Community leaders across the country connect in town hall meeting

Hawaii State Senator William C. Espero speaks at the panel of elected officials at the Kaya Filipino American National Town Hall Meeting. From left: Filipino Americans for Progress Adviser Melvin Tabilas; Senator Espero; Cerritos, CA City Councilmember Mark E. Pulido; and Jersey City, NJ City Council President Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr. Photo courtesy of Jay Lagria

A town hall meeting and a community reception for Filipino American leaders was organized March 14 by Kaya: Filipino Americans for Progress following a White House briefing for the community earlier in the day.

The town hall meeting put together a panel of speakers who discussed ways in which the community can advance local and national initiatives using “new and innovative approaches.”

The speakers included singer, actor, producer and founder of Broadway Barkada Liz Casasola; mental health and LGBT advocate Dr. Kevin Nadal; immigration lawyer and founder of San Francisco Veterans Equity Center Lourdes Santos Tancinco; and immigration reform advocate and Executive Director of Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Gregory Cendana.

“People typically see the arts as being non-political,” said Casasola. “But this forum reaffirmed my belief that promoting self-expression through the arts can be a powerful tool in encouraging our fellow Pinoys to have the passion and courage to be effective advocates for the community.”

The second part of the meeting featured a panel of elected officials representing all levels of government. The panelists were Hawaii State Senator William C. Espero; Jersey City, NJ City Council President Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr.; and Cerritos, CA City Councilmember Mark E. Pulido.

“Today’s events allowed us to come together and discuss the need for a national network of Filipino American elected officials in an effort to increase the political empowerment of our community,” said Genevieve Jopanda, National Co-Chair for Kaya. “We as a community need to use our growing numbers to get a seat at the table. To do that, we need to learn the science of elections and mentor our future generation by sharing that knowledge with aspiring Filipino American politicians.”

KAYA founding member Ben de Guzman said the event will help show the community that, together, FilAms can make a difference.

“We knew that the White House would be doing a Filipino American briefing so we wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to build community outside the White House as well,” he said. “We knew that not everybody would get in to the White House so we wanted to make sure we opened up another space to continue the conversation.”

Marily Mondejar, CEO and founder of Filipina Women’s Network in San Francisco, said the town hall was “important” for the community.

“It was very important that we as a community have a national discussion about issues that we are passionate about,” she told The FilAm Metro D.C.

Mondejar said she was especially appreciative of the elected officials forum. “There are very few Filipino American elected officials and bringing it to the forefront is important for us to be aware that although there is no one issue that will unite us, one thing that will unite us is about Filipino American representation and having that voice.”

Joe Montano, Regional Representative for Northern Virginia for Sen. Tim Kaine, said he was very pleased at both panel discussions.

“It’s an important discussion that we are having, and to have broad participation from young, old, East Coast, West Coast, Midwest to have that and know that you are really including a lot of perspectives,” he said.

It’s always great to have a discussion, said Mondejar, to be able to reach out to the FilAms out there “who may not be able to vote but need to be educated.”