Filipinos have been in the United States since the 16th century, yet many of their stories remain untold. For the past year, Positively Filipino has been running a series on notable Filipino Americans who have made their marks in this country. There are hundreds, or maybe even thousands more, that need to be added to this story, and we need your help. If you know of a Filipino American who deserves to be included in this line-up, please send us their names and any supporting documents you may have to pfpublisher@yahoo.com. For now, we are including only those who are currently active and visible in the media and the community, regardless of their religious, sexual or political orientation. Thank you.

R. Zamora Linmark, Author

Linmark, born in Manila, is a Filipino American poet, novelist, and playwright. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. He is the recipient of a Japan-United States Friendship Commission, a winner of a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship in poetry (2001), and was a Fulbright Foundation Senior Lecturer/Researcher in the Philippines (2005-2006). He was a Distinguished Visiting Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Hawaii and University of Miami. His works include Prime-Time Apparitions (2005), The Evolution of a Sigh (2008), Drive-By Vigils (2011), Rolling the R’s (1995), Leche (2011), and The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart (2019); themes involving ethnic and sexual identity are common throughout. His first, a novel, Rolling the R's was released by Kaya Press in 1995. Linmark then went on to adapt it for the stage, receiving a world premiere production from Kumu Kahua in 2008. Of his first collection of poems, Prime Time Apparitions, poet Mark Doty wrote: "...witty and disenchanted, sexy and touched, jangled with longing and the crazed changes the wild new world works." He divides his time between Manila and Honolulu.

Gigi Carunungan, Education Visionary

Gigi Carunungan *(Source: Teacher’s College Press)*

Gigi Carunungan, Ed.D., is a visionary educational leader focused on transforming learning environments to unlock students' potential. She co-founded Synapse School and Imagination School in Silicon Valley, offering integrated, holistic, thematic STEAM curricula emphasizing authentic, deep-dive learning and assessment. Her expertise in neuroscience and learning permeates school and after-school learning program design, administration, and teacher development. She created the Helical Model™, a neuroscience-driven approach that fosters higher-order thinking, knowledge transfer, and student agency. She also founded Young Outliers, a design-focused K-12 camp offering programs like Design Math, Design Science, Design Stories, and Design Music, and Game Changers, a design entrepreneurship program for teens. These programs empower students to solve real-world problems using cutting-edge technology in creative, market-driven, and scalable applications.

As Chief Learning Architect of Playnovate, an online STEAM learning company, Carunungan led an international team of STEAM experts in developing more than 300 hands-on and interactive online lessons with learning kits and curricula for elementary school children. These have been taught to more than 20,000 children globally.

Her doctoral dissertation focused on using math stories to raise children’s math proficiency in diverse classrooms. In these stories, she weaves math ideas into real-world simulations and uses a humanist approach to learning. In the study, children learned, in one story, math concepts they struggled with in one semester. She published “Digital Media in the Classroom,” “Documentary Moviemaking for Social Studies,” “Maya the Clothes Maker and Ramon the Button Maker,” “Manuel the Table Maker,” “Farmer Antonio and Ruby the Ice Cream Maker,” and Pipa the Architect.” Teachers College Press of Columbia University will release her next book “Teaching through Math Stories,” in May 2025. She is currently the executive director of MathXplorers, a math education company that recently won the Innovation Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association.

Amanda Del Castillo, Morning News Anchor

Amanda del Castillo *(Source: Instagram)*

Del Castillo graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism. She joined ABC& News in 2018 as a full-time reporter for the 11 p.m. news. In 2023, she moved to ABC7 Mornings. Before returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, Del Castillo worked as a weekend anchor and multi-media journalist in Waco, Texas and as a reporter in Denver, Colorado. She is an Emmy Award winning reporter.

Aldo Carrascoso, Tech Entrepreneur

Carrascoso is a visionary entrepreneur and technology leader known for his ability to innovate and disrupt traditional industries. As the Co-Founder and CEO of InterVenn Biosciences (2016), he led the company in creating a first-of-its-kind glycoproteomic biomarker interrogation platform called GlycoVisionTM using AI and machine learning, which improved the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases through liquid biopsies. This platform was based on the decades-long work of his co-founders, Nobel Laureate Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi from Stanford (glycobiology) and renowned scientist Dr. Carlito Lebrilla from UC Davis (glycoproteomics). Under Aldo’s leadership, InterVenn revolutionized the field of precision medicine by being the first to scalably unlock the glycoproteome, which has enabled the accurate and early detection of diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. Additionally, the company’s cutting-edge technology has facilitated the identification of new biomarkers and drug targets, paving the way for the development of more effective treatments and diagnostics, such as DawnTM Immunotherapy, GloriTM Ovarian, and GlycoKnowTM Colorectal. Prior to InterVenn, he founded and was COO/CTO at Veem (2013), a global cross-border payment processing company and blockchain pioneer, and founded and was CTO at Jukin Media (2009), one of the world’s largest UGC licensing platforms that has over half a trillion views. Carrascoso has a proven track record of success as an entrepreneur, having started companies that have generated significant value for investors (>$1B) and improved people’s lives. He is also an active angel investor and holds an MBA from Babson and a BS from Ateneo De Manila University. He is widely respected for his deep understanding of transformative technologies such as artificiaI Intelligence, machine learning, data science, blockchain, and cloud computing.

