Dr. Vania Manipod is a psychiatrist, speaker, professor and blogger, who has become well-known for being outspoken about mental health and reducing the stigma of mental illness, especially in the Filipino and Asian American community. Her instagram has over 41,000...

Let's reflect & set powerful intentions for the remainder of 2020. I, Krystl, will guide us through a Visualization and Journaling Session, to help ground you and set intentions for the remainder of 2020. The world has been through so much change this year.. but...

What did the stories of 40 successful Asian women all have in common? Rose Buado and Jennifer Redondo-Marquez are two high-achieving Filipino women (and cousins!) who have spent the last year putting together a book called In Her Purpose: 40 Principles of Asian Women...

Bianca Mabute-Louie (she/her/hers) is an educator based in Oakland, CA. She has taught Asian American Studies at Laney College, San Francisco State College, and City College of San Francisco. This fall she will be starting her PhD in Sociology at Rice University,...

Leezel is a bridge journalist at the intersection of everything from editorial, product to audience development, marketing and more. Currently,  Leezel is the Senior Editor for Membership and Innovation at HuffPost. In the past, she worked with the Associated Press in Audience Development and was at CNNMoney (now CNNBusiness) as Assistant Managing Editor of Programming where she led a global team of multiplatform editors. She received her Bachelor’s degree at Loyola Marymount University and a Masters degree at UCLA.  She is a 2019 Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) delegate and sits on the FYLPRO Board of Directors. 

On this episode, we talk about Leezel’s journey into multi-media journalism, the power of storytelling and how she’s navigated the industry as a Filipina American. Harnessing her identity of being in-between Filipino and American to be a bridge reporter and bridge communities and stories, Leezel promotes embracing “being many things” and how Filipinos are some of the best bridge-people of the world. We learn about how Filipinos can embrace their history of adaptability and innovating in the present uncertain times. She also shares with us a project she’s working on around Blood Debt, a concept of owing debt transcending finances, such as time, love and obligations, due to being in the family line, challenging the traditional notion of “utang na loob.”

Cinelle Barnes is a memoirist, essayist, and educator from Manila, Philippines, and is the author of Monsoon Mansion, a memoir we primarily discuss on this episode. Her debut memoir was listed as a Best Nonfiction Book of 2018 by Bustle and nominated for the 2018...