Filipino Young Leaders Program celebrates 10th year

“Family photo” of FYLPRO and its partners. (Seated left to right – Embassy Vice Consul Mark Dominic  E. Lim, FYLPRO President Leezel Tanglao, Embassy Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, Jr., Embassy Consul General Iric C. Arribas, and Nancy Hsiung from the Booz Allen Foundation. CONTRIBUTED

WASHINGTON D.C. – The Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) held a 10^th anniversary reunion-dinner at the Philippine Embassy Chancery Annex last July 22, with officers, members, alumni, partners, Embassy officials, mentees and other supporters in attendance.

Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, Jr. congratulated FYLPRO for its milestone achievements and positive impact in the Philippines and on the Filipino community in the United States.

“I had the privilege of witnessing how FYLPRO evolved from the time of its launching to when its members started addressing existential questions and challenges such as whether or not it should apply for 501(c)3 organization status or encouraging active participation among the alumni. And here you are now, a 501(c)3 organization celebrating its 10th anniversary!”

FYLPRO President Leezel Tanglao thanked the Embassy for its continued support for the organization, its programs and initiatives. She said “I was part of the last batch that went (to the Philippines) in 2019 and if you ask every single alumni that has gone through the immersion program of FYLPRO, they will tell you how life changing this program has been and even more so how we’ve been able to pivot and really dig deep into who we are as Filipinos and what it means to be a Filipino American both from the global sense and domestically. Even a pandemic could not stop us from serving our community in so many ways.”

Tanglao also announced the resumption of the FYLPRO Immersion program which is scheduled for November 2022.

Ascalon and former FYLPRO President Louella Rose Cabalona concluded the formal turnover of the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Embassy, FYLPRO, and the Ayala Foundation Inc (AFI), extending their partnership until December 2025. The MOU was signed via a virtual ceremony last December 2021.

Filipino Young Leaders Program is a 501c3 organization comprising a network of high-performing, next-generation leaders who advance the Philippines and the Filipino people through their advocacy and expertise in various industries. By connecting them to the Philippines, it fosters collaborative multinational relationships and support for the socio-economic progress of the global Filipino community.

FYLPRO has partnered with the Philippine Embassy and the Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) to annually identify outstanding young professionals in the Filipino communities across the United States and provide the delegates with invaluable community, business, and government insights and access to distinguished network leaders of industry and government.

The group supports various causes and civic initiatives such as the Caretaker Project, funded by a Booz Allen Foundation Innovation grant, and Project Ligtas Bata.

The Caretaker Project  connects Filipinos with vital, culturally relevant services, debunks misinformation and improves collection of data to better serve the community. It aims to fill gaps in services for the most vulnerable social groups — seniors, frontline workers,\ and the unemployed.

Meanwhile, Project Ligtas Bata is a web-based international campaign to combat the commercial and online sexual exploitation of Filpino children. The campaign promotes awareness, prevention and support for child victims in the Philippines.

For further information on FYLPRO and its projects, visit  https://fylpro.org/ and https://ligtasbata.com/.