JILLIAN THERESE G. ROBREDO

Jillian Robredo has recently graduated from New York University with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics. At NYU, she was active in different student organizations such as the Economic Development Group, Bridges for Enterprise, and the International Student Council. Currently, she is working as an analyst in a boutique consulting firm in New York.

APRILLE ROSELLE VINCE JUANILLO

Aprille is a faith-fueled community leader who is an environment and equal rights advocate. She graduated with a Bachelor of Mass Communication degree from Silliman University as the Most Outstanding Student of the Year. In 2022, she was recognized as a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellow on Environmental Issues at the East-West Center, Hawaii. Upon completion of the fellowship, she co-founded The ShexEarth Project — an educational training on environmental and gender-based issues. She also serves as the YSEALI Central Visayas Hub officer for Alumni Mobilization Program through Leadership and Influence to Filipino Youth (AMPLIFY) 6. In 2021, she was awarded as an Environmental Youth Icon by the Philippines Environmental Bureau Management.

Juanillo has a rich background in environmental issues and community engagement. She served as the Communications Manager for 30×30 ASEAN – a global campaign to protect 30% of the world’s land and water forms by 2030. Straight out of college, she served as the Program Officer of the Association of Young Environmental Journalists, Inc. She was also the Training Specialist for Environmental Writing Education focusing on Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation. During her undergraduate and as the Silliman University Student Government President, she helped launch the country’s first safe-space desk, established the Grievance Toolkit, and led the implementation of actual zero-waste university events. She was also recognized as a Commendable Bill awardee during the 12th National Youth Parliament for her bill that seeks to incorporate Climate Education into formal education.

She presently serves as the Media and Communications Head for the Ibayaw Youth Collective. In her free time, Aprille loves to stick her nose in a book or play with their dogs.

DR. JENNY LIND ELMACO

Dr. Jenny Lind Elmaco is currently the Regional Coordinator of EURAXESS Worldwide – an initiative of the European Commission to support researchers and scientific collaboration in the European Research Area. She is an awardee of the Innovative Leadership Diamond Award and the Education Double Gold Award from the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network (UK). She was also given the Marie Curie Social Impact Award for her work in peace, gender and COVID response. She was also recognized as one of the Top 100 Influential Filipina Women on LinkedIn.

Jenny was a recipient of the Marie Curie ITN Fellowship of the Consortia for Excellence on Sustainable Peacebuilding with the University of Bradford as her host University. She was a  Junior Researcher of the Research Group in Civil Society and Multi-level Governance sponsored by the German Ministry for Science and Technology and housed in the historic city of Muenster. She was also part of the Cluster of Excellence of the European Center for Information Systems for the Project, Network e-Volution in Germany. She likewise was a Visiting Fellow of the Vienna School of Business and Economics for their Non-Profit Management Team.

She has a Masters Degree in Peace, Security, Development and International Conflict Transformation from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) and the Universidad Jaume I (Spain) with scholarships from the Tyrolean government, the Afro-Asian Institute and the Bancaja Foundation. A European Commission scholarship gave her a Second Masters Degree in Global Studies from the University of Vienna and the University of Leipzig. She holds the distinction of having earned her International Doctorate in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies from the Catedra UNESCO de Filosofia para la Paz- Universidad Jaume I, sobresaliente cum laude (excellent with honors).   She has an MBA from the EAE Business School in Madrid, Spain with a specialization in Big Data and Business Intelligence which she finished with honors.

Her first job was as Project Director for Youth Affairs in the Office of the President, Malacanang Palace as well as in the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Presidential Management Staff.  Her commitment to academe and research work is intertwined with her passion for development work. She was a former Project Manager for Asia of Women without Borders in Vienna and the Austrian Foundation for World Population in International Development also in Vienna.

She headed the Innovative Human Rights Initiative – a multi-donor human rights initiative participated by the international community in the Philippines including representations from Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United States, the Europen Commission, etc., and coordinated by the Spanish Embassy.  She was also the founding Executive Director and Trustee of SPARK! –– an organization geared towards the political and economic empowerment of women. She was also a Technical Advisor of the Governance in Justice Program of the European Union and AECID.  She also served as a Social and Gender Development Consultant for the Asian Development Bank. She has taught at the University of Muenster, the Asian Institute of Management and was a Visiting Professor at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and Royal Roads University in Canada. She continues to be connected with the International Federation for Business and Professional Women which she represents every year at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York. She is also an Advisor of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy and a researcher at the University of the Philippines -College of Law. 

She used to manage Press, Cultural Affairs, Human Rights and Development for the Embassy of Austria in the Philippines. Right now, she is the Regional Coordinator of the European Research Action Service and a University Fellow at Wesleyan University.

She is also volunteering in causes close to her heart: as a Board of Directors of the Association of Young Environmental Journalists and Program and Partnerships Director of  Baryo Balangaw Creative Initiatives’ which is a project to support women in entrepreneurship and is also a trauma healing and community reconciliation program.

Some years ago, she was chosen as a recipient of the International Visitor Leadership Program of the US State Department joining other illustrious alumni of the program such as Presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico, Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia, and French President, Nicolas Sarkozy and United Kingdom’s Margaret Thatcher. She is Chair of the Marie Curie Alumni Association of Southeast Asia and a member of the Genders, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (GEDI).

Jenny, a native of the Philippines, graduated from Silliman University – the oldest American-founded institution in Asia with a degree in Political Science in 2002, magna cum laude and Most Outstanding Student. She also studied International Relations at the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan on a Japanese Ministry of Education scholarship. Jenny was also the Student Government President of Silliman University during her Junior Year. She is an awardee of the 3 main awards for student leaders in the Philippines: the Ayala Young Leaders, the Jose Rizal Model Student of the Philippines, and the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines.