About Me
Spreading Goodness
I am a storyteller. I love sharing stories, especially those that inspire and give hope. In today's world, I believe that is much needed.
I am a radical optimist whose life has been about promoting hope and social justice. I consider myself a global citizen. I was born and raised in the Philippines and immigrated to America when I was a teenager. I now shuttle back and forth between the Philippines and America (pre-COVID that is) while also traveling all over the world whenever the opportunity arises.
I am a lawyer by profession, having practiced commercial law in a boutique law firm in Los Angeles, California (Hemar & Associates fka Cooper & Hemar). After ten years, I quit my job and gave up my promising career and dream to become a California judge to take on the dream of those who have lost their capacity to dream, the poorest of the poor in our society.
For the next seven years, I headed a US foundation for nation-building in the Philippines called GAWAD KALINGA - ANCOP Foundation USA. We generated millions of dollars in resources which transformed slums and built hundreds of communities for the poor in the Philippines and one in Cambodia, and it was all done with only hundreds of volunteers across America, except for two paid full-time staff..
Then in 2009, I co-founded and am still managing a social enterprise development platform in the Philippines (GKONOMICS International). I also co-founded and invested in a number of Philippine social enterprises. I also served as Trustee in one of the longest-running child and family welfare foundations in the Philippines (KAISAHANG BUHAY FOUNDATION INC.).
I am currently based in Las Vegas as I write on topics that stir my passions while volunteering for the homeless. This website will now allow me to share inspirational stories with a dose of humor to more people around the world, thus spreading goodness around!
What Got Me Started
My writing roots
What started as a Facebook birthday post ended up as my very first book, “An Entrepreneurial Wonder Woman.”
I love to write and as my Facebook wall proves, I love writing long posts about friends, families, and events. My husband has always encouraged me to do more with my writing skills but I never seriously thought about it, Until now.
The COVID pandemic and related events in my life made me realize that I must take the leap of faith and pursue my passion and dreams NOW because we never know when our days will end. Thus, since the COVID lockdown, I’ve been writing about my siblings and people who’ve impacted me the most when their birthday comes. It’s my way of “eulogizing” them while they are still alive to hear it.
As my sister Techie’s birthday (March 13) neared, I started writing a birthday post for her on March 8. Then, I realized that her story is so powerful and inspiring that I can’t possibly fit everything I wanted to say in one FB post! I began to consider the idea of writing a book.
I researched online how to write and publish a book and I saw that it was not that daunting. Self-publishing authors are commonplace these days and I then came across Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. On March 16 while I was in their website, I accidentally pressed the wrong button on my computer that sent my book into pre-order mode, with a release date of March 31!
“Oh my God,” I thought, “there is no turning back now!”
The book was released on March 31, uncovering a rare gem for the world to see and from whom we all could learn.. Oh and by the way, happy birthday Techie!
Filipina Entrepreneur
There are very few books out there that are written by female Asian (Filipina) authors nor are there many books (if at all) written about a true-to-life experience of a successful FEMALE entrepreneur, who embodies an interesting paradox of an entrepreneur detached from money, with a broken marriage in a Catholic country, who comes from a large family of 12 with no middle child syndrome, who turned her back on the American dream, and who became a happily single grandmother and is now living out her life purpose!
Through the book, An Entrepreneurial Wonder Woman, I hope to present to the world a refreshing story of an empowered Filipina, especially amidst the rising tide of anti-Asian sentiment and all the hatred and vitriol around us today. My book is an easy read and I think you will enjoy it. Please grab your copy and if you like it enough, please help me spread the word about it.
It’s also perfect that the book came out on March 31 as we wrapped up National Women’s History Month so we could celebrate women beyond the month of March. Happy reading!