PH Consulate General in Los Angeles Hosts Launch of 4th Edition of Filipina Women Network’s DISRUPT Book Series
Philippine Consul General to Los Angeles Edgar B. Badajos Badajos (center) with Filipina Women’s Network members and authors from the “Disrupt” book series (Los Angeles PCG photo).
LOS ANGELES 22 September 2023 – Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles hosted the book launch of “Disrupt 4.0 FILIPINA WOMEN: BEING”, the fourth installment of the Filipina Women Network’s (FWN) leadership book series. The book series feature the paths to leadership of 143 accomplished Filipino women working in diverse industries and sectors and residing in 29 countries.
In his welcome remarks, Philippine Consul General to Los Angeles Edgar B. Badajos commended FWN’s work in promoting Filipino women’s leadership capabilities and expressed his hope that women would be recognized as natural leaders and achievers, without the qualifier “at babae pa iyan”.
Consul General Badajos also expressed the Consulate General’s strong support for this collaborative project with FWN as this aligns with the Philippine Government’s, and the Department of Foreign Affairs’, priority to promote gender and development and women’s participation in all aspects of society. He also highlighted that the Philippines has a strong tradition of promoting gender equality, as borne out in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023 which placed the Philippines at 16th place.
During the program, eight (8) of the 143 women authors read excerpts from their stories as featured in the books, or provided background and context to the stories they submitted for inclusion in the book series. The eight FWN authors featured at the book launch were 1.) Ms. Marily Mondejar, FWN Founder and CEO; 2) Ms. Edith Winterhalter, Ed.D., FWN Ambassador for Southern California and Assistant Vice President for Budget and Strategic Business Operations at the California State University, Northridge; 3) Ms. Arlene Ferrolino, former president of the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra and owner of Piano Studio of Arlene Ferrolino; 4) Ms. Johana Melissa Disini Orquiza, a music composer (orchestrator and arranger) for film and tv; 5) Ms. Jaclyn Tolentino, DO, a senior doctor at Parsley Health; 5) Ms. Laarni San Juan, a registered nurse and community champion; 6) Ms. Maria Benel Corazon G. Se, CPA, Managing Partner at JBC Group, LLC; 7) Ms. Joyce Javier, MD, MPH MS, Associate Professor at the University of Southern California Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles; and 8) Ms. Patricia Denise Lopez, PhD., Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology and at Alliant International University.
Aside from the book launch, the event also launched Post’s collaboration with FWN on “Femtoring”. Part of FWN’s work as an organization is “femtoring” (female mentoring) aimed at young university-level or professional women in their Filipino-based communities. As such, young Filipino women in the audience were encouraged to approach the authors at the networking event that followed after the book launch.
The event was a resounding success with many of the attendees expressing their pleasure in having attended an event that was dedicated to celebrating Filipino women’s excellence and leadership. END
For more information, visit https://www.philippineconsulatela.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinLA/.