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The Nevada-based Filipino Young Leaders Program has selected Hawaii state Rep. Trish La Chica as one of 15 delegates to participate in its immersion program this year.
The program is organized in collaboration with the Philippine Embassy, the U.S. Consulates General and the Ayala Foundation Inc. to convene leaders ages 25 to 40 from across the country to travel to the Philippines and forge connections between the two nations.
“It’s a way to also foster the next generation of leaders,” said FYLPRO President Leezel Tanglao. “If you ask anybody that has gone through the immersion program, the common themes and words you’ll hear often is it’s transformative.”
The program was started in 2012 by former Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose L. Cuisia Jr. to strengthen ties between the two closely allied countries through youth leadership, Tanglao said. This year’s delegates will participate in a weeklong trip to the Philippines in August, where they will meet with various government and business leaders and community members.
La Chica (D, Waipio-Mililani), the only FYLPRO delegate from Hawaii this year, was born and raised in the Philippines. Her first job out of college was in journalism working for one of the country’s largest television stations. She said she witnessed firsthand the “devastating impacts” of poverty, corruption and political instability on citizens’ everyday lives.
“I felt like I wanted to do more and be part of the solution,” she said. “And I still find myself asking that same question.”
La Chica immigrated to the U.S. about 15 years ago and completed graduate studies in public administration in the San Francisco Bay Area while working for a national health policy organization, before eventually moving to Hawaii.
She said she looks forward to gaining fresh insight into the challenges the Filipino community is facing.
“The knowledge and connections I gain through the program will enhance my own ability to build bridges and foster collaborations between the different communities both here in Hawaii and in the Philippines,” La Chica said.
FYLPRO applicants were asked to describe three main challenges facing the Philippines and submit a proposal for a “legacy project” to advance the Filipino community.
La Chica said she highlighted the challenges of government corruption, high rates of chronic disease and the difficult mental adjustment many immigrants face, especially in less diverse communities.
She said she hopes the FLYPRO immersion program will help her gain new perspectives on the root causes of each issue.
For her legacy project, La Chica said she would like to use her new connections to create a convention for Filipino Americans to foster business leadership, civic engagement, political representation and economic sustainability.
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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
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