New UniPro leaders vow to carry on legacy of collaboration, advocacy
The Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc. (UniPro) has announced that Stephanie Chrispin has been named president and Alyssa Esteban vice president of its New York City chapter.
As members of the Executive Board, Chrispin and Esteban will oversee the organization’s programming and operations in New York and New Jersey. A four-year veteran of UniPro, Chrispin has served previously as the chapter’s fundraising director and most recently as vice president.
Chrispin and Esteban bring years of diverse leadership and professional experience to UniPro.
“I’m honored to continue serving my Filipino American community as president of UniPro’s New York Chapter,” said Chrispin. “UniPro provided me with my first opportunity after graduation to connect and build relationships with fellow organizers, activists, artists, and academics who shared this vision of unifying and engaging FilAms, and I look forward to carrying on this legacy of movement building.”
With an M.P.A. in Health Policy and Finance from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, Chrispin researches and frames policy issues for the philanthropic sector in her work as Public Policy Fellow at Philanthropy New York. She also serves on the board of the Filipino American National Historical Society Metro New York Chapter.
Esteban won a grant from the MinKwon Center for the Asian Pacific Americans Voting and Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement (APA VOICE) initiative, funding UniPro’s civic engagement efforts among Filipino Americans in the metro-NY area.
Her involvement with UniPro began when she was an intern for the Communications department in 2013. Last year, as the chapter’s secretary general, she served as an administrative leader and an advisor to the Human Resources and Communications departments.
“I have always admired UniPro for its encouragement of collaboration, advocacy, and education within the Filipino American community,” said Esteban. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as the incoming vice president of the New York chapter and I look forward to a year of growth as we continue to unify, engage, and strengthen the Fil-Am community.”
Esteban is a graphic designer at luxury fashion house the Donna Karan Company, where she develops branding, advertising, and creative direction for Donna Karan New York and DKNY as a member of the in-house graphics studio. She holds a B.F.A. in Fine Arts and Graphic Design from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, where she also held executive positions in Rutgers Association of Philippine Students (RAPS).
The appointments were first announced on August 13, when UniPro NY celebrated its seventh anniversary at their Summer Soiree. Community members gathered at the 14th Street Y to enjoy tapas from the Filipino food truck Sisig City, calamansi cocktails from Mansi and drinks from San Miguel, music from DJ Marvl, and dance performances by Stony Brook’s Filipino American student organization PUSO.
In welcoming the new officers, Iris Zalun, the secretary of UniPro’s Board of Directors, said, “The Board of Directors congratulates the new Executive Board. We are excited to work together, not only to continue the growth of the organization, but also to challenge FilAm students and young professionals to give back to our community.”
Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc. (UniPro) is a New York City-based nonprofit organization that envisions a unified and engaged FilAm community. Founded in 2009, UniPro’s mission is to engage FilAms through collaboration, advocacy and education. It seeks to transform students and young professionals into community leaders through its various programs, which incorporate professional development, history, and policy through the lens of the Pilipino experience.