Journalist Janet Nepales one of ‘100 Most Influential Fil-Am Women’ in US

The Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) has selected journalist and GMA News Online contributor Janet Nepales as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina American Women in the United States.  

Nepales and the other awardees will be honored during the gala awards celebration on August 31 at the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco, California.

 

White House Executive Cristeta Pasia Comerford, herself an honoree, will deliver the keynote acceptance speech on behalf of the 2012 awardees.  

The highlights of the celebrations are the Mayor’s Reception at City Hall, “Powerful Pinays at the Bay” – a power walk at the Golden Gate Bridge, and the popular Pinay Speed “Femtoring” event.  

The award is a celebration of leadership, inspiration and achievement honoring Filipinas who are changing the face of power in various communities and workplaces.  

Dr. Mutya San Agustin Shaw of the FWN100 Nationwide Search and Selection Committee said that the influential awardees rose from the ranks in large organizations, non-profits and government agencies.  

 “They are powerful examples of women doing extraordinary work who will motivate our youth and future leaders,” she said.  

“They were selected from nominations submitted from 23 states,” she added.  

Pay it forward  

As the award hopes to double the number of Filipina women leaders by 2013, the awardees are asked to attend the Filipina Leadership Summit from August 30 to September 1 where they will “femtor” a protégé in San Francisco.  

Marily Mondejar, President of Filipina Women's Network said the project titled “Pinay Power 2012” began in 2006 to inspire and inform Filipina women leaders who would influence the Filipino-American community’s future.  

“It provides a critical pathway for successful women who care about advancement, achievement, and purpose,” she said.  

“These awardees are not only talking about change from a bi-cultural perspective, but plan to be part of making change happen in their organizations and communities,” she added.  

Meanwhile, Nepales, an award-wining journalist, has been providing scholarships to deserving journalism students at her alma mater, Quezon City High School (QCHS) since 2007.  

The Janet Susan Rodriguez Nepales Journalism Awards aim to inspire young aspiring journalists to continue writing and fulfill their dreams of careers in journalism.  

Some of the recipients of the scholarship grant are students who wrote “The Capitol” and “Ang Parola” for their school paper.

 

Accomplished journalist  

Nepales finished her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism degree at the University of Santo Tomas with cum laude honors. She was managing editor of the university paper "The Varsitarian" and also editor-in-chief of the Faculty of Arts and Letters’ magazine "The Flame."

 

Her other achievements include:

 

She currently writes for various columns in different Philippine newspapers and is an active Los Angeles correspondent of the GMA 7 Network.  

Nepales is also the first and only Filipina member in the prestigious Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the non-profit organization of international journalists behind the coveted Golden Globe Awards which recognize excellence in film and television. - with Ruben Nepales, Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News