Rick Kiamco, Comedian

Kiamco appeared on The Howard Stern Show, The Wendy Williams Show and was featured on ABC’s Our America: Who I’m Meant to Be. He appeared on Apple TV’s dear Edward and received multiple comic residences at Broadway Comedy Club. Kiamco was also a NACA Nationals selection and received standing ovations at FACT: Filipino Americans Coming Together. The largest Midwest conference of Fil Am students and at True colors, the world’s largest LGBTQ youth conference. As co-producer of the Jersey City Comedy Club with Art House Productions, he is a staple in the local comedy scene. The first time Kiamco performed on stage, the audience ran him off stage chanting derogatory remarks for being gay. He uses his life experiences as part of his comedy act as he regularly performs across New York City and the country. "Everything I've joked about was probably really painful when it first happened," he said. "But being able to laugh is like turning it around. That's the payoff." Kiamco studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked as a costume designer. He is addicted to pickleball.

January Donovan, Motivational Speaker and Author

Donovan is the founder of The Woman School and The Wholeness Coaching School. For the last 20 years, January has worked with thousands of women to help them realize their own worth through mindset and life skills training. She founded the Art of Being a Woman (ABW) Project, an online educational platform for both single women and mothers. Together with her husband Ryan, she co-founded the ‘Greatness Journey’ which provides parents with tools they need to build their children’s foundational beliefs. The goal is to equip children with skills to empower them to be resilient against negative influence. The vision is to usher their sons and daughters to their life’s purpose so they can create impact in this world. Donovan has also authored a self-image statement book for children titled, “This Is Me: The Me I Choose To Be.” Her work trains young minds to rise above their challenges and to choose their better self. It is the first of many in a series which is dedicated to empower children to design their self-image before the world dictates it for them.

She grew up in the Philippines in a very happy and traditionally Catholic environment. When she moved to the U.S. during her adolescence, she began to fall away from the Faith. The "American dream" of wanting to have everything, led her down a tortuous path. God was not in her plans during high school. She went to parties, began to go out with a guy when she was very young, and was pregnant at the age of sixteen. Finding no support from those around her, she followed her high school counselor's advice and decided to have an abortion. Her passion lies in ending the competition, comparison, and judgment culture which has wounded so many women today. She believes that women have not been adequately prepared to face the many different chapters of their lives, which is why women have compromised their divine worth -- robbing them of peace and freedom.

In under three years, she built a multimillion-dollar company reaching thousands of students across forty countries. She earned the title of one of Forbes Magazine's Top Coaches. She is a #1 best-selling author, entrepreneur, and mother of eight children. She is a motivational speaker, researcher, mother of six, and her husband’s biggest fan.

Colmenar, Akonadi President

Ray Colmenar *(Source: Akonadi Foundation)*

Prior to Akonadi, Colmenar spent 16 years playing various leadership roles at The California Endowment. Most recently, he served as The Endowment’s Managing Director of the Northern California regional team and the statewide Inclusive Community Development team, managing nearly $20 million in grantmaking annually. He also previously led The Endowment’s Bay Area regional office, which made significant investments in Oakland and Alameda County and helped plan and implement the 10-year Building Healthy Communities strategy, which evolved to prioritize power building as a core strategy. He co-led the strategy development and implementation of the Sons & Brothers program aimed at addressing structural racism and improving the well-being of boys and young men of color. Colmenar also worked collaboratively with other foundation leaders to create and launch California Funders for Boys and Men of Color, a network of foundation leaders dedicated to removing barriers and advancing opportunities for youth of color, their families, and communities.

Prior to joining The Endowment, Colmenar was one of the founding staff members who helped launch PolicyLink, now a leading national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity. In addition, he was a senior research associate at The Rockefeller Foundation, executive director of South of Market Problem Solving Council (now South of Market Community Action Network), and a policy analyst for the San Francisco Department of Human Services. He received a bachelor’s degree in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Ray was born in Manila, Philippines, grew up in San Diego, and has lived in the Bay Area for many years.

Tony Cabrera, Broadcast Journalist

Cabrera is a morning anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News. He has played several roles at the station, including weathercaster, reporter and entertainment correspondent. He previously worked at TV stations in Fresno, Santa Barbara, Tucson, Arizona and Toledo, Ohio. Cabrera was born and raised in San Jose, but eventually moved to Los Angeles where he earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California. He is also a certified meteorologist through the Broadcast and Operational Meteorology Program at Mississippi State University. He was recently recognized as a distinguished honoree during Filipino American Heritage Month in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Filipino Association of City Employees.

Adam Magpoc, Baseball Player

Boston College baseball transfer infielder Adam Magpoc has his new collegiate home. The Torrance, Calif., native is transferring to San Diego State. Magpoc spent two years on the Heights where he started in 97 of 104 games played and notched a .258 batting average, 88 hits, 58 runs, 19 doubles, two triples, six home runs, batted 47 runs in, drew 54 walks, and stole 36 bases. He also tallied a career .378 slugging percentage, .367 on-base percentage, and a .962 fielding percentage. He had the seventh-most hits, the second-most doubles, tied for the fourth-most home runs, the sixth-most runs batted in, tied for the most drawn walks, and had the second-most stolen bases among the team in the Eagles’ 2025 campaign. Magpoc is the 2025 Brewster Whitecaps Team MVP.

Talia Panadero, Special Projects Consultant

Panadero (she/her/siya) is the Program Manager at AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity), where she supports the implementation and strategic planning of the organization’s anti-hate program, working to combat hate incidents and foster safety, healing, and solidarity across Los Angeles County. Before joining AAPI Equity, she was a Research Coordinator at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles, focusing on mental and behavioral health, homelessness and housing, and advancing racial and health equity. She also worked as a consultant with Everyday Impact Consulting, supporting nonprofit, philanthropic, and public agencies in strategic planning and research and evaluation. Panadero is deeply committed to advancing racial equity, fostering inclusive communities, and empowering historically underserved populations through public health, education, and community-driven research. She brings a strong foundation in public health and a passion for creating systemic change that uplifts individuals from all backgrounds. She holds a BA in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Source: Google and Wikipedia

The Magazine

FilAms Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 72