FYLPRO announces summer class of Tayo Fellows

FYLPRO has selected nine talented young leaders from several states in the U.S. to serve as Summer 2022 Tayo Fellows. The fellow’s role is to support the ongoing operations of the Tayo help desk, its newly launched call center, and upcoming COVID-19 booster campaigns initiatives and vaccine clinics sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

“Our Tayo Fellows play a pivotal role in informing, curating, and executing the adaptive work of FYLPRO’s Task Force through creative, meaningful projects,” said TJ Simba-Medel, FYLPRO Tayo Fellowship director.  

TheTayo Fellows:

Yna Aggabao – Boston, MA

Yna Aggabao is the Senior Social Media Manager in the Office of Communications at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. At Harvard Chan School, she manages the school’s flagship social media channels. Previously she worked at Partners In Health as their Social Media Manager, spearheading their global organic social media program.

Bianca Barredo – Madison, WI

Bianca Barredo is a rising junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Microbiology with a certificate in Southeast Asian Studies. Additionally, she served as the Cultural Chair for UW-Madison’s Filipinx American Student Organization and currently holds the position of co-president External.  Bianca’s hope for Tayo is to efficiently communicate important information about COVID-19 and healthcare, and as a pre-medical student, wants to help the Filipinx population get the necessary medical advice they need.

Samantha Jane Benavidez-Walsh – Boston, MA

Samantha Jane Benavidez- Walsh is a doctoral student at Suffolk University, Boston in the Applied Developmental Psychology program. She works in the Youth Development in Context Lab under Dr. Amy K. Marks where she does research exploring colorism within the Filipino community.  Born and raised in Manila, she graduated from the University of the Philippines with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and got her master’s degree in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College.

Joed Garbo – Los Angeles, CA

Joed Garbois an aspiring health educator. She has a passion for public health, health equity, and mental health. She transferred from Mount San Antonio Community College with an Associate in Arts in Psychology for Transfer and an Associate in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Kinesiology and Wellness. Now, she is an undergraduate Public Health student at the California State University of Los Angeles (CSULA). At CSULA, Joed is the 2022-2023 president of the Public Health Student Association, the vice president of Operations for the Student Health Advisory Committee, and a member of Student Leaders in Sex Education Service Learning Opportunity for the statewide initiative #CaliforniansForAll College Corps.  

Lorenzo Garcia – New York, N.Y.

Lorenzo Garcia is a first-gen third-year student at Northwestern University studying Political Science and International Studies with a minor in Economics. With aspirations to use law as an instrument by which socioeconomic and racial justice may be realized in practice as in theory, he has internship experiences in a variety of fields, including immigration law, international trade law, family law, criminal law, international cybersecurity research, and political organizing.  He was born and raised in New York City. 

Frances Angela Maher – Rockville, MD

Frances Angela Maher applies her background in healthcare consulting, business development, and life sciences to a broad range of healthcare projects. She is currently an associate at Avalere Health. Prior to joining Avalere, she held multiple internship positions, including internships with the National Institutes of Health where she conducted cancer research.

Emily Paras – Ann Arbor, MI

Emily Paras is a rising sophomore at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is interested in studying Public Health and is a strong advocate for health equity, mental health awareness, and Filipinx representation in science. She is currently media chair for the Filipino American Student Association at the University of Michigan.

Ciboney Reglos – Madison, WI

Ciboney Reglos is a junior majoring in Global Health with minors in Health Policy and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Currently, she holds positions on campus as the vice president of the Filipinx American Student Org, the Operations Intern for the UW Social Justice Hub, and a Health Policy team member for Amnesty at UW. She has experience working as a certified nursing assistant for Global Pointe Senior Living, an outreach volunteer for Annex Teen Clinic, and a volunteer for North Memorial Hospital. Her experience as a Filipina working in healthcare has given her insight as to not only understanding the health disparities that exist within her own community but how those health inequities present in a clinical setting.

Bianca Vinoya – New York, NY

Bianca Vinoyais a development worker and nonprofit professional based in New York. She currently serves as Institutional Partnerships Manager at Breakthrough New York, a nonprofit organization dedicated to equitable education for children and youth. She has a master’s degree in International Development from Fordham University where she earned a Presidential Fellowship.

For more information, visittayohelp.com.

(C) The FilAm 2022