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The Bulosan Center's Team
Robyn Magalit Rodriguez
Director
Robyn Rodriguez is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Asian American Studies at UC Davis. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology in 2005 at UC Berkeley. Dr. Rodriguez is an award-winning, internationally recognized expert on Filipino migration and publishes extensively on the topic. Moreover, she has worked as an activist and advocate for Philippine and Filipino immigrant concerns for over twenty years.
Wayne Jopanda
Associate Director
Wayne Jopanda earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley's Ethnic Studies Department and is currently a PhD Candidate at UC Davis’ Cultural Studies PhD program. He is a 2013 Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow, and a 2014-2015 Haas Scholars Research Fellow, where he began his research on the lived experiences of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Filipino labor trafficking. Wayne served as the founding Co-Chairman of the Washington, DC chapter of Migrante, a Filipino grassroots organization fighting for the rights, protection, and welfare of OFWs around the world.
Jason Magabo Perez
Inaugural Community Arts Fellow
Jason Magabo Perez is a writer, performer, and teacher. Perez is the author of the hybrid collection of poetry and prose This is for the mostless (WordTech Editions, 2017). Recipient of an NEA Challenge America Grant, Perez has been a featured performer at notable venues such as the International Conference of the Philippines, National Asian American Theater Festival, and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. Currently, Perez serves as Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at CSU Marcos and is the current Artist-in-Residence at the Center for Art + Thought.
Glenn Philip Martinez Aquino
Filmmaker (2018-2022)
Glenn Philip Martinez Aquino was born and raised in the Central Valley but has lived in the Bay Area since 1997. He is a grandson of early Filipino farm workers and a son of Filipino immigrants. He likes to eat goat and pinakbet. He has worked on several community-based projects as a community organizer and as a filmmaker. He is currently fundraising to make a documentary about the great labor leader, Philip Vera Cruz. Support him at philipveracruz.com
Past Team Members (2022-2023)
Angel Trazo
Student Manager for Communications
Angel Trazo is a PhD student in Cultural Studies at UC Davis. She received her M.A. in Asian American Studies from UCLA and her B.A. in Biology and Studio Art from Colgate University. Her current research project is focused on Asian American youth culture, specifically the Asian Baby Girl (ABG) subculture. Angel loves to share ethnic studies stories through artwork such as her children's books We Are Inspiring: The Stories of 32 Asian American Women (2019) and Vanessa Unmuted (2021). At the Bulosan Center, Angel assists with Communications/social media and is the Layout Designer for Alon: Journal for Filipinx American and Diasporic Studies.
Angel Truong
Administrative Assistant
Angel received her B.A. in Asian American Studies and Psychology in 2019 at UC Davis. She was an intern for the Bulosan Center when it launched in 2018. Her interests are k-pop, popular culture, critical psychology, and the advocacy for ethnic studies. She enjoys watching thriller and horror movies, cooking, listening to music, and reading. She is currently the Program Coordinator for UC Davis Asian American Studies and is assisting the Bulosan Center on administrative tasks.
Manny De Leon
Student Manager for Archives
Manny De Leon is a current Ph.D. student in Cultural Studies at UC Davis with a particular focus on Filipinx American diasporic formation through and within digital enclaves. Manny also holds an M.A. and B.A. in Asian American Studies from UC Irvine. An immigrant from the Philippines and a Bay Area native, Manny has always been intrigued by the mediated tensions between homeland and state-side understandings of identity and community. Outside of academia, Manny has been involved with numerous organizations throughout California, particularly in the Bay Area and LA/OC.
Co-Founders and Past Team Members (2018-2022)
Allan Jason Sarmiento
Director of Archives and Public History (Pro-Bono) (2018-2022)
Allan Jason Sarmiento is a Public Historian with an emphasis in archival management, historic preservation, and oral history. He earned his M.A. in Public History at CSU Sacramento in 2015 and became a Certified Archivist with the Academy of Certified Archivists in 2017. Sarmiento created the Welga Digital Archive for his master's thesis, which is one of the original components of the Welga Project that became incorporated into the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies. Along with his archival work, Sarmiento spent three years as a historical consultant for JRP Historical Consulting. Furthermore, Sarmiento is qualified as a historian/architectural historian under United States Secretary of Interior’s Professional Standards (as defined in 36 CFR Part 61).
Jason is currently the Head of Archival Processing at UC Davis Library.
RJ Taggueg
Director of Research (2018-2022)
Roy Taggueg is a PhD Candidate at UC Davis in the Department of Sociology. After receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), he worked for the UCI Office of Research. As an Analyst for the Institutional Review Board he developed an expertise on human ethics in research. In 2016, he was honored as a Healthy Policy Research Scholar by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program. Health Policy Research Scholars is a national leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build equity by investing in scholars from populations traditionally underrepresented in graduate programs whose research, connections, and leadership will inform and influence policy toward a Culture of Health.
Katherine Nasol
Director of Policy and Community Engagement (2018-2022)
Katherine Nasol is a PhD Candidate within the UC Davis Cultural Studies Graduate Group, and is a Senior Policy and Research Associate with the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies. She earned her B.A. in International Relations with a minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University. As a part of the Center's Founding Core Committee, she organized the first Filipino Community Policy Symposium in September 2018, and as result, has written policy briefs and a 2019 Policy Agenda based on the Symposium's discussions. Passionate about immigrant and housing justice, her research focuses broadly on labor migration and social movements within the Filipino diaspora
Stacey Salinas
Senior Historian (2018-2022)
Stacey Anne Baterina Salinas is currently a Cultural Studies PhD Candidate at UC Davis, serving as the Center's oral historian and senior committee member. Currently, Stacey Anne is researching and recording oral histories to help document the pre-war Fil-Am women’s experience along the Central Coast that parallels the Manong Generation and how their labor established the Fil-Am pocket communities of central California. Always an avid teacher and mentor on her downtime, Stacey Anne currently teaches and volunteers for other Asian-American led coalitions, like Pacific Atrocities Education Camp; the Filipino American Woman Project, with similar goals of promoting and educating topics pertaining to the diverse Asian American narrative and its legacies. Stacey Anne Salinas is qualified as a historian under United States Secretary of Interior’s Professional Standards (as defined in 36 CFR Part 61).
Nick Garcia
Senior Editor (2018-2022)
Nicholas A. Garcia (M.A.) is a History PhD Candidate at UC Davis, with his research focusing on English colonialism and its negative effect on Native American communities in seventeenth century New England. As the Associate Managing Editor of Alon: Journal for Filipinx American and Diasporic Studies, Nicholas hopes to bring attention to the diverse array of research being conducted by Filipino undergraduate and graduate students. He is also active on Twitter (@profnickgarcia), where he engages with the academic community and promotes Bulosan Center programming. His ultimate goal is to make higher education and academia a more inclusive and welcoming place for people of color. Nicholas A. Garcia is qualified as a historian under United States Secretary of Interior’s Professional Standards (as defined in 36 CFR Part 61).
Advisory Board
Angelica Cortez
Influenced by the importance of ethnic identity, political participation, and social issues concerning the Fil community, Angelica "Gel" founded LEAD Filipino in 2015. Since LEAD Filpino's formation, the group has grown to serve hundreds of individuals each year through civic engagement programs including, the Annual Fly Pinays, Awareness in Action, and the Annual Filipinx Legislative Advocacy Day. Gel's vocational background blends nonprofit finance, local government, and policy advocacy. She previously worked for California State Assemblymember Rich Gordon and numerous policy organizations in the San Jose and Los Angeles Areas, where she sought to raise issues of Fil interests. She's currently the Director of Investor Relations at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and is active in many political and nonprofit groups in the San Jose/South Bay Area. Gel has been recognized by regional organizations for her work with Asian Pacific Islander communities, including by the County of Santa Clara and NBC. She holds her BA in Political Science (the only real science) from San Jose State University, her MPA from the University of San Francisco, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California. When she's not designing the activities of LEAD Filipino, you can find her sleeping, studying, or planning her next getaway!
Daniel Ritua Domaguin
Daniel (he/him/his) is a second-generation Ilokano immigrant, born and raised in Tiipai/southern Kumeyaay territory (south San Diego, CA). His family is originally from the barangays of Santa, Ilocos Sur; Burgos and Alaminos, Pangasinan; and La Union.He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College and his Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan. He has been serving California’s American Indian/Alaska Native communities through behavioral health programming as a clinical social worker since 2009. He volunteers his time as a clinical supervisor and co-conspirator in movements for community healing and justice. Outside of work, Daniel enjoys Mother Nature, crafting, martial arts, improvisational comedy, random trivia, and baking copious amounts of pastries.
Cynthia Bonta
I am Cynthia Arnaldo Bonta. I was born in College, Laguna, Philippines to Marcelo Arnaldo and Rosalia Rodriguez, the third of four living births. My father was a professor at the College of Agriculture of the University of the Philippines from where he graduated while my mother was a teacher trained at the Philippine Normal College founded by the Thomasites. I missed Kindergarten to 2nd grade during the WWII years. After the war, My family moved to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental so my father could join the faculty of Silliman University, a missionary school run by American missionaries. This is where I spent my formative years and developed early in my leadership and my interest in community service. Although my college track was for medicine, I failed entrance to medical school at the Philippine General Hospital due to sex discrimination by old retirement aged men. This door closed and an ecumenical scholarship opened up for a Masters Degree in Religious Education at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. At PSR I was exposed to the civil rights movement that shaped who I am today. I volunteered at the Filipino Hiring Hall at Delano during the Grape Strike during the Christmas break from school and six years later volunteered full time with my family of 4, that grew into 5, to work on the LA Boycott and later at the United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz to set up the UFW health clinics up and down the Imperial Valley. After 5 years with the UFW my family returned to Berkeley when I joined the anti-martial law movement and became a member of the Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP). I will always be proud for the opportunity to spend ten years of my life building a movement in the US that contributed to the overthrow of the Marcos Regime and the restoration of democracy and independence in my country. The following stage in my life was community service to the high school youth in Sacramento through the Philippine National Day Association (PNDA). A name derived from the name of an annual barrio fiesta that the anti martial law movement offered as an alternative to the lavish Terno Balls that the Philippine consulate held while human rights were violated. The Outstanding Filipino Youth Awards and the Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference was born in 1990 and 1996 respectively and still continues to this day. The youth were taught to be proud of their identity and to affirm it in what ever they did as their contribution to the Filipino American community. The youth were also made to realize that it was important to empower their community to actively confront the issues that may arise as well as be involved in the electoral politics that supported progressive candidates that recognized issues faced by Filipinos and the API communities specially if they were progressive Filipinos, like Christopher Cabaldon and Ruth Uy Asmundson. I continue to support PNDA as a member of its Advisory Board even as my main organizational focus these days is the Alameda Sister City Association whose mission is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation one individual and one community at a time. But every day life is about being alert to the issues of the day locally, regionally and even statewide inorder to take action.