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.

Dr. Rowena Tomaneng, Educator

Tomaneng in October 2024 was named the new Deputy Chancellor for the California Community College system. This makes her second-in-command to Chancellor Sonya Christian, leading the nation's largest higher education system with 116 community colleges serving 2.1 million students. She recently served as President of San José City College (SJCC) in the San José Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD), located in Silicon Valley, California. She has served on numerous boards, councils, and commissions. Her teaching, research, and publications explore human rights, social movements, transitional feminism, and racial equity in education. Dr. Tomaneng also teaches leadership studies and gender and globalization at the University of San Francisco’s School of Education and leadership studies at San José State University’s Connie L. Lurie College of Education. She received her Ed.D. from the University of San Francisco's School of Education in International and Multicultural Education with a concentration in Human Rights Education, an MA in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a BA in English from the University of California, Irvine. She is also a proud alumna of Cypress College.

Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, Pediatric Immunologist

Luzuriaga received the “Legacy Award” at CYFAM’s (Council of Young Filipinx Americans in Medicine) 5th Annual Conference in Philadelphia. She is a leading physician-scientist known for bridging research and patient care in pediatric infectious diseases. The Legacy Award recognizes individuals who create lasting change in healthcare through leadership, mentorship, and advocacy. She exemplifies these qualities by advancing research on viral infections in children and leading pivotal clinical studies that improved pediatric HIV treatment. In 2013, Luzuriaga was included on Time Magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World for her work on preventing AIDS from being transmitted to newborn babies. Her leadership at UMass Chan Medical School and in a national network of pediatric HIV research has inspired many healthcare professionals and researchers. Luzuriaga is a pediatric physician-scientist whose work focuses on improving health through scientific investigation, translation of scientific insights and new technologies to the clinic, and training the next generation of scientists. Her research is devoted to understanding viral and host factors that contribute to the establishment and persistence of viral infections in children, using insights gained to inform prevention and treatment strategies.

Sandro Roco, Founder of Sanzo

Roco is the founder and CEO of Sanzo. The name of the brand is actually a portmanteau of Sandro’s first and middle names: Alessandro and Lorenzo. He started Sanzo with a mission of bridging cultures by highlighting unique Asian flavors like lychee, calamansi and yuzu through clean, natural beverages. His flagship line is a flavored sparkling water, crafted with real fruit and offering a refreshing experience that honors the authenticity of these bold, beloved flavors. Prior to founding Sanzo, Roco was chief-of-staff at a twice venture-apparel brand, and he previously worked in investment banking at J.P. Morgan and as a nuclear power engineer for Exelon. He is also a board member and founding member of Naturally New York, which brings people, products and passion together to strengthen and build the New York natural products community. Born in Queens and raised in Central Jersey by Filipino immigrant parents, Roco became a nuclear engineer and worked in both finance and tech before a newfound connection to his Asian American identity inspired him to start his own company. This circuitous path to entrepreneurship, however, is what he credits for his success, as each experience prepared him to chart a unique path into the beverage world.

Carol Gancia, Founder of Kokak Chocolates

Opened in June 2020, Kokak Chocolates specializes in small-batch single origin heirloom chocolates in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco. "Kokak," meaning ribbit in the Filipino language, stems from founder and Head Chocolatier Carol Gancia’s deep Asian roots and passion for making adventurous flavors with the rare cacao variety. An Irish Filipino immigrant with deep Asian roots, Gancia was raised in Manila, Philippines within a family of serious chocolate lovers, where it became a staple childhood memory and sharing tradition. Her Uncle Jorge in particular brought home chocolates from his work trips in Western Europe, inspiring Gancia to develop a profound appreciation for different types of chocolates, such as dark, peppermint, and liqueur styles, by the young age of seven. In 2004, Gancia immigrated from Manila to San Francisco then created her video production company, Ripplemakers, Inc. Her culinary passion transpired through her work as a television show producer on KQED’s Check Please! Bay Area and Jacque Pépin: More Fast Food My Way. She started experimenting with chocolates, setting a solid foundation for her chocolate and pastry work from learning with respected institutions such as the International Culinary Center in California, Melissa Coppel Chocolate & Pastry School, and the San Francisco Cooking School. Kokak Chocolates was then conceptualized to offer premium, unique flavors crafted in colorful, tropical-inspired designs with a story to tell.

Dr. Valerie Francisco-Menchavez, Educator

Dr. Valerie Francisco-Menchavez *(Source: University of Washington Press)*

Francisco-Menchavez is the College of Health & Social Science's assistant dean for restorative and transformative social justice and an associate professor of sociology at San Francisco State University. Her academic interests include global and transnational sociology, migration and immigration studies, diaspora with a special interest on the Philippine migration, gender and the family, racial and ethnic relations in the U.S., labor, transnational social movements with regard to migrant workers, and international political economy. Her current book project explores the dynamics of gender and technology of care work in Filipino transnational families in the Philippines and the U.S. Through an examination of neoliberal immigration policies and market forces, Francisco-Menchavez contextualizes the shifts in the longstanding transnational family formation in the Philippines. Her research program includes a transnational study of Filipino migrant mothers in New York City and their families left behind in Manila and participatory action research with Filipino immigrants working as caregivers in the U.S. In journals like Critical Sociology, Working USA, The Philippine Sociological Review and International Review of Qualitative Research, Francisco-Menchavez also writes on the transnational activism that emerges from the social conditions of migration, separation and migrant labor. She has been awarded the 2015 Pacific Sociological Association’s Distinguished Contribution to Sociological Praxis Award and has been named one of the ten national finalists for the 2014 Lynton Award Scholarship of Engagement for Early Scholars by the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE).

Rodel Rodis, Lawyer

Rodis is one of the original founders of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). He is also the first Filipino to be elected to public office when he was elected to the San Francisco Community College Board in 1992, and reelected in 1996, 2000 and 2004; he served three terms as president of the San Francisco College Board. In 1987, Rodis became the first Filipino to be appointed to a major city commission at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. He has taught Philippine History and the History of Filipinos in America at San Francisco State University and Laney College and was a Board of Trustee member of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS). He continues to practice law specializing in immigration and civil litigation. He is also an activist and columnist whose writings have especially angered politicians in the Philippines with his direct honesty and acerbic tongue.

Casey Chang, Student Representative

Chang is a Chinese Filipino who currently serves as one of the two student representatives on the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. This is where she represents just over two million students at the highest governing board of the system. In the recent past, she concurrently served as the Student Trustee for her district, West Valley-Mission Community College District Board of Trustees, while also serving as Vice President of Communication for the Student Senate for California Community Colleges in 2022-23. As a STEM-focused individual, she was involved with jobs and internships in her community. For example, she has been a Conservation Technician for the Stanford University Habitat Conservation Program since 2022 and a STEM Peer Support Specialist with the Mission College STEM Learning Center since 2022. During the summer of 2023, she was a research intern with the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, where she did both individual and collaborative projects.

Daniel Galeon, Financial Strategist

Galeon is a Strategy & Ops Lead in the Product Risk team at Stripe, a software-as-a-service company dual-headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin. Prior to Stripe, Daniel spent a decade in financial services working in various roles at Goldman Sachs and Blackrock. He earned a BA with Honors from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Yale University. He has excelled in creating structure, designing operational roadmaps, and setting strategic direction at the executive level for prominent finance and fintech companies, including Goldman Sachs, Stripe, Payoneer, and Robinhood, delivering effective governance. His contributions to national non-profit boards such as the PUSO Foundation and the International Society of Filipinos in Finance and Accounting showcase his dedication to uplifting the global Filipino community.

Constancio Carvajal Paranal III, Tech Program Manager

Constancio Carvajal Paranal III *(Source: University of Hawaii)*

Paranal is the Innovation and Tech Program Manager at the City of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization. His interests revolve in the areas of technical and creative design utilizing a multidisciplinary approach as well as formal and informal pedagogy. Paranal is also a proud member of FYLPRO Batch 9, serving a two-year term as a Board of Director and leading initiatives like the 2023/24 Magiting Roadshow in Honolulu and contributing to the 2024 Immersion and Communications Committees. He launched his legacy project with the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Hawaii to support Filipino American entrepreneurs and participated as a mentor in the FYLPRO US Asia Institute Mentorship program for two years.

Allyson Ee, Beauty Queen and Engineer

Ee is Northern California’s representative to the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines. She is a chemical engineer by profession and was lauded for her initiative to promote science and technology exchange between the Philippines and Silicon Valley. A graduate of the prestigious Philippine Science High School in the Philippines, Ee moved to California at the age of 16, where she completed her studies at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She helped develop cutting-edge battery engineering technology for various Silicon Valley companies. While her career is based in Northern California, Allyson’s heart remains deeply connected to the Philippines. She is passionate about inspiring young girls, especially in her home country, to pursue science and engineering. Believing that the Philippines has untapped potential, she is committed to demonstrating that Filipinas can make a global impact and prove that brilliance is not only powerful, but also beautiful. She strives to pave the way for future generations of Filipina scientists and engineers who will contribute to the universe and make the Philippines proud.

Sources: Google and Wikipedia

The Magazine

FilAms Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 66