Milestones & Projects

Books are my diamonds

  • a voracious reader since childhood, nurtured by a father who supported my love for reading
  • the ‘go-to’ classmate in high school for the latest issues of young adult pocketbooks
  • can be trapped in an island with no wi-fi (just give me enough supply of books)
  • book that I treasure and recommend for both young and old: The Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Education is both a gift and a legacy

  • Graduated from BA Development Studies and Master of Environment and Natural Resources Management, ranking 3rd out of 25 graduates
  • Completed a master’s thesis, which looked at the possibility of building Sky Bike Lanes in Metro Manila; measured the likely impacts of the infrastructure in terms of traffic and carbon emissions reduction
  • Completed the courses, Policy Instruments for Low Emissions Development: From Design to Implementation and Low Carbon Development: Planning and Modeling (online), both by the World Bank eInstitute
  • Currently taking up a Diploma Course in Interior Design (online) at the Institute of Interior Design
  • Completed Reiki (Master level) and Pranic Healing (basic level)
  • Completed the course, Positive Psychology: Martin E.P. Seligman’s Visionary Science, offered by the University of Pennsylvania (via Coursera)

Work is not ‘work’ if you are having a fabulous time. Here are just some of my milestones.

Current

  • Senior Technical Expert (Consultant) at a regional multilateral development bank 
  • Consultant for Legislation & Public Affairs for a Legislator (interim /on-call basis)
  • Founder and CEO, Anna’s Trees and Innovations
  • Proponent for Project Sky Bike Lanes (voluntary advocacy, personal capacity)

Previously (selected)

  • In-country Project Manager of Private Markets for Climate Resilience (PMCR), a project supported by Inter-American Development Bank and Nordic Development Fund. The Global Report is available here.
  • Project Coordinator of Integrated Environmental Strategies Philippines—a USAID-supported project
  • Environmental specialist for an air quality monitoring project using US EPA’s Compendium Method TO-15 (through Summa® Canister sampling system)
  • Worked with more than 25 projects; most if not all of them supported by multilateral/bilateral development organizations such as the ADB, World Bank, UNDP, CIDA, and USAID.
  • Technical staff /advisor to Philippine legislators and cabinet members, including the Secretaries of Health and the Environment and Natural Resources.
  • Led the communications team for a senatorial candidate who eventually won (top 5).
  • Trained in DMAIC Methodology, receiving a Master Bronze certification.
  • Significantly contributed to winning project proposals.

Publications

  • Guidebooks on public-private partnerships in health (published by ADB in 2013)  
  • Guidebooks on sustainable sanitation (published by the Department of Health and World Bank in 2010). 
  • Two chapters for the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (published by Springer)
  • Please visit some of my published works in my Google Scholar page.
  • Details of some of the books I’m working on and authored /co-authored books are here.

Art fuels creativity and innovations

  • Successfully exhibited black & white (film) photography works (taken in Beijing, PRC) through a One-Woman Show in Alcove Gallery, Filipinas Heritage Library, Makati City, Philippines, in 2004
  • Enjoys painting, sketching, and photography (some works are shared via Instagram)

This is a copy of the invitation-postcard for my 1st One-Woman Photo Exhibit (in black & white film), which was held in Alcove Gallery at the Filipinas Heritage Library, Makati City in 2004.

Back then, photography truly takes a lot of efforts because one need to buy films, put them inside a camera, and finally have it processed (or process it himself if he is into processing, too). It will always be a hit-and-miss. Oftentimes, there is no “Take 2”. Moments (especially during travels) could not be repeated anymore. With the advent of digital photography, there’s more room for “Take 2” and of course, there’s always the option to edit and post-process images.

I enjoy digital photography but I miss film photography because there’s something more profound in images and memories that could not be repeated anymore. It’s just like life. We got to live our lives in the here and now. While we can always go back to the same places and re-trace our footsteps, we can no longer truly repeat the feelings and thoughts from the first time we were there…and so, explore the world. Discover places, people, and experiences that will make you feel exhilaratingly alive and inspired. Most of all, be grateful for each and every moment; be present, be hungry for new adventures.

Traveling allows us to experience our shared stories and aspirations

Visited and have embraced the following countries (so far!), in chronological order (the last one being the most recent)

  • Hong Kong
  • South Korea
  • Japan
  • Bangladesh
  • Nepal
  • Thailand
  • Singapore
  • Canada (with transit in the US)
  • People’s Republic of China (PRC)
  • Germany
  • Viet Nam
  • Cambodia
  • Malaysia
  • Australia

[NOTE: This site is being revamped. I look forward to your next visit–hopefully with the new site ready!]