What have you accomplished in your professional life/career since your 40 Under 40 selection?
After receiving my 40 Under 40 recognition, I rose up to international level in my association management career. I have organized the largest annual medical meetings in Dubai, UAE; Hyderabad, India; Cancun, Mexico; and Boston, Massachusetts for up to 12,000-plus medical researchers, allergy and multiple sclerosis doctors, and graduate students in allergy, neurology, and immunotherapy. The last conference I helped organize was held in Raleigh, North Carolina for architects, engineers, design professionals, professors, and graduate students involved in environmental design when I served as executive director for the Environmental Design & Research Association.
I made an industry career change to commercial real estate in 2017 to be more involved locally in the Madison area, while allowing me to pursue other personal passions and interests. Before retiring from doing association management work, I was awarded the American Society of Association Executives prestigious Diversity Leadership Award, which recognized exemplary leadership in association management from underrepresented groups and minorities.
My entry to the commercial real estate industry was through Urban Land Interests. In the last three years, I have been working at First American Title Insurance Corp.’s Madison office as National Commercial Services (NCS) construction escrow officer. First American NCS launched a web-based platform for construction disbursing and I am very excited to be a part of this pioneering work that will impact how First American offices nationwide and general contractors create, track, and disburse construction draws.
What accomplishments, milestones, or endeavors have you attained in your personal life since your 40 Under 40 selection?
Three children graduated from college with one more to go, with the first three kids graduating at the top of their classes from the College of William & Mary, University of Minnesota, and Cornell College. The youngest is a senior in San Diego State University.
I lead in my community of Belleville by volunteering to organize the Bastille Lakefest, an annual festival to celebrate Lake Belleview and the education, appreciation, and conservation of lake life and natural habitats. I have been very active in my cultural association, the Philippine-American Association in Madison and Neighboring Areas (PAMANA), helping foster unity and harmony among the Filipino Americans in the Greater Madison area by providing scholarships, assisting during calamities, and sharing Filipino culture through food, music, dances, and traditions. Since becoming active on the board of PAMANA, I have used my association management experience to strengthen the association’s capacity. We migrated to a web-based membership management system, growing membership and engagement over 300 percent in the last three-plus years since my involvement in a leadership capacity.
If you were to “do it all over again,” what (if anything) would you do differently throughout your career?
Take breaks. For 17 years, I have been working long hours, round the clock in my work organizing international meetings. With a flip of a switch, time has passed. The children have all grown and are out of the house. When our youngest was entering junior high school, that’s when I started thinking about a career change. I have no regrets. I have shown the kids an example of being a parent and wife while maintaining a professional career. What I didn’t have much time to do was self-care.
How did your 40 Under 40 selection help your career?
When I retired from doing international work and switched to a career locally in the Madison area, I found my connections through IB very helpful and valuable. There is an instant sense of camaraderie when you see people’s name pop up on work emails or when you see each other in business functions. It makes doing business come with ease and there’s an instantaneous trust.
What is something that you have a new passion for since the time of your induction — either professionally or personally?
Discovering more of Wisconsin and doing more personal travels. My travels in the past were mostly business. With the kids all over the country and extended family out of state, one weekend I’m enjoying the hiking trails in Green County and the next weekend I’m in New York or Chicago enjoying urban life or by the beach on Coronado Island in San Diego.
I am now also into healthy nutrition, living an active lifestyle through dance and movement, yoga, and piloxing. I am now plant-based preferred in my eating lifestyle (except in Filipino gatherings; there is an abundance of meat in the Filipino cuisine) and pay attention on what I use for my skin, the largest organ of our body. I have become an advocate for good skin care using natural and chemical-free ingredients.
Based on your experience, do you have any advice for today’s young professionals (under 40)?
Always put your best foot forward no matter the type of job you’re doing. Some people are not used to excellence, but if you live each day of your career and professional life doing quality work and maintaining quality relationships, those efforts and connections will pay off many times as you progress through your career. When you have the opportunity and can travel, do it. If you’re traveling for business, add a couple of days on your travel plans to experience and savor the city where you are. You never know when you’ll be back, if ever. If you’re single, travel and explore the world; having a family is great and you will still have those chances, but it would be for different kind of trip. Take care of yourself; take pauses. It’s the secret to longevity!
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