscience. He received the prestigious Diamond Award for his leadership, community service, and the creation of a longitudinal mentoring pipeline to uplift underprivileged teens. Penserga is the sixth LGBTQ mayor in Palm Beach County. Boynton Beach has 80,000-plus residents. "Obviously, it's an important part of my identity, but I always tell people, I'm not the gay mayor. I'm the mayor who happens to be gay," he said. Penserga's sexuality became an issue during the campaign when another candidate referred to him with homophobic and anti-Asian remarks. "The voters said, we want nothing to do with that," said Penserga, who won 60 percent of the votes cast. His priorities include public safety, promoting affordable/workforce housing, promoting entrepreneurship, creating high-paying jobs, creating a vibrant and exciting downtown, supporting local schools, and eliminating slum and blight throughout the city.

Carlos H. Conde, Human Rights Researcher and Writer

Carlos H. Conde, is a senior researcher at the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch covering the Philippines. Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in New York City that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individuals to denounce abuse and respect human rights, and often works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants, and political prisoners. Conde’s current research focuses on the ongoing “war on drugs” in the Philippines where thousands have died, the killings of activists, journalists, legal professionals, peasant leaders, environmentalists, and Indigenous peoples, as well as reports on allegations of torture, violations of press freedom, death squads, HIV/AIDS epidemic, etc. Conde worked as a freelance journalist for 20 years in the Philippines for The New York Times. He served as secretary-general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and was a fellow at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. He was a Jefferson Fellow (2003) at the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii.

Stacey Angeles, Director and Writer

Stacey Angeles was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for the 2020 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/Sports/Specials for her work as director of the “Daily Show” with Trevor Noah’s Special, “Remembering RBG: A Nation Ugly Cries with Desi Lydic” featured on Comedy Central on October 30, 2020. This show highlighted the life of Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, popularly called RBG, who passed away in September 2020. The essence of Stacey’s work, clip by clip, presented in a fun, comedic style, depicts issues pioneered by RBG, that are timeless, alive, and imbedded in people’s daily lives, with flavors of political and personal, both satirical and reality mix. Angeles graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Political Science at Fordham University, in New York. Born and raised in Texas, Stacey’s father is a retired Filipino cardiovascular surgeon. She has created content for HBO, Showtime, NBC, Comedy Central, ABC, CBS, MTV, VH1 and Bravo. Angeles is currently at The Daily Show with Trevor Noah where she writes and directs segments on anything from Switzerland’s gun culture to racism in porn.

Remy Martin, Basketball Player

Remy Martin (Source: Topeka Capital Journal)

Remy Martin first played at the University of Kansas. On April 6, 2021, he declared for the 2021 NBA draft, and a month later, announced his commitment to Kansas. After Kansas beat Miami to move to the Final Four, Martin was named Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest regional. In the national championship, he only scored three points in the first half, but had 11 crucial points after the half, helping Kansas beat North Carolina for its fourth national championship. He is the third Filipino American basketball player to win a national championship, after Raymond Townsend with UCLA in 1975, and Kihei Clark with Virginia in 2019. Martin’s father, Sam Martin, is African American and his mother, Mary Ann Macaspac, is from Pampanga, Philippines. Martin posed with the national trophy with the Philippine flag draped over him. “Know my story you will understand me better! I represent my culture and love who love me!” his post on Instagram reads.

Maritte Lee Go, Actress and Indie Filmmaker

As a professional actress, Maritte Lee Go found herself cast in stereotypical roles such as the Geisha or nail technician. She attended USC and got her MFA in Film and Television and made it her life goal “to create content that breaks the mold of people of color and puts them into leading roles.” She is a Project Involve Directing Fellow and won the Barbara Boyle Excellence in Filmmaking Award. She is also an HBO Visionary award winner for her short film Remittance. Her short film, lllipino won the CAMERAderie WIM grant. Lee recently finished her directorial debut, Rise, a dramatic thriller inspired by real-life conflict between the Nigerian people and the Boko Haram insurgency, the group responsible for kidnapping hundreds of girls and women and enslaving them in the sex trade, and the horror film Black as Night which premiered on Amazon Prime in 2021. At 14 years old and living in Florida, Go knew she wanted to do an anthology of horror films. With Phobias she made five short films about five unique characters suffering from extreme phobias at a government facility while under the supervision of a crazed doctor on a quest to weaponize fear. Her advice to budding filmmakers: “I think when you start from yourself and know what you're passionate about, what lights you up, then you'll find that subject, and you'll be able to tell that story like nobody else does because your originality and your voice will make that come alive…..What do I have to give to the world and how can I make that impact?"

Denise Santos, Composer and Emmy Winner

Los Angeles-based Denise Santos won the Outstanding Music Composition in the 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards for her work on the BBC documentary series, Primates. She shares the award with writing partner Adam Lukas of Bleeding Fingers Music. "With nature documentaries versus fictional shows, the main difference is these animals, these landscapes, there is no talking," Santos shared. "You really have to hone in on what the narration is saying depending on the research that they have done. That's what the big difference is." After graduating from Ateneo de Manila University with a bachelor’s degree in management, she earned a professional certificate on music production at Berklee College of Music and then studied film scoring at the University of California Los Angeles. Some of Santos' recent projects abroad include Discovery Channel's reality series Alaskan Bush People, Amazon Prime's Making the Cut, and Lifetime's documentary series Surviving Jeffrey Epstein. She also scored Samantha Lee's Filipino independent films Baka Bukas (2016) and Billie and Emma (2018).

Jonah Deocampo, Rapper and Activist

Jonah Deocampo, better known by his stage name, Bambu DePistola, is a Filipino American community activist and rapper from Los Angeles, California. He has been called "one of the most well-respected indie musicians in the U.S.” The son of a Filipino immigrant mother, Bambu was raised in a working-class Los Angeles neighborhood which was characterized by a "wartime mentality." At the age of 15, he became involved with street gangs. At 16, he was arrested for armed robbery and spent time in Los Angeles' Central Juvenile Hall. Released at 18, Bambu was advised by a judge to join the United States Marine Corps, which he did. He served as a special operations training group instructor (SARC) and spent time in East Timor, Middle East, and Okinawa, Japan. Bambu's latest project, Exrcising a Demon, is a five-part series that weaves voices from Filipino American gang members as a means of documenting early 1980s and 1990s Los Angeles. Article I: A Few Left was released in September 2018, and Article II: Brother Hoods was released in June 2019. Bambu's music deals with themes of police brutality, racial prejudice, and economic inequality. His music often alludes to leftist figures, including Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Mao Zedong. He was the Secretary General of Kabataang Makabayan USA (KM, also known as Patriotic Youth) in Los Angeles. He also has a deal with FlipTop Battle League, showing in their live events, recently at the FlipTop Festival. During the height of the 2020 Covid pandemic, Bambu released a seven-song album "Sharpest Tool In The Shed" where he continued to criticize the status quo, as well as shared words of support for his listeners as they work through the pandemic.

FANNY, Rock Band

FANNY (Photo by Marita Madeloni, Courtesy of FANNY)

FANNY was an American first all-female rock band, active in the early to mid 1970s who achieved critical and commercial success including two Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 singles. The group was founded by guitarist June Millington and her sister, bassist Jean, who moved with their family from the Philippines to Sacramento in 1961. They began to play music together on ukuleles. They were joined by Alice de Buhr on the drums and Addie Lee on guitar in a group then known as Wild Honey. Reprise Records signed up the group and changed the name to FANNY to denote a female spirit. FANNY toured worldwide, gaining widespread popularity in the United Kingdom. “The band resisted suggestions by the record company to dress in a typical group style, or emphasize any sex appeal, and rehearsed regularly, wanting to acquire a reputation based on their musical talent.” June Millington subsequently released three solo albums in the 1980s and became a producer for other artists; she co-founded and operated the Institute for the Musical Arts, an organization supporting girls and women in music based in western Massachusetts. Jean Millington married David Bowie’s guitarist, Earl Slick, and became a herbalist. David Bowie wrote about FANNY: “They were extraordinary; they wrote everything, they played like motherfuckers, they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody’s ever mentioned them. They’re as important as anybody else who’s ever been, ever; it just wasn’t their time.” Recently, a documentary entitled, “Fanny: The Right to Rock,” traced the rise and demise of the group. June Millington’s new album, “Snapshots” was released in early 2022.

Minadel “Mina” Lopez, Manufacturing Director

Minadel “Mina” Lopez (Source: SoJanelleTV)

As a Filipino immigrant who arrived in 2004, Mina Lopez didn’t think she would ever work for one of the most popular bakeries in the country – Porto’s Bakery in Southern California – and supervise about 300 employees. Born in Manila, Lopez was an elementary school valedictorian, a scholar at Manila Science High School, and a graduate of Mapua Institute of Technology with a B.S. Chemistry degree. Her career started at Red Ribbon Bakeshop as a research and development staffer until she was promoted to Plant Manager as the company grew, and until she was brought to the U.S. by the company. After 23 years at Red Ribbon, she moved to La Brea Bakery, founded by James Beard awardee Nancy Silverton, as the general manager. In 2013, she was hired by Porto’s Bakery to supervise two of its manufacturing facilities that include production, warehousing, and logistics. Her strengths include people management and technical know-how of bakery operations. She can assemble/disassemble and operate complicated baking machineries and speaks Spanish fluently. Historically, manufacturing plants are dominated by male top executives; but Porto’s Bakery made an exception with Lopez.

Source: Google and Wikipedia

The Magazine

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 31