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.

Dely Po Go, Businesswoman, Nurse and Educator

Born in the Philippines to father, Tuana Go, and mother, Paquita Honda, Dely Go completed her early education at Silliman University in Dumaguete, Philippines, becoming a licensed, registered nurse. At Fairleigh Dickinson University in the US, she earned a Master of Science in Nursing (summa cum laude) and Doctor of Nursing Practice) also summa cum laude) in 2012. She also passed the nursing home administration exams. Go notably founded and served as chief executive officer of both the AVTECH Institute of Technology and Allied Health, a practical nursing school, and is the president and owner of Nursing Network, LLC. She is also a faculty member at William Paterson University and Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she serves as an adviser for the Henry P. Becton School of Nursing and Allied Health. Go is active in philanthropy and volunteer work, including helping military personnel returning from deployment. She was named one of the five people in a committee established by the Philippine Consulate to provide funding for various projects to benefit the Filipino community. She regularly contributes to the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, United Way of Passaic County, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Healing the Children International. She was named an Outstanding Alumna by both Silliman and Fairleigh Dickinson, and was among NJBIZ’s New Jersey’s 50 Best Women in Business. She also received a Nurse Recognition Award from the New Jersey League for Nursing, the Nurse DIVA Award from the New Jersey State Nurses Association, the Humanitarian Award by the Philippine Nurses Association Foundation, and the Woman of Peace Award by the Women’s Federation for World Peace International.

Ezekiel Miller, aka EZ Mil, Rapper

Miller was born in Olongapo to a musician father, Paul Sapiera of the band RockStar whose hits in the early '90s included "Mahal Pa Rin Kita" and "Parting Time," and to a mother who is also in the music industry. He studied Architecture at Saint Louis University in Baguio before moving to the U.S. Miller rose to fame after his song “Panalo” gained public attention and garnered 60 million views on YouTube. At 25, he became the first Filipino artist (and the second rapper after 50 Cent) to have a direct joint deal with Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. In 2021, Virgin Music Label and Artist Services signed up Miller. The video for “Panalo” features boxing icon Manny Pacquiao. The inspiring chorus says: “We are Filipino, no matter the color of our skin, we will take it to heart. No matter our Filipino dialect, no one can beat the ferocity of our blood.” In 2023, Miller signed with hip-hop legends and Grammy winners Eminem and Dr. Dre.

Nancy Yap, LA City Building and Safety Commissioner

In March 2023, Mayor Karen Bass appointed Chinese-Filipino American Yap to the Board of Building and Safety commissioners for the term ending June 30, 2026. Yap is the Executive Director of the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the political and civic engagement of leaders in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community. Through this role in CAUSE, Yap brings her experience working in Asian and Pacific Islander communities for over 20 years with a focus on strategic planning, community partnerships, curriculum design, programs facilitation, and executive leadership development. Outside of CAUSE, she is involved in the Little Tokyo community, serving as the President of the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council during the pandemic. She is also the Co-Founder of two programs in Little Tokyo -- Community Feeding Community, which raised over $200,000 for small businesses during Covid-19 closures, and Haunted Little Tokyo, which brings thousands of people to the neighborhood each year. Born and raised in Ohio to parents who were doctors who immigrated to the Midwest in the 1970s, the family grew up on Filipino food. Her favorite is bulalo – Filipino beef soup with vegetables.

Leah Cohen, Restaurateur and Author

As the child of a Filipino mother and Romanian-Jewish father, Cohen was raised with the traditions of both ethnic backgrounds. Her early kitchen memories include learning how to make chicken adobo and rolling lumpia with her mother and helping her grandmother prepare brisket and matzo ball soup for the Jewish holidays. She pursued a culinary career and enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 2001. Early in her career she worked at Michelin-starred restaurants and competed on the fifth season of Bravo’s Top Chef series. Later, she became a judge on The Great American Recipe Season 2. She is a chef and owner of the acclaimed New York City restaurants Pig & Khao and Piggyback NYC. She is also the author of the Southeast Asian cookbook, Lemongrass and Lime.

Anthony Volpe, Baseball Player

Volpe, who made his MLB debut in 2023, is a professional baseball shortstop with the New York Yankees. His parents are both doctors: father, Michael, of Italian descent, is a urologist and mother, Isabelle, of Filipino descent, is an anesthesiologist. He attended Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey where he played for the school’s baseball team. He was named the 2019 New Jersey High School Player of the Year by Perfect Game. He committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University. The Yankees selected Volpe in the 2019 MLB draft, where he received a $2.7 million signing bonus. On May 10, 2023, Volpe became the Yankees’ first rookie to hit a grand slam in a game at the shortstop position. During a game against Tampa Bay Rays a few days later, Volpe set a record as the first player in Yankees history to steal his first 13 career bases without being caught. On June 21, he made Yankees history when he hit his 10th home run of the season during a game against the Seattle Mariners.

Dr. Diana Aga, Chemist and Educator

Dr. Diana Aga (Source: University of Buffalo/Meredith Forrest Kulwicki)

Aga is an environmental and analytical chemist at the University of Buffalo where she speaks to the media about the environmental impact of industrial and agricultural pollutants, as well as pharmaceuticals and personal care products. As the Henry M. Woodburn Professor in the UB Department of Chemistry, Aga leads a team that studies how a wide range of chemicals affects the environment. She has engaged with international institutions, including the World Health Organization, to combat antimicrobial resistance, one of the greatest threats in modern medicine and public health. Aga is director of the UB RENEW Institute, a university-wide, multidisciplinary research institute focused on complex energy and environmental issues and related social and economic issues. She was awarded the 2017 American Chemical Society Schoellkopf Medal in recognition of her work in environmental chemistry. Aga obtained a bachelor's degree in agricultural chemistry from the University of the Philippines Los Baños in 1988. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas where she researched applications of immunoassays in agricultural chemistry. After graduating, she worked briefly for the United States Geological Survey and then joined ETH Zurich as a postdoctoral scholar for two years. She is also an editor of the Elsevier Journal of Hazardous Materials.

Karla Puno Garcia, Choreographer

Garcia was the first Filipina and first woman of color to choreograph the 76th Tony Awards for the opening number and the tribute to Joel Grey and John Kander. Other choreography work include Days of Wine and Roses at the Atlantic Theater, Power Book III: Raising Kanaan; Tick, Tick…BOOM!; Gone Missing, Other World; Somewhere; Noir and In the Heights at VA Rep where she received the Artsie for Best Choreography. Garcia began her training in a suburb of Maryland under Fran Peters. She has also performed traditional Filipino dances. Originally from Oxon Hill, Maryland, her first professional job was with Debbie Allen’s Brothers of the Knight at the Kennedy Center. She received her BFA in Dance and a minor in journalism from NYU’s Tisch School. In 2016, she created the first-place-winning piece representing Hamilton entitled “America.”

Claire Oliveros, Ph.D., Social Justice Educator

Oliveros is the 13th President of Riverside City College in California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Western Oregon University; Master of Science in Educational Policy, Foundations and Administrative Studies from Portland State University; and a doctorate in Education from Oregon State University. A first-generation college student and a Filipino American who was raised in the Pacific Northwest, Oliveros has sought out leadership positions that centered on diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, access and student success. She is also a community activist. She was the founding chair of the Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines and served as a board member of the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families, and Community. She received the award for Outstanding Administrator by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Chemeketa Community College, Salem, and was honored as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States by the Filipina Women's Network. “Dr. Oliveros is a highly qualified leader in a number of important education areas,” Chancellor Isaac said. “When selecting the new president of Riverside City College, which has such a venerated and distinguished history, it was important to focus on the need of the communities the College serves. Dr. Oliveros’ experience in such a vast number of student centered service areas and her professional experience, commitment to student equity, and community engagement highlighted her passion for students to succeed. Her leadership qualities and characteristics further stood out when I envisioned a leader for Riverside City College.”

Catalina Camia, Journalist

Catalina Camia (Source: National Press Foundation)

Camia is Deputy News Director of Bloomberg Law where she manages teams covering labor, intellectual property and privacy, environment, health, and corporate news. As editor-in-chief and vice president of CQ Roll Call, Camia managed more than 50 journalists covering news and analysis about Congress and the federal government for both media brands. She was also a former editor and reporter for USA Today, where at various times she led teams covering Congress, politics, and the White House. She was an assignment editor for Gannett News Service, now known as the USA TodayNetwork, working with reporters covering Washington for hometown audiences. Camia also has reported in the nation’s capital and Texas for The Dallas Morning News. A strong believer in improving the news industry, Camia was the free press managing director at the Freedom Forum, where she oversaw three journalism training programs. She is a longtime advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is a former national president of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

Aireene Espiritu, Folk Singer

Aireene Espiritu (Source; aireeneespiritu.com/Photo by Bob Hakins)

Espiritu plays a mix of stompin', swayin' and timeless Americana reminiscent of front porch storytelling, of ghosts and the living, times of laughter and tears. She is a singer/songwriter based in Oakland, California with over 25 years’ experience covering various genres from folk, blues, gospel, rhythm and blues to world music. She was a soloist with the Glide Ensemble in San Francisco, has toured internationally and across the country, playing intimate venues such as Freight & Salvage and festivals such as Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and more. The Los Angeles Times said, “Folk singer-songwriter Aireene Espiritu works in the elemental substance of vernacular American music with an uncanny ease. Whether blues, hillbilly, soul, folk or R&B... (she) demonstrates masterly command of each. Her original compositions mix deft lyrical construction and classic form just as impressively...An authentic, authoritative vocalist and with distinctly sensitive manner of phrasing...” In 2016, Espiritu was added to the roster of artists under Little Village Foundation, a non-profit label founded by venerable blues keyboardist Jim Pugh (Robert Cray, Etta James, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker) and released a part tribute to Rhythm & Blues artist Sugar Pie DeSanto and part Filipino and American folk songs. The album has received positive reviews from KQED's The California Report, San Francisco Chronicle, Living Blues and No Depression magazines and 4.5 out of 5 stars review All About Jazz. Her project, “A Color-Coded Symphony” premiered at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum in 2017. This performance piece is a musical experience connecting the audience’s ethnic origins to rhythms of the world and whose aim is to nurture curiosity and openness towards other cultures through music.

Source: Google and Wikipedia

The Magazine

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 52