Feeding and Nutrition

Solita Magahum Wakefield

Senior Research Officer at the International Monetary Fund since 1991. Consultant at the World Bank. Bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Economics from Maryknoll College, Philippines and Long Island University, New York, respectively. Doctoral candidate at New York University and George Mason University. Member of Omicron Delta Epsilon (Economics Honor Society, New York chapter).

Estela Torres Sanidad

Official at World Bank. Married to Mario Prado Sanidad. They have three children.

Livelihood

Pepito Solis

Pepito graduated from FEATI University with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. He was a former project engineer with the General Services Administration and Voice of America. He retired from the Federal Aviation Administration as program manger for critical power systems. An active member of the Philippine Association of Metropolitan Washington Engineers, he serves as the chairman of the Board and Sports Committee of the association. He builds homes, and has a passion for golf, fishing and gardening.

Ed Quisumbing

Dr. Edgar Quisumbing is a graduate of the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science degree  major in agricultural chemistry through a full scholarship from the Philippine Packing Corporation (PPC), Dr. Quisumbing joined the research department of PPC in 1959. He completed his PhD in Horticultural Science and Plant Physiology at the University of Minnesota. He was an assistant professor of agronomy at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. In 1978 he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men for outstanding achievement in agricultural development. In 1988 he joined the World Bank as an agricultural research specialist and senior agriculturist for the World Bank's Africa Region. His main responsibility was to help southern and eastern African countries establish and/or strengthen their agricultural research and extension services. He is given credit for playing the major role in the establishment and strengthening of agricultural research systems in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan, and of fostering and promoting effective mechanisms for collaboration with the agricultural extension services and agricultural universities. Dr. Quisumbing is also recognized for his efforts in improving agricultural support services mainly agricultural research, training and extension, in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Indonesia, Mozambique, Somalia, Zambia, Zanzibar, and Zimbabwe.

Gift Giving

Gloria Caoile

Gloria Caoile retired from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a 1.3 million-member union as the assistant to the President. AFSCME continues to call on Gloria for special assignments. She has led disaster relief teams to assist union members devastated by wildfires in Southern California, flooding in Iowa, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the 9/11 tragedy in New York. She is one of the founders of the Asian Pacific American Women Leadership Institute designed to mentor young women. Her background in labor led her to be a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. She has served on boards of civil rights groups including the Filipino American Civil Rights Advocates and the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations to fight for equality and justice. She was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the White House Advisory Commission to address the health needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She was presented with the Philippines presidential merit of honor, the Philippines highest civic award. Gloria and her husband Benjamin live in Springfield, Virginia. They have a daughter Melanie.

Vangie Ganuelas

World Bank retiree now in the labor union environment. Husband Ernie works with the Philippine DND. They have a son.

Education

Lito Ilagan, Scholarship

Retired. Manager, World Bank. Born in San Pablo City, Philippines. College - Ateneo de Manila University; Work experience include Xavier School, IBM Philippines, Computer Information Systems, Inc.
FTH volunteer since inception in 1993. Served as FTH overerall Chairperson in 2002-2003. Active member of the Filipino community in Kona, Hawaii having served as Vice-President of the Filipino Organization of Kona (2004-2008). Currently, Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council and the Global Solidarity Ministry of St. Michael's Church in Kona. Married to Sol Ilagan one of the original incorporators of FTH.

Calamity and Medical Emergency Assistance

Mila Nazal

Senior Administrative Assistant, International Monetary Fund. She has three children and six grandchildren. Enjoys cooking, traveling, and taking care of grandchildren.

Tessie Alarcon

See Board of Directors

Infrastructure (Classroom Building and Water Systems)

Pablito Alarcon

Pablito graduated from the Mapua Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science Civil Engineer He took graduate studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He served as a commissioned officer in the Philippine Coast and Geodetic Survey, navigating a survey ship throughout the Philippines. He worked as a professional engineer with the Washington D.C. Dept of Public Works, Water, and Sewer Utility Administration where he retired after 22 years of service. He subsequently formed a real estate company and became a realtor/broker helping hundreds of Filipino families own their homes in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. Active in the community, he served as President of the Philippine Association of Metropolitan Washington Engineers and chairman of its scholarship committee where he established an endowment fund to help funds students to become engineers. He is a current member of the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Philippine American Foundation for Charities. Together with his wife Tessie, he