Instructors

Currently working at GMA News TV as a Social Media Producer.

Experienced English Teacher with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Skilled in Research, English, Microsoft Word, Debate, Public Speaking, Journalism and Educational Leadership. Strong education professional with a Master’s Degree focused in English Language Studies from Mindanao State University and a Mass Communication undergraduate degree from Silliman University.

A College Instructor at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines.

Ernesto also works as a Legal Consultant at Cagayan de Oro City Philippines and a Youth Representative at Cdeo Local School Board.

Ms. Brillantes is a political science graduate of UP Visayas. She is also an alumna of Asia Resource Foundation and Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiate (YSEALI). Professionally, she takes the lead on several organizations. She is the co-founder of Saving Innocent Lives Amidst War (SILAW) Inc. She also seats as a Founding Board Member of Batiti Ground Inc. and as an Interim Chair of US Government program alumni association in Panay and Guimaras. She also volunteers to organizations such as Coding Girls, WordPress Iloilo, Amnesty International and UN Major Group for Children and the Youth. She is a regular member of Philippine Political Science Association and Philippine Sociological Society.

Jarrah is now leading Conflict Resolution Clinic (CRC), an educational camp for young emerging leaders in the Philippines. CRC is a simulated negotiation where participants will represent respective country states and promote national interest and sovereignty. She is also managing SILAW’s response to a new normal for education in geographically isolated disadvantaged areas. In her free time, she preoccupies herself in writing thoughts on her personal blog womaninparalleluniverse.wordpress.com.

She aspires to be a community influencer in her advocacies, especially on promoting the welfare of children in conflict areas and living peacefully and sustainably. She created brands such as The Academy by Educate Simplify, Made In IP and TrailX.

Mel is a Media Studies and Film lecturer, offshore content manager, and filmmaker. She has a certificate on New Media in Journalism from Ball State University under the US Department of State’s Study of The US Institutes program. She is also a contributor for various international film and media journals and is currently taking her doctorate degree in Development Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Neal is a queer writer and activist currently based in Lucena City. He is working for and with an international non-government organization on health and environment sectors. In 2018, he worked for a human rights organization in promoting and upholding rights of Filipinos which include their digital rights. He is currently a member of the Digital Rights Coalition.

Erika is currently working for the National Convergence Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development under the Department of Agriculture as the National Deputy Head Secretariat and Planning Officer. She assists the Head Secretariat in the management and supervision of the NCI-SRD National Secretariat and provide administrative and technical assistance to the committees and working groups.

She is also currently the Editor for Changdu Technology Limited. She does copy editing for
grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation as well as stylistic editing to clarify meaning,
eliminate jargon and polish language of translated Chinese novels.

As a graduate of the University of the Philippines – Diliman, Erika also became the co-producer to a weekly radio program called “Serbisyong Tatak UP” in DZUP 1602.

As part of the new Program Secretariat in 2016 for the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) Scholarship Program under the Department of Agriculture, she contributed to clearing the 6-year backlog of the ACEF scholarship program. Scholarship funds for 258 students and 28 scholars was possible with her dedication to helping the youth of our nation.

Her other project include the Chemical Youth Project under the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research that conducted qualitative research among transgenders in Cagayan de Oro City which got the highest mark for said research entitled “Reinventing the Butch and Sculpting the Bayot: A Brief Sketch on Gender Embodiment and Performance Among Transgenders in Cagayan de Oro City”.

Sharmila Parmanand in a PhD candidate in Gender Studies and a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge. She has a master’s in Development Studies from the University of Melbourne on an Australian Leadership Award scholarship and a BA in Political Science from the Ateneo de Manila University, cum laude. She was previously a development analyst for Devex, and a lecturer at the University of Vermont Department of Theater and the Ateneo de Manila University Department of English and Literature.

Jules Guiang is a Host, Youth Leader, and an entrepreneur.

He was a main stay host of the Philippines’ government network People’s Television Network or PTV-4 until exposing publicly some labor practices in his home network.

He hosted PTV-4’s morning show for 8 years, several public affairs shows such as “Iskoolmates” a youth debate show and another one for the Department of Interior and Local Government, “Tayo Na!,” and “Sulong Pilipinas” for Department of Finance.

As a youth leader, he is the Chairperson of the 2030 Youth Force Asia-Pacific (YFAP) Regional Council. As Founder, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of the 2030 Youth Force in the Philippines Inc. (YFPH). Both YFAP and YFPH are formations of youth advocates for the sustainable development goals or SDGs.

He is also the Founder and Board Chairman Emeritus of the National Alliance of Youth Leaders Inc. (NAYL). NAYL advocates for youth empowerment, education as a right, and social justice. NAYL carried Tatak Botante, a voter’s education campaign, in 2014.

He is one of the members of the recently-created United Nations Youth Advisory Board – Philippines.

As an entrepreneur, he opened a co-working space in Manila, “The Hatch Hub” – an affordable, collaborative, and advocacy-based shared-space.

Currently, he is a Co-Creator of Quarantalk Media, a digital media platform that produces content about socially relevant issues.

Through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), Jules had his 2-month internship with Cultural Vistas in Washington DC, USA in 2015.

He graduated from the University of the Philippines – Diliman with a degree of BA Public Administration in 2014. Currently, he is finishing his Master in Public Administration with focus on Voluntary Sector Management at the same university.

Gabriel Billones Jr. is a digital entrepreneur, storyteller, and educator. At his highest value, he provides experience-based insights on the areas of digital marketing, e-commerce, software development, and multimedia content production through mentoring, training, and project management.

