Top Educators, Innovators and Entrepreneurs Reap Inaugural Dado Banatao Legacy Awards
/Co-founder Maria Banatao said, “We are honored to celebrate these remarkable individuals who have made significant strides in their fields. Their work embodies the spirit of innovation and excellence that we strive to promote at PhilDev.”
Awardees include:
Education: Sheila Coronel, for her unwavering commitment to investigative journalism and her efforts to build institutions that support free and independent reporting.
Sheila Coronel
Coronel is the Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and the Stabile Professor of Professional Practice in Investigative Journalism at Columbia University. She headed the non-profit group, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), when it broke the story on how “President Joseph Estrada had allegedly acquired fancy mansions for his family and mistresses.” The story led to an impeachment trial and the overthrow of President Estrada. Coronel's impressive body of work with PCIJ and other publications earned her the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the post at Columbia’s Stabile Center. In 2011, she received the Presidential Teaching Award and in 2014 she became the Academic Dean at Columbia’s School of Journalism. Coronel sits on the boards of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Media Development Investment Fund, Columbia Journalism Review, ProPublica, and the National Security Archive. She is also a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and co-founder of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance and the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists.
Innovation: Ayesha Vera-Yu, CEO & Co-Founder of ARK Solves, for her groundbreaking work in social impact ventures that empower rural communities toward self-sustainable food security.
Ayehsa Vera-Yu (Source: The Search Engine)
Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK) co-invests with rural communities in the developing world on securing food, health, kids' schooling, and their self-sustaining future. ARK's Feed Back, a fresh vegetable basket exchange, secures food for farming communities plagued with hunger seasons and gets fishing communities to create gardens that secure their food and income. ARK's award-winning five-cent school lunch is the only school lunch in the world that parents contribute to on day one and is fully fund after three years. Prior to ARK, Vera-Yu was Director at BNP Paribas where for 11 years she was involved in leverage finance, acquisition finance, and loan syndications. She also restructured a farm in the Philippines, making it the first one in a province to be organic, and to offer fair employment, revenue share, healthcare, and continuing education to farmers/employees.
Vera Yu lived in the Philippines until age13 before immigrating to the U.S. with her family. On a trip to the Philippines in 2008, she saw the sad school condition of the Sibariwan village in Capiz. “I saw three to four kids huddled around each textbook and I learned that students barely come to school with food, much less supplies,” she said. She realized that “hunger and malnutrition” were common among them. She added, “Every day, I choose to partner with the community, keep kids in school, and grow ARK on a volunteer basis.”
Entrepreneurship: Eros Resmini Jr., Founder & Managing Partner of The Mini Fund, for his dedication to helping young entrepreneurs build lasting foundations for their startups through hands-on mentorship and investment.
Eros Resmini, Jr. (Source: Instagram)
Filipino American Resmini is passionate about building businesses by lending his expertise in Operations, Marketing, and Business Development. He describes himself as somewhat addicted to the early stage of business and complimenting product-focused entrepreneurs. After 20 years of operating businesses ranging from Fortune 500 to seed stage startups to Unicorns, Resmini created his own Angel Fund composed of industry veterans passionate about helping founders. He is passionate about giving back to the startup community and helping young builders create lasting foundations for their products and services.
Entrepreneurship: Susie Quesada, 3rd generation owner and President of Ramar Foods International, for leading the Filipino food company and bringing the flavors of the Philippines to supermarkets and restaurants across the world.
Susie Quesada (Source: The Business Journals)
Quesada, a third generation Filipino American, is the president of a 50-year-old Ramar Foods International, the leading manufacturer of premium Filipino and Asian frozen foods in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East, and Australia. Ramar, located in Pittsburg, California, includes such brands as Magnolia, Orientex, and Kusina. Quesada was already helping out in the business at age eight, putting labels on the ice cream and getting paid one cent for every label. After a stint as a middle school teacher, Quesada joined the family business in 2005 and assumed the role of president in 2013. The company now employs 250 workers. In an interview with The Mercury News, Quesada says she went through every department, learned different parts of the business, and realized that “when my dad didn’t make it to my soccer games … he was busy building this business” A graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Multicultural Literature and Education, Quesada continues to add new products like boba drinks and low-fat, low-sugar ice cream. She also established the Ramar Scholarship Foundation, which provides financial assistance to hardworking students.
"Their work embodies the spirit of innovation and excellence that we strive to promote at PhilDev.” – PhilDev Co-Founder Maria Banatao
The Dado Banatao Legacy Award will be presented to Eric Toda, Director of Social Marketing at Meta and Executive Director of Meta Prosper. Eric is recognized for his visionary leadership, relentless advocacy, and transformative contributions to the Asian American community and the tech industry. This award celebrates an individual who has made significant and lasting local and global impacts that are aligned with the mission and values set by PhilDev Founder, Dado Banatao.
Eric Toda (Source: tinfl.com)
Prior to Meta, Toda held brand and digital marketing leadership roles at Stitch Fix, Gap Inc, Airbnb, Snapchat, and Nike and has been awarded by Cannes Lions, Webbys, Clios, Shortys, among others for achieving marketing and business excellence. He sits on the Board of Directors for Reimagine and LAAUNCH (Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change), the advisory council for TAAF (The Asian American Foundation), the advisory board of directors for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and, most recently, he has been using his voice and platform for the #StopAsianHate movement in the business world. He launched his advocacy in Adweek by writing a piece called: “My People Are Dying In Silence — And I’m Here With A Megaphone,” calling out the marketing and advertising industry not just to care, but also to act. His work for the community has been featured on NBC News, CBS, FOX, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC. Toda has spoken on the floor of the Senate and in the White House about these issues, and he was one of the first 100 executives to sign the StandWithAsianAmericans letter in the Wall Street Journal.
