FOUNDER, FINANCE OFFICER

Bernadette Borja Sy is a native of San Francisco. Her parents were both SF practicing physicians, born in the Philippines. The Borja Family owned the Delta Hotel on 6th Street since 1976, but after a massive fire in 1997, the family sold the building to TODCO. In 2003, TODCO rehabilitated the building with 152 units of affordable housing and renamed it Bayanihan House. Shortly before the fire, Bernadette and her father, Dr.Mario Borja (d. 2004), established the Filipino-American Development Foundation (FADF), a nonprofit organization formed to support the SOMA Filipino immigrant residents and families, and to develop the Bayanihan Community Center (BCC), which opened in 2005 on the ground floor of the Bayanihan House. Bernadette was the founding Executive Director of FADF in SOMA until December 2021. She now serves as FADF’s finance officer. Bernadette is married to Tony Sy and they have 2 sons, Chris & Xavier. Bernadette’s younger sister, Bernice joined the FADF Board in 2019.

PRESIDENT

Whole Pinay 24/7. Lover of Filipina/x/o community spaces, gatherings, and events. Witness to, amplifier of, and unapologetically a practitioner of fierce community positivity in the midst of continual collective grieving and emergence. Certified Athletic Administrator. Your sports relationship coach and convener of sports communities. Certified as a Radical Nature Change Agent through Hike It Out Coaching’s Healing Hike program. Proud family member of Sama Sama Cooperative. Tagalog language reclaimer. Probably the shortest person to officiate a CIF championship basketball game. A responsible driver and pedestrian. 2018 CIF-SF/OAK Section Athletic Director of The Year.

VICE PRESIDENT

Jerel Jay Baldomero is a second generation Filipino American whose parents immigrated from Pagsanjan, Laguna and Calbayog City, Samar. Currently, Jerel serves as an Educational Policy Analyst for the San Francisco Unified School District, specifically supporting the strategies in service of Black students and their families. He also has the honor of representing Kababayan-SFUSD, an organization of Filipino educators and staff, as Vice-President of Membership and Organizational Affairs. Jerel is lovingly married to his partner Janine Adviento.

TREASURER

Mr. Estonina is a seasoned finance professional with over 30 years of experience. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Armanino Foods. After graduating from Golden Gate University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, Mr. Estonina worked in the audit practice of Deloitte until 1992. Thereafter, Mr. Estonina went on to work for such companies as Levi Strauss & Co., Hewlett-Packard, Kasenna, Inc., and National Oncology Alliance, Inc.. Mr. Estonina has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1994. In addition to volunteering for FADF, Mr. Estonina also serves as Chairman for the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco where he has held this position since 2014.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Gayle Romasanta is a writer and community organizer 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. She also co-wrote the book, Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong, with the late and great historian Dr. Dawn Mabalon. As a community organizer, Gayle founded Kappa Psi Epsilon, a Filipino American cultural sorority, celebrating its 26th year, with 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. Gayle also has a long history working for nonprofits as a development consultant and writer, targeting equity in Pre-K-14 education, working and writing for and about educational communities throughout California. She is currently the executive director for San Francisco’s Filipino-American Development Foundation supporting Filipino American organizations and programs throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the South of Market Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District. She is also an artist-in-residence at San Francisco’s Brava! For Women in the Arts.

BOARD MEMBER

MC Canlas is the author SoMa Pilipinas Studies 2000 in Two Languages (2002) and SoMa Pilipinas Ethnotour Guide Book (2013). He was one of the leading proponents of the proposed Filipino Social Heritage Special Use District in the Western SoMa Citizens Planning Task Force of the San Francisco Planning Department (2011). He helped SoMa Pilipinas evolve into a thriving territorial-based ethnic identity in America, and SoMa Pilipinas has emerged as a framework of uniting the Filipino in the neighborhood and in the San Francisco Bay Area into one community system. Although MC migrated to the United States reluctantly in 1984 to join his family, his early work in the Philippines as an academic historian, popular educator, and political activist in the democracy movement has blossomed in California as a community leader, non-profit service provider, newspaper columnist, and ethno-tourism docent. MC Canlas is currently working with the Episcopal Community Service (ECS) as a Manager of Navigation Services of Adult Coordinated Entry, and with the Filipino American Development Foundation (FADF) as a Community Strategy Consultant. He is also a member of the History and Heritage Committee of SoMa Pilipinas.

BOARD MEMBER

Regina (Gina) Sahagun-DeGuzman is a second generation Filipino-American whose parents immigrated from Pampanga in the early 70s. She currently serves as the President of PG&E’s Samahan ERG and sits on the PG&E Employee Community Fund board. Gina works in the IT department where she manages teams of analysts and programmers but her greatest joy is in sharing the Filipino culture with her coworkers and also partnering with other Filipino organizations. She takes pride in seeing her children flourish and grow into responsible adults who not only focus on their careers but find ways to support their communities. She enjoys traveling and when has some down time, indulges in watching gardening vlogs on YouTube.

BOARD MEMBER

Growing up with both parents as physicians in San Francisco, Bernice Borja Sy learned from their example of always helping the community, and giving a further understanding of the Bayanihan spirit. As a proud mother of two, Bernice has been an active volunteer at her children's schools on the SF peninsula, from elementary through high school. She brings over 20 years of technical experience in various aspects fundraising endeavors. Bernice is inspired to continue the Borja family legacy in SOMA by connecting to the community and serving on the FADF board.