Gab is the Founder and Sole Proprietor of Y-loop Digital Solutions – a Manila-based weekend agency mobilizing virtual talents to create value in digital marketing and innovation for social causes and advocacies. With more than 8 years of experience in digital marketing, e-commerce, and multimedia, and a Certificate in New Media and Journalism from Ball State University, Indiana, as a recipient of the Study of United States Summer Institutes (SUSI) Fellowship in New Media and Journalism, Gab has helped 100+ international and local brands establish their online presence and optimize their digital channels for conversion.

Gab is very involved in the local and international digital sphere. He has led several digital projects across the Philippines and in the ASEAN region. He is currently the Co-Founder and Chief Organizer of the Break the Fake Movement, which focuses on projects on critical thinking, fake news and disinformation, and media awareness and literacy. Break the Fake is a recipient of the YSEALI Seeds of Future 2019 and the organizer of Break the Fake Hackathon 2019, Break the Fake Blogathon 2017, and Break the Fake Vlogathon 2020. In his role in Break the Fake, he has contributed to several efforts to combat disinformation, including providing the framework for Facebook’s Digital Citizenship program; launching the Department of Education (DepEd) Philippines’ online training on fact-checking which amplified to thousands of teachers all the country; and centralizing and fact-checking data on Covid-19 response, which served as a backbone database for several COVID-related technology initiatives in the Philippines.

He is also one of the Project Managers of Go Social: A Digital Marketing Tour Bootcamp, the Philippines’ winning entry to the 7th Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF), a Trainer of the digitaljobsPH program of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) – the Philippines, a Certified Lead Learner of DevCon Philippines, Former Vice President of Iligan Bloggers Society (IBS), and a Founding Member of Digital Rights Coalition (DRC) of the Philippines and Digital Makers Asia Pacific (DMAP).

Hazel Bernadette Gapuz, or “Ace Gapuz” as known to many, is an entrepreneur, marketing and public relations specialist, and an advocate of financial education and responsible use of social media. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Blogapalooza Inc., the Philippines’ premier influencer marketing company.

A firm believer of the influence economy, she is the brainchild of Buzzin, the first influencer marketing platform in the Philippines that aims to connect businesses to bloggers and social media content creators. 

On a mission to #ElevateInfluence, she has helped put together the Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines, and is the founding Vice President of the organization.

As a millennial entrepreneur and chief executive, she is a thought leader in the field of influencer marketing and sought-after speaker in various industry events.

During her free time, she enjoys telling stories through her blog, www.acegapuz.com and hosts a podcast called “Rated I”, which can be streamed for free in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major podcasting platforms.

Ace graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management, minor in Strategic Human Resources Management and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She took academic units in the University of Technology Sydney for her international business education.

You can consider Fleire as The Digital Maestra. Her anthem: Ambitious Achievements. She aims to deliver focused insights, produce uncompromising results, and provide confident coaching to fellow entrepreneurs, startup founders, and MSMEs.

Fleire has 14 years experience in the Information Technology field with 12 years in Digital Marketing.

She was mentored through the DigitalFilipino community, the Cherie Blair Foundation, and the U.S. Embassy. She was sent to Nairobi, Kenya for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and recently sent to Chicago, Illinois as a professional fellow of the U.S. State Department fellowship program.

Fleire currently serves as a digital marketing consultant, CEO and Managing Founder of Third Team Media, a boutique social media and digital agency and is also involved in several startups.

Fleire’s “Para Sa Bayan” advocacies include women entrepreneurship and digital + tech for social good.

Janette Toral is a multi-awarded e-commerce advocate and digital influencer. At her highest value, she provides independent insights.

She is a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach, Fascinate Certified Advisor, Certified ScrumMaster & Product Owner, Canva Certified Creative, and Global Leadership Assessment 360 Certified Practitioner.

She is an Independent Executive Director, Certified Coach, Speaker, Behavioral Analysis Consultant, Trainer, Youth Facilitator, Parenting & Family Coach with The John Maxwell Team.

She is a Certified Executive Coach and Certified TEAM Coach with Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching.

She is a Robbins-Madanes Trained Coach and part of the Empowered Living Teaching Team.

Distinguished expert for 2nd & 3rd Expert Committee of APEC E-Commerce Business Alliance (June 2016 to September 2022).

She helped the Department of Trade and Industry in crafting the Philippines E-Commerce Roadmap (2016-2020) released last February 2, 2016.

She participated in the International Visitors Leadership Program 2011 (individual program) sponsored by the U.S. Embassy. Featured as 1 of the 6 women innovator at the APEC Women and Economy Summit 2011, San Francisco, USA.

Former technical consultant/executive director of the Congressional Oversight Committee for the E-Commerce Law. She worked on policy creation in consumer protection (value added services, e-commerce, e-banking), data privacy for the private sector, & e-payment in government.

As founding president of Philippine Internet Commerce Society, she worked on the passage of Y2K Law & E-Commerce Law. Retired in 2002. Former board member of Philippine Computer Emergency Response Team (PH-CERT), Internet & Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP), Philippine Macintosh Users Group (PhilMUG).

Neal is a queer writer and activist currently based in Lucena City. He is working for and with an international non-government organization on health and environment sectors. In 2018, he worked for a human rights organization in promoting and upholding rights of Filipinos which include their digital rights. He is currently a member of the Digital Rights Coalition.

Mel is a Media Studies and Film lecturer, offshore content manager, and filmmaker. She has a certificate on New Media in Journalism from Ball State University under the US Department of State’s Study of The US Institutes program. She is also a contributor for various international film and media journals and is currently taking her doctorate degree in Development Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman.