FilAms Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 64
/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.
Maria Odiamar Racho, Venture Capitalist
Maria Odiamar Racho (Source: National ACE)
Racho is CEO of Kapwa Capital, an Organizational Effectiveness and Fractional Executive Consulting Firm and a Venture Capital company. Her career spans three decades in Fortune 100 financial services with roles spanning from sales to technology to HR and finance. She is a network builder and open innovation expert. She founded intrapreneurs@allstate (i@a), which grew to over 800 employees and became a corporate incubator. i@a ran internal “shark tanks” and startup challenges, contributing to the $44B corporation’s external recognition as one of Fortune’s 2023 Most Innovative Companies.
After founding the corporate incubator, Maria delved further into the startup world mentoring, investing, and founding a VC firm and angel investment syndicate. Her passion and focus are on investing in underserved (yet overperforming) founders, and in opening doors for under-represented communities to learn and have access to investing opportunities to build generational wealth. She holds an Executive Master of Science in Organizational Development from Pepperdine University, where she later served as adjunct faculty. Maria is a published researcher and speaker on Asian American leadership. She is a National ACE Ambassador and serves on the board of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago. In January 2023, she was appointed to the Women’s Business Ownership Council by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. Racho immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when she was just two. Embracing both her Filipino and American identities, she maintains a profound connection to her birthplace.
Aaron Navarro, CBS Digital Reporter
Aaron Navarro (Source: CBS News)
Navarro (BS '18, Journalism) worked as a CBS broadcast associate for the 2020 political unit covering House and gubernatorial races. He has been a key player in following the central stories for down-ballot races, from impeachment to coronavirus, and helping with overall 2020 election coverage. He previously worked as a news associate for CBS Evening News and Face the Nation before starting coverage of the 2020 election last June. "It's never lost on me how much of a blessing and responsibility it is to cover such a historical election cycle," Navarro said. "Every experience and trip have taught me a lot about journalism today and about this country, and I'm honored to be part of one of the best teams in the business.” As a digital reporter, his focus was on politics in 2022 and 2024. In college, Navarro was active at the Daily Illini, WPGU and with the campus SPJ chapter. He interned at WMAQ NBC5 in Chicago.
Ginger Leopoldo, Cultural Catalyst
Ginger Leopoldo
Leopoldo earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in theater from the University of Illinois - Chicago. She is an educator, actor, director, producer, and community organizer, bringing over two decades of experience in transformative arts education and community engagement. She develops and implements innovative youth-heritage curricula, integrating theater-arts methodologies with STEAM education and TEAACH Act programming for K-12 public-school educators and students. She advances immigrant storytelling and cultural preservation through participatory arts programming, fostering intergenerational dialogue and community empowerment. She is also the executive artistic, training, and program director of the Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts (CIRCA) Pintig, the volunteer and outreach coordinator at the Rizal Community Center, board trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society representing the Midwest, and a lifetime member of the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago.
Submitted by Rey de la Cruz
Aries Dela Cruz, Executive Director, Public Information, NYC Emergency Management
Aries Dela Cruz
Dela Cruz was recently listed among 40 individuals, all under the age of 40, as New York City & State’s latest Rising Stars for their impressive track records.
For Dela Cruz, the workplace idiom of “putting out fires” is no joke. The crisis communications expert is a leader at NYC Emergency Management and has dedicated himself to a life of public service driven by a passion for demystifying democracy and government for everyday people. Best known for his work as New York City Council Member Gale Brewer’s press secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dela Cruz navigated complex citywide issues like restaurant regulations and was instrumental in initiatives like painting “Black Lives Matter” outside the Civic Center and renaming it BLM Boulevard.
After a stint with the state Office of the Inspector General, Dela Cruz joined the city’s emergency management department, where he crafts messages that go out to millions of people when emergencies strike. “I treat every emergency that happens in the city as though someone I love is affected by that emergency,” he says. “That they are living in that building that’s collapsed or they are breathing in the air from a hazardous spill.” He refers to his position as more than just a job, but a calling to keep all New Yorkers safe. This past summer Dela Cruz worked to elevate the urgency of heat emergencies, employing innovative tactics like memes and drones to advocate for better preparedness.
“I think about my own background and am always making sure that no matter where you’re from and what language you speak, you have access to these messages,” he says.
Submitted by Rey de la Cruz
Levi Aliposa, Marathon Runner
Levi Aliposa
A native of Catarman, Northern Samar, Philippines, Aliposa has an undergraduate degree in social sciences from Leyte Normal University in Tacloban City, Leyte. He is a team leader at the Trilogy Behavioral Health, Inc. in Chicago, where he provides clinical supervision in therapeutic interventions for individuals with chronic and mental health needs. In his spare time, he is a marathoner—but with a difference—he proudly wears an Igorot costume! His love for Indigenous peoples started when he performed in Pintig’s production of Rodolfo Vera’s Alamat (Legend) in Chicago in 1993. The play depicts the journey of three generations of a Kalinga family living in the U.S. From thereon, he carried the Indigenous spirit, especially wearing the traditional Igorot regalia in all his marathon races to show the world how proud Filipinos are as a nation with rich, diverse history. His noble efforts have been recognized by the BIBBAK, a community of six major Philippine mountain tribes (Bontoc, Ifugao, Benguet, Baguio, Apayao, and Kalinga) by making Aliposa a member and an officer. His goal is to run marathon in every state of U.S.—of course, wearing his Igorot costume to the hilt!
Submitted by Rey de la Cruz
Gail Meriel, Career Coach
Gail Meriel
Meriel is an award-winning global motivational speaker, international best-selling author, and project manager. She has an MBA degree from Loyola University (Chicago) and Project Management Professional certification with over 25 years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies. She is a co-author of Inspiring Women Who BossUp, and Dream, Big, Do Bigger. She helps inspire and empower women professionals who have lost confidence from impostor syndrome (a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success). She helps them learn how to regain self-confidence through self-discovery and emotional intelligence so they can redefine and achieve success in business and life without losing themselves mentally, emotionally, and physically. She is the founder of Success Redefined.
Submitted by Rey de la Cruz
Eric Manlunas, Venture Capitalist
Eric Manlunas (Source: Los Angeles business Journal)
Manlunas is the Founder & Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, a multifaceted cross-border venture capital firm founded in 2003. The firm is dual-headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore and has raised over $900 million across nine committed funds, a couple of sector-specific affiliate funds, a number of managed accounts, and several special-purpose vehicles.
Wavemaker is an active early stage investor in Southern California and Southeast Asia and has invested in over 450 companies the last 21 years. Manlunas is a two-time start-up entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. Prior to entering venture capital, Eric founded Sitestar in mid-1999. Sitestar is an Internet service provider in the rural markets of the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. which he successfully divested in Dec 2002. Prior to that, his first startup was Interfoods, a specialty foods venture he founded in mid 1996 focused on specialty foods online and offline retail commerce which was successfully acquired in late 1999.
He began his career as an associate with Arthur Andersen’s retail management consulting division from 1991-1995. He earned an M.B.A from Pepperdine University in 1995 and a B.S. in Communications from Florida International University in 1990. He is also a Trustee of the Philippine Development Foundation, an organization committed to social and economic development initiatives in the Philippines.
Dr. Jeannie Celestial, Psychologist
Dr. Jeannie Celestial (Source: drcelestial.com)
Celestial’s ancestors and family come from San Remigio, Cebu, Philippines (maternal) and from Cavite, Philippines (paternal). She identifies as a second-generation, straight, cisgender Filipina American woman. Born on Chamoru land, Guåhan (Guam) she immigrated with her family to Miwok land in Northern California. She earned her Philosophy Ph.D in Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University with emphases in Clinical Neuropsychology and Meditation and Psychology. As a doctoral student, she was awarded the Minority Fellowship by the American Psychological Association for her commitment to ethnic and racial minority behavioral health. She completed her doctoral internship at the Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Healthcare System, serving Hawai’i and Micronesia. She culminated her postdoctoral training at Kaiser Permanente Psychiatry in Vallejo, California where she helped establish and innovate new programs with the Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity component of the Northern California Mental Health Training Program, aimed at hiring, retaining, and advancing women, BIPOC, people with disabilities, veterans, and LBGTQ community members. Dr. Celestial initially became interested in a career in mental health because she saw a lack of resources for Filipino Americans in the field. Growing up in the ‘80s, Jeannie took note of the deep stigmatization of seeking therapy and using psychotropic medications in the Filipino American community. Her work has been devoted to breaking down this stigma by providing resources, mentorship, and culturally responsive services especially to Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Dr. Celestial was selected by the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) in October 2024 to receive the 2024 Edwin J. Nichols Cultural and Diversity Grant in recognition of her work with Asian American communities. Celestial’s work includes co-authoring a textbook, Clinical Interventions for Internalized Oppression, and a cookbook, The Filipino Instant Pot Cookbook, which received acclaim in Food & Winee.
Dillon Gabriel, Football Player
Dillon Gabriel (Source: The Oklahoman)
Gabriel is an American college football quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. He played at University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2019 before transferring to Oklahoma in 2022 and then transferring to Oregon in December 2023. He is only the eighth college QB to surpass 15,000 passing yards. Gabriel attended Mililani High School in Mililani, Hawaii. As a senior in 2018, he was the Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year. His cultural background is a blend of Hawaiian and Filipino influences, each contributing to his unique perspective and personal values. Born and raised in Hawaii, Gabriel grew up surrounded by the vibrant traditions and community values of the islands. His Filipino heritage brings close-knit family structures and strong support systems.
Dr. Hazel Benigno, Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Hazel Benigno (Source: Instagram)
Dr. Hazel Benigno (she/her/siya) is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and an academic-artist-activist. As an academic, her research interests center on the process of decolonization and multigenerational healing. As an artist, she creatively navigates the complexities of modern life by bringing the loving force of her ancestors’ teachings. As an activist, she aims to create healing spaces in powerfully unjust systems. Dr. Benigno is currently the Mental Health Program Director at Homeless Children’s Network in San Francisco. She is driven to see racial, economic, and social inequities addressed, and is fueled by her loving pups, tree-climbing, and desserts.
Source: Google and Wikipedia
