Jeannie Lum, the Filipino Community Center’s new executive director, grew up knowing she wanted a job that would allow her to give back to her community.

“I really think that a job sometimes just chooses you,” she said. “I have always seen myself doing something for the community because that’s something I believe in.”

Lum hopes to provide the community with more impactful programs that are relevant during the changing times. She also aims to expand FilCom’s reach to Filipino communities, leaders, supporters and volunteers throughout the world via social media and other platforms.

Born in the Philippines and raised in Oahu’s Filipino communities, Lum has always felt surrounded by her culture. She said she values her connection to her heritage and feels her values align with FilCom’s mission to “operate a community center that provides social, economic and education services and to promote and perpetuate Filipino culture and customs in the State of Hawaii,” according to center’s website.

“To be at FilCom, it’s such a big deal for me because it’s an opportunity for me, personally, to fully continue to immerse in not only the community but also in understanding the richness of my culture as well.”

Lum grew up attending Catholic schools, graduating from Saint Francis School in Manoa, which closed in 2019. Her experiences as a student included environmental cleanups, tutoring, working in soup kitchens and other service projects.

As she grew older, helping the community began to take on a more personal meaning for her.

“It’s not just about giving all your heart and soul, but also believing in that cause,” Lum explained. “It’s good work that you’re doing, but at the end of the day, what can it do for you?”

Lum, 39, got her bachelor’s degree in marketing and broadcast communications, and a master’s degree in business administration from Chaminade University. As someone with a passion for marketing, she was able to grow her network of contacts through volunteering while strengthening her skills in social media marketing, design and event planning.

Prior to her involvement with the FilCom Center, Lum worked as a sales executive for Western Union for about 10 years. The company would often sponsor FilCom’s activities, and being involved in the events allowed Lum to grow even closer to the Filipino community.

In March, she stopped by a friend’s office to donate clothes for a clothing drive the woman was sponsoring. As they were catching up, her friend told her she was chairing a fiesta for the FilCom Center. It would be the center’s first in-person event since the start of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Lum quickly agreed to volunteer and ended up in charge of the fiesta’s marketing and social media committee. It was the first time she officially volunteered for FilCom.

Since then, Lum has worked as FilCom’s program’s director before becoming executive director on June 1.

One of her goals as the new leader is to provide a wealth of resources for all members of the community.

“Just to kind of look at the pockets of needs out there, because it’s not just about the culture itself, it’s not just the food,” Lum said. “It’s everything. … I want to be able to do more programs that will help educate the community and also do something valuable for them.”

Lum said she is also excited to develop programs that will appeal to all generations and hopes to build FilCom’s connections and expand its outreach via social media.

Lum is the mother of two daughters, ages 6 and 4, who are both autistic.

“It’s a blessing to be their mother,” she said. “It is a challenge because not only am I just a mom, but I’m also a mom with children who are neuro-diverse and like to communicate differently.”

Her experiences at home have been valuable in getting her to think about ways to communicate effectively with new groups, she said, and work toward what she wants to accomplish in her new position.

“We’re slowly discovering that people do things differently,” Lum said. “We are slowly discovering that people communicate differently. We are slowly discovering that people embrace culture differently. And so we’re not losing the culture. We’re just trying to find ways to be innovative and communicate and share that culture with the people of tomorrow.”