SAN FRANCISCO – The Philippine Consulate in San Francisco joined the San Francisco-based business development non-profit GlobalSF in an event commemorating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States. Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona represented the Consulate in the event.
The event held at Dynamico Space featured the inspiring stories of six distinguished AAPI women from various industries, including venture capital, deep technology, and corporate leadership.
Speakers included: Christina Laskowski, Filipino American Chairperson of non-profit Science and Technology Advisory Council Silicon Valley, a group advancing innovation and entrepreneurship in the Philippines and the United States; Carina Ruiz Singh, Filipino American Managing Partner and Risk & Financial Adviser at Deloitte LLP Silicon Valley; Papia Gambelin, Managing Director at United Airlines; Sue Xu, Managing Partner at venture capital firm Amino Capital; Helen Fu Thomas, Co-founder of generative AI for business applications startup AnyQuest AI; and Isabella Sun, CEO and Founder of specialty clothing startup Short Story.
Moderated by GlobalSF Executive Director Darlene Chiu Bryant, the event fostered insightful discussion and a chance to celebrate the achievements of the panelists and AAPI women in general.
The conversations explored the unique challenges faced by AAPI women in traditionally male-dominated fields, including migration stories for most of them, achieving work-life balance, and overcoming gender stereotypes, among others.
