Kahayágan: Storytelling and Creative Expression in California's SOMA Pilipinas - Filipino Cultural Heritage District

Tina Alejo

Cristina “Tina” Alejo is a parent, community advocate and educator for over 20 years whose children attended Bessie Carmichael School/Filipino Education Center in San Francisco’s South of Market area. She is a co-founder of Galing Bata (the well-rounded child), a Filipino bilingual-bicultural after school and summer program based at the Bessie Carmichael School/Filipino Education Center Pre-K to 8. She served as program director and member of its collective leadership team from 2001-2011.

A staunch advocate of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) and bilingual education, she collaborated with parent, school and community advocates in preserving the site of the Filipino Education Center in San Francisco, leading to the link-up with Bessie Carmichael School and its expansion to 8th grade in order to strengthen and expand the school’s flagship Filipino language pathway program.

Currently, she is a Pre-Kindergarten Lead teacher at Bessie Carmichael School/Filipino Education Center, helping children build strong emergent literacy skills and a solid social-emotional foundation in learning through culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy. She has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and earned her teaching credential in elementary education from San Francisco State University.

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Glesaree Valdez

Glesaree Valdez is a first-generation college student at UC Berkeley and an active community member at SOMA Pilipinas. In the community, she served different programs/internships as a Health Ambassador, working with YOHANA (Youth Organizing Home and Neighborhood Action), and participating with Bindlestiff Studio. SOMA Pilipinas has given her the opportunity to engage with issues that directly affect my community, involve herself in political advocacy/public policy, and further connect with her Filipino culture. This community involvement has deeply impacted her identity and has pushed her to become a leader in spaces outside of SOMA Pilipinas. During her time as a high school student, Gelsaree co-founded and was elected as Co-Vice President of the Asian Pacific Islander Club at Mission High School. She helped create a platform for AAPI-identifying students, an under-represented demographic at her high school, to share space with one another and build community. As a team, Glesaree helped bridge solidarity between more established cultural clubs on campus, shared the rich culture and diversity of the API community, and advocated for student voices. Now, as a UC Berkeley undergraduate student, she continues to serve her community despite being away from home. She volunteers with Pilipinx Academic Student Services (PASS), a recruitment and retention center for first-generation, low income, Filipinx-identifying students on campus. Glesaree hopes to continue growing as a leader and being more involved in the Filipino community at Berkeley, just as she is with SOMA Pilipinas in San Francisco.

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Romerico “Rico” Riemedio

Migrated to the United State from the Philippines on February 19, 1973. His mom and six siblings came together to join his father in the USA to start a new life. They have lived in the SOMA neighborhood since then. SOMA was like Hillsborough compared to the part of the Philippines where his working class family came from. His father worked as a dishwasher and his mother worked as a babysitter to help provide for their family. Rico went to Bessie Carmichael Elementary School, Everret Junior High, and attended for two semesters at Galileo High. In January 1976, after he turned 16 years old, Rico’s parents sent him to Kodiak Alaska to work at the cannery to help his family for financial support. He worked as an unloader of seafood from the fishing boat. Due to fishermen strikes and because the living costs were expensive, Rico went back to SOMA in April 1980. He started hanging out with the kids in the neighborhood and joined the gang. On January 1, 1981, Rico went away and came back to SOMA on July 5, 2005. Since then he became involved in the community. Rico worked for United Playaz as a care manager for truant and at-risk youth for 10 years, and volunteered at Bayanihan Community Center and other non-profit organizations. Currently, he works for Community Youth Center as a senior outreach worker since April 2020. To this day, Rico and his family still live in SOMA. He truly appreciates this neighborhood and is happy to serve the community. SOMA is his HOME!

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Bernadette Herrera

Bernadette Herrera is a mother, a worker, and a community activist.

She was a working student when she became active in the social justice movement during her college years in Pampanga, Philippines. As University Student Council Chairperson, she helped lead a successful boycott campaign in her college to decrease tuition fees. As a young activist, she also became involved in various peasant, worker, and women’s issues in Central Luzon. She eventually served as a local public official from1992 to 1998.

In 2000, she immigrated to the United States to provide a better future for her three children. She was undocumented for four years while working as a domestic worker and caregiver in San Francisco. She became a staff member at the Filipino Community Center from 2008-2019, where she helped build community among Filipino mothers and other Filipino women in the Excelsior neighborhood, provide various services to low-income immigrant communities and lead campaigns against wage theft and worker abuse in the San Francisco Bay Area.

During Women’s History Month in March 2010, the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco honored and recognized Bernadette for her commitment to improving the lives of working women and for her contributions to community organizing and advocacy in San Francisco. In 2014, Bernadette helped advocate for the city of San Francisco to certify Tagalog as the third additional language that city services must be translated to, expanding accessibility for Tagalog speakers in the community.

From 2011-2014, Bernadette served as the Vice President of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), contributing to humanitarian efforts to provide relief and rehabilitation for disaster victims in the Philippines. She also served in the Council of Leaders of Migrante Northern California, an alliance of Filipino immigrants and migrant workers groups in the Bay Area, from 2013-2018 .From September 2018 – 2022, Bernadette also served as Chairperson of Migrante USA, an alliance of 16 Filipino worker organizations throughout the US.

In 2020, Bernadette worked for the California Nurses Association as a union organizer. She currently works as a personal care attendant in various care homes in the Bay Area.

Christopher Cara

A long time East Bay resident, Chris Cara has been on staff with Filipino Advocates for Justice since 2001. For over 20 years, he has worked on institutionalizing FAJ’s in-school prevention education programs in Union City and Fremont. He was also responsible for overseeing our after-school leadership development project that provides prevention education while engaging young people in community organizing efforts which increased resources towards violence prevention and strengthened tenant protections. Chris is now Filipino Advocates for Justice’s Prevention Services Director and supervises FAJ’s mental health and substance use prevention and early intervention programs, including school-based and leadership development for youth, support for transition-aged young adults and support for elder caregivers. He has certifications from the Center for Substance Use Prevention and Mental Health First Aid.

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Andrea Almario

Andrea Almario, a Bay Area native, immigrated to Hayward, California, in 1991. Overcoming challenges as an undocumented individual, she experienced the struggle to access routine dental care and faced the pain of untreated tooth decay. Determined, Andrea pursued a path in dental hygiene, co-founding the nonprofit “Magic Tooth Bus” in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dedicated to providing dental care in low-income neighborhoods, the organization, now equipped with an actual bus, offers oral health education, free goody bags, teeth screenings, and preventative services in schools.

Aside from her impactful work, Andrea holds a background in theater and performance studies from UC Berkeley. She showcases her creative side through the musical “Chasing Papeles,” which delves into the challenges of an undocumented caregiver. Incorporating hip hop and movement, Andrea’s storytelling reflects the influences of her upbringing.

Andrea Almario’s journey into theater and performance began with Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco, where she explored writing, sketch comedy, directing, and acting through various workshops. Her passion for the arts led her to pursue a degree in theater and performance studies at UC Berkeley. As a testament to her versatile talents, Andrea is also a member of the Granny Cart Gangstas, a comedy troupe that adds a humorous touch to her creative repertoire. This diverse background enriches her storytelling, evident in both her dental care advocacy and the musical “Chasing Papeles.”

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Gayle Romasanta

Gayle Romasanta is a writer, executive director and artist whose work focuses on the Filipino American experience. She received a BA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and an MFA, Writing from California College of the Arts. Her work has appeared on television, radio, online, magazines, and books, such as the New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Harvard University’s Education Next Journal, KQED’s The Forum, ABS-CBN and more. Gayle is also the former artistic director of San Francisco’s Bindlestiff Studio, the only theater space in the U.S. devoted to Filipino American storytelling. As a violinist, she co-composed the first Google Philippines campaign commercial and has performed widely such as at the San Francisco Asian American Jazz Festival 20th Anniversary and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She also co-wrote the book, Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong, with the late and great historian Dr. Dawn Mabalon. She authored the musical, “Larry: The Musical” about the life of Larry Itliong, which received a National Endowment for the Arts grant award. Its successful April 2024 run saw 23 sold out shows and 23 standing ovations. As a community organizer, Gayle founded Kappa Psi Epsilon, a Filipino American cultural sorority, celebrating its 28th year, with university recognized chapters at University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Davis, California State University, Long Beach, California State University, Sacramento, and San Francisco State University. She is currently the executive director of the Filipino-American Development Foundation, supporting Filipino American organizations and programs throughout San Francisco, including the South of Market Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District. She is also a Filipino American National Historical Society National Trustee, and is on the Board of Directors of the Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy in San Francisco.

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Kali Diwa Lebon Ildefonzo Redondiez

Kali Diwa Lebon was born January 18, 2002 to Raquel Redondiez and Jasen Ildefonzo and grew up with his older sister Amihan who gave him his nickname “Ube” and his younger sister Malaya. Since birth, he has been smart, funny, artistic, fearless, and mischievous.

Kali grew up in the Excelsior, in the Mission where his Lola and Papa lived and the South of Market. He attended Bessie Carmichael / Filipino Education Center, Galing Bata, and SF Community School where he was respected by his classmates and teachers alike for his leadership, critical thinking, questioning of authority and creatively bending the rules. At Balboa High School, Kali was in PEP, Law Academy pathway and the football team’s defensive and offensive line. He loved growing up as a City kid and was a youth funder with the Youth Empowerment Fund.

Kali also volunteered at SOMCAN and helped with the design, selection, and painting of the first “S/heroes in Our Windows” mural at the Bayanihan Community Center. Kali grew up to be a loyal, loving, and kind young man who had a strong work ethic and was a deep thinker. In March 2023, after turning 21, he died in a tragic accident, devastating his family and whole community.

Kali is dearly loved and will always be remembered by his family, friends, and kasamas who helped raise him and continue to revere him. He is now our guardian angel watching over us and continuing to inspire us. Mabuhay Kali Diwa! We miss you earth-side.

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Helen Serafino-Agar

Helen Linda Reyes Serafino-Agar was born in San Francisco and raised in the San Francisco-Daly City border.

Helen has been teaching 2nd grade since 1997. She teaches at Longfellow Elementary School where she graduated from. She attended San Francisco State University for her Bachelor’s of Arts, Elementary Teaching Credentials, and Master’s of Arts. In her college years, she learned more about herself as a Filipino through Ethnic Studies and dance.

She started dancing when her parents enrolled her and her sister in dance classes through Daly City Park and Rec. She continued to dance until she was in middle school. In college, Helen rediscovered her love of dance through her dance electives, Polynesian dance, and Filipino folk dancing. She danced with Spirit of Polynesia and Barangay Dance Company for 10+ years. She paused dancing after she traveled with Alleluia Panis in KULART’s Tribal Tour in 2004 after witnessing and participating in their dance, music, and rituals in the different cultures of Mindanao. Later, she was a dancer for Alleluia Panis Dance Theatre. Currently, Helen is dancing with Parangal Dance Company and practicing martial arts with Legacy Martial Arts. She continues to learn about her Filipino culture through movement.

As a Filipino World Language in the Elementary School (WLES) teacher, Helen shares her knowledge to her 2nd graders. She considers herself lucky to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also passes on to her own children, Kadean and Kalia, as 3rd generation Filipino-Lebanese-Europeans, their Filipino pride through their Lola Linda, Sama Sama Cooperative, Filipino WLES students, Tagalog Kids, Legacy Filipino Martial Arts, and Agos.

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Herna Cruz-Louie

Herna Cruz-Louie (she/siya) is KULARTS’ Executive and Agos Program Director. Herna’s Philippine dance and music journey started at age 5, when she learned cultural dances to perform at local fiestas in San Diego, CA where she spent her childhood. In 1995, she began performing with the PASACAT Philippine Performing Arts Company in San Diego and became their Rondalla music instructor by age 18. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000, Herna performed with LIKHA-Pilipino Folk Ensemble and became their Executive Director from 2005-2008, and was the co-founder and Executive Director of the American Center of Philippine Arts (ACPA) from 2009-2020. For 27 years, Herna has taught Filipino dance, music and its origins to provide safe spaces and engagement opportunities for people who identify with the Pilipino/a/x American experience. Herna approaches cultural arts work with indigenous belief systems and cultural practices to highlight the history of colonialism, immigration, cultural and racial equity issues impacting the Piilpino/a/x community. She intertwines art and history to expand ideas around healing generational trauma and belonging. Herna is the Vice President of Operations at Equity In The Center, is the Vice Chair of World Arts West, was awarded one of Filipina Womens Network’s 100 Most Influential Filipinas in 2011, and became a recipient of Filipino American Arts Exposition’s Pamana Heritage Award in 2023. She holds a BA in Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University, an MS in HR Management from Golden Gate University, received her Community Mediation certification from Community Boards of San Francisco, and obtained her Diversity & Inclusion certification from Cornell University. She has lived and provided Pilipino/a/x cultural arts programs in Oakland and the East Bay since 2005.

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Alexis David

Alexis A. David (she/her/siya) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) working as a Clinical Supervisor in San Francisco Unified School District. She has a private practice in clinical consultation supporting BIPOC clinicians working towards licensure. She is a daughter of immigrants from Tarlac and Batangas, Philippines. Alexis was born and raised in Yelamu, Ramaytush Ohlone Territory. She is a mother to three brilliant beings. She is an alumni of San Francisco State University for both her Masters in Social Work (MSW) and undergraduate studies in Asian American Studies and Criminal Justice. She has worked in various capacities in Education through school social work, clinical supervision and training, crisis and mental health consultation, teaching Ethnic Studies and Filipinx/a/o Studies, working with youth and families in foster care and youth impacted in the juvenile justice system, youth substance abuse treatment and prevention, youth development, and community organizing.

Alexis is one of the founding members of the Filipino Mental Health Initiative-San Francisco (FMHI-SF) launched in 2012 and leading therapeutic and wellness programming to the community in the SF Bay Area. She believes that providing mental health and wellness services in the Filipinx community creates access points to collective healing, sustainability, and lays pathways of compassion for ourselves and one another.

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Joyce Juan-Manalo

On July 17, 2023, the Bindlestiff Family lost one of our brightest stars. Joyce Juan-Manalo will forever be remembered as one of the linchpins of our community. She – along with her husband, Allan Samson Manalo – took over the reigns of Bindlestiff in 1998, transforming it into an epicenter of Pilipin@ performing arts. In the process, she helped link Bay Area artists with the rich performing arts traditions of the ground-breaking theater of the people – PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association), the influential Teatro ng Tanan (Theater for Everyone), and legendary theater troupe tongue in A mood, whose members laid part of the foundation for Bindlestiff’s current ethos and culture.

A talented costume designer, Joyce lent a playful yet refined flair always rooted in her strong Pilipina identity to numerous productions, most notably Lorna Chui Velasco’s adaptation, “A Pinoy Midsummer.” Her careful attention to detail brought each character to life; by sourcing cultural garments, hand making costumes, and utilizing fresh produce for accessories (sitaw for string bean bracelets).

Her proudest achievement was Tagalog Fest, co-created with Lorna, which features works written and performed entirely in Tagalog (with one performed in Cebuano), selected from the Virgin Lab Fest, curated by Rodi Vera of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Thanks to Lorna and Joyce’s taste and vision, Tagalog Fest regularly brings to our shores some of the best plays in modern day Philippine theater. For Aureen Almario, artistic director of Bindlestiff, “Tagalog Fest was special for those of us behind the scenes because for the first time we were able to do theater in our mother tongue. As immigrants who had to grapple with assimilation, it provided solace and a deep sense of pride.”

Throughout her life, Joyce shunned the spotlight, choosing instead to empower others to shine. Through her decades of work in the SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District, including at FADF (the Filipino-American Development Foundation), Kearny Street Workshop (where she co-created the body-positive fashion show, Celebrate Your Body), and Bindlestiff, Joyce always championed her community – to fight for our place here, to tell our own compelling stories, and to do it well. Her influence will be felt for generations to come through those she has nurtured, encouraged, and uplifted.
Joyce is survived by Allan, her husband of 28 years, along with her brother Boni and his wife Elnora, her brother Gerry and his wife Malu, her niece Abigail, her nephew Mikey, her brother Roberto and his wife Wena, her niece Janice, her brother-in-law, Manuel Fermin and her niece Ayenne and nephew Jose aka “Boogs”.

– Oliver Saria, Managing Director, Bindlestiff Studio

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Kevin Nadal

Dr. Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Graduate Center at the City University of New York. He received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University in New York City and is one of the leading researchers in understanding the impacts of microaggressions, or subtle forms of discrimination, on the mental and physical health of people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people; and other marginalized groups. He has published over 100 works on multicultural issues in the fields of psychology and education. A California-bred New Yorker, he was named one of People Magazine’s hottest bachelors in 2006 and one of NBC’s Pride 30 in 2018. He once won an argument with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor”; and he was even once a Hot Topic on ABC’s “The View”. He has been featured in the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, the Weather Channel, the History Channel, HGTV, Philippine News, and The Filipino Channel. He is the author of 14 books including Filipino American Psychology (2011, Wiley); Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress (2018, APA); and Queering Law and Order (2020, Lexington). He was the first openly gay President of the Asian American Psychological Association and the first person of color to serve as the Executive Director of the Center for LGBTQ Studies. He is a National Trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) and a co-founder of the LGBTQ Scholars of Color National Network. He has delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol. He has won numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association 2017 Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest; the 2019 Richard Tewksbury Award from the Western Society of Criminology, and the Thought Leadership Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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Maria Luz Torre

Maria Luz Torre graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law with a Bachelor of Laws and an undergraduate degree in Social Science from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas.

She received a Shining Star Award for Child Care Advocacy. In 2005, US EPA awarded her an Environmental Award for her work with Parent Voices’ Asthma Relief for Kids and in 2008, a Building Parent Movement Award from the Bay Area Parent Leadership Network. Their Team of Parent Voices leaders and organizers made it as finalists to the Leadership for a Changing World.

Maria Luz’ experiences as a full-time mother, newly arrived from the Philippines in 1992 and feeling isolated, contributed to her deep concern for families with young children. When she applied for Parent Voices organizer position in 1996, her best qualification was being a “parent desperately in need of child care” because this job was to “organize parents to advocate for child care.” She became the President of the Board of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth about 10 years later and has seen its advocacy model evolving into a base building community organizing model.

She recruited and worked with many parent leaders in building the base for a new generation of parent advocates who will articulate the need for quality child care, and other services for children and their families. As a parent herself, she knows parents cannot do it alone but as an organized group working together, Parent Voices have built very credible voices for all our young children in California.

In her work over the past few years, Maria Luz realized just how important it is to highlight to policy makers how much it costs to raise a young family, the need for quality early care and education, and for a safe and healthy environment to grow up in that helps children get a good start in life. Parents cannot do it alone regardless of their income, and even more so if they are low-income. She believes in putting parents in the position where they can articulate their needs directly to the policy makers who are impacting their lives.

Maria Luz is strongly inspired and challenged by the parents that she works with. Hearing the stories of parents struggling to make ends meet, fearful of losing their jobs, and making difficult choices, and then helping those parents turn their stories into public action, has given her the passion to continue the fight and help build the capacity of parents to advocate for their children and to improve their lives.

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Maya Masagca

Maya Masagca was raised in the SoMa. She attended Bessie Carmichael FEC, from Kindergarten to graduating middle school. Maya also attended Galing Bata after school program, starting from 2nd grade to 8th grade. During her education there, she fought for the Filipino World Language (WLES) program by attending the Board of Education meetings and speaking out for the preservation of the WLES program. Maya was part of the Associated Student Body (ASB) in middle school. As ASB president, she planned many events and ensured every Bessie student had a positive experience. Maya loved interacting with students of all grades as the president, so now she is the Business Vice President of the Freshman ASB cabinet at her high school. There, she plans numerous fundraisers and school events from a financial perspective. Now that Maya has graduated from Bessie and is attending high school, she still gives back to her community by participating in the Mayor Youth Employment And Education Program (MYEEP) and interning at Galing Bata.

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Arlene Daus-Magbual

Dr. Arlene Daus-Magbual is an Assistant Professor in Asian American Studies in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and the Organizational Director for Pin@y Educational Partnership (PEP). She is a community-engaged mother scholar, and her experiences include community-based organizing with youth and students, non-profit leadership development, and higher education administration. Her research focuses on Ethnic Studies, Race, Anti- Asian Violence, Critical Leadership Praxis, Critical Pedagogy, Critical Race Parenting, and Barangay Pedagogy. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Riverside, her masters in Asian American Studies, and her doctorate in Educational Leadership from San Francisco State University.

Since 2017, Arlene has served on the Daly City Arts and Culture Commission as Chair and Vice Chair and was awarded Mayors Commissioner of the Year in 2018. Her projects with the city include creating partnerships with artists and schools, 12 electric box murals that highlight the culture of each neighborhood with Skyline College, quarterly art exhibits featuring a diverse range of visual artists, and virtual artists dialogues in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Necolasa Tuthill-Delute

Nickie grew up in Delano, CA, her father a manong and mom a war bride, and moved to San Francisco in 1973 to attend San Francisco State College. She earned her BA in Fine Arts.

She has worked in the Marketing/Advertising world for over 30 years as a Project Manager. In 2014, she attended the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Conference in San Diego as a volunteer. The next year, she helped create the FANHS Delano Chapter and helped launch the event, Bold Step: A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike. She has then been involved with The City of San Jose Delano Manongs Park Planning Committee, Bulosan Center, The City of Delano Larry Itliong Unity Park Committee, and joined FANHS San Francisco. With FANHS Delano, she assisted their Congressional Gold Medal Delano Celebration, “Journey for Justice, The Life of Larry Itliong” book launch tour, and consulted with “Larry: The Musical” production crew.

These days, you will find Nickie clearing and sorting out her family collection of pictures and personal records – researching her Filipino American herstory.

Rogelio “Roger” Gadiano

Rogelio “Roger” Gadiano was born in Hindang, Leyte, Philippines on August 4, 1947. His father was a US Army Philippine Scout for 26 years and survivor of the WWII Bataan Corregidor Death March in 1942. Their family of six immigrated to the US in 1954.

They eventually settled in Delano, California because his uncle lived there.
Roger went to elementary and high school in Delano. He started working in the grape fields at 13 earning 90 cents per hour in 1962. While in college, he was drafted by the US Army in 1969 and is a Vietnam War veteran.

Roger was co-founder of the Philippine Weekend Festival in Delano in 1975. He is involved with Filipino community activities and currently gives tours of historical Filipino American sites in Delano, such as The Forty Acres and Agbayani Village, and tells stories and his experience of Filipino American History.

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Teresa Dulalas

Teresa Lee Baclay Dulalas is a mother of three; Marti, Hiul, and Daynelita Hipolito.

Born in Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines, she grew up in SOMA Pilipinas, Filipino Cultural Heritage District in San Francisco.
Currently, she is a part-time Tenant Outreach and Educator for the South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN), and is a housing, seniors, education, and community advocate.

Teresa is the co-founder of FEC (Filipino Education Center) Galing Bata After School and Summer Program. She fought and protected, and is still protecting to this day (1997 – Present), the only Filipino Bilingual Program, which is now called the Filipino WLES program taught in Bessie Carmichael/Filipino Education Center PreK-8th School, Longfellow Elementary School, and High School Filipino at Balboa High School.

Teresa won four Eviction Cases (2001-2016) with the help, guidance and support of Dean Preston, Racquel Fox, Tenderloin Housing Clinic Law Office, Angelica Cabande and Team at SOMCAN, Fred Sherburn-Zimmer of Eviction-Free SF and Team, Anti-Eviction Agencies in San Francisco, San Francisco Community Land Trust, Bayanihan Community Center, FEC Galing Bata After School and Summer School Program, Canon Kip Senior Center, FormerDistrict 6 Supv. John Daly, Raquel Raquel Redondiez, SOMA Stabilization Fund, Friends and Community, and more.

She serves as a Volunteer Facilities and Events Manager at the San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center.

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Evangeline Naredo

Evangeline Naredo began her Filipino American journey in her teens when her family immigrated to Santa Clara, California. After graduating from San Jose State University and her father’s passing, she moved to San Francisco with her husband and lived in the South of Market neighborhood. That was her exposure to the vibrant and thriving Filipino community in SF.

Evangeline obtained nursing education and training in the Philippines while raising her first child, a first-generation Filipino American. Fondly called their “Little Finay” because of her Finnish and Filipino ethnic background, Evangeline’s family made a conscious effort for their first-generation Finay to have a deep connection to her multilingual heritage. Evangeline finished her nursing program and was among the Top Ten placers in the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination.

Evengeline’s career in the United States was punctuated by what she believed was a discriminatory practice by the California BRN. She was one of the many Filipino foreign-graduate nurses who were denied to become Registered Nurse (RN) in California unless she retook some nursing courses. The Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) learned about their plight and desperation and collaborated with a nursing program to establish classes for a cohort of affected Filipino nurses. After one year, she finally became an RN in California. She is a school nurse for the San Francisco School District. She also joined the PNAA Northern California chapter and is a member of the Executive Board to give back to her profession and ensure the welfare of her fellow Filipino nurses.

Her family’s desire to provide their children with a deep connection to their multilingual heritage—Filipino and Finnish—led them to the Bessie Carmichael / Filipino Education Center in SOMA Pilipinas. Her children attended the Filipino Language Program – Filipino World Language in Elementary School (Filipino – WLES) and were part of Galing Bata and WestBay for their after-school and summer programs. They participated in many cultural celebrations and practices and protested at the SFUSD Board of Education among other things.

Evangeline is deeply inspired by those brave leaders whose shoulders she is standing on and those intrepid trailblazers whose path she traverses. Their stories compelled her to lean in and continue the spirit of Bayanihan and Pakikibaka! She is one of the parent advocates for the Filipino-WLES and chairs the Bessie Carmichael Enrollment Collaborative Committee for the Filipino-WLES.

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Tim Figueras

Tim Figueras was born as Teotimo Rempillo Figueras Jr. on March 18, 1957 at Gubat in the province of Sorsogon in the Philippines. He passed away peacefully at 66 years of age on September 30, 2023.

During his first year of his life, Tim and his parents moved from the Philippines to San Francisco, California. He also has two younger sisters. Tim attended public schools and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School. He attended San Francisco City College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation from San Francisco State University.

Tim began his work for San Francisco Recreation and Parks in 1979, and he worked at various parks and recreation centers throughout the city. He also was a paraprofessional working with students with disabilities for the San Francisco Unified School District. Tim established his South of Market (SoMa) roots by first working at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School playground. In 1990, Tim became a recreation director and coach at SoMa Recreation Center now known as Gene Friend at SoMa Recreation Center. He worked with children and adults from the SoMa neighborhood as well as those from throughout San Francisco. As a director he also helped to create programs for people with disabilities, for people who were homeless, and for children from Bessie Carmichael Elementary School for their P.E. classes. Before becoming the facility coordinator of the recreation center, Tim had a stint at Kezar Pavilion where he was the city-wide youth sports coordinator. He helped to implement youth athletic programs and leagues throughout the city. It was important to him to make sure that all youth had access to sports and recreation opportunities. Tim retired in 2017 as a facility coordinator, but he maintained his ties to the SoMa community by being a board member at Bayanihan Equity Center, SoMa West Community Benefits District, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. At Victoria Manalo Graves Park, there is a batting cage named after him. The Tim Figueras Batting Cage celebrates his time and work with the youth and community members of his beloved SoMa community.

After his retirement, Tim enjoyed his many hobbies (including collecting sports cards). He loved to travel locally and abroad despite his health issues during his later years. Tim was a devoted husband for 35 years to his wife as well as a loving father to his two sons. He enjoyed spending time with his sisters and their families as well as his many friends. Tim was proud of being a member of the SoMa community, and he showed all of us how to strive for a life well-lived.

Ruby Turalba

Ruby N. Turalba-Khalil is a second-generation Pinay with ancestral roots in La Union, Philippines. She grew up on Luiseno and Kumeyaay lands and spent her entire adulthood residing on Ohlone territory. Her two kids were raised by the SOMA community: Bessie Carmichael Filipino Education Center, West Bay, and United Playaz. Partnering with other parents and community members, Ruby has advocated to preserve, strengthen, and sustain SFUSD’s Filipino language programs. She has taught public health at San Francisco State University since 2010, and in this role, Ruby has supported community-based research initiatives to improve the health and well-being of Filipinos in San Francisco. In all of her personal and professional commitments, Ruby works for community, health, and justice!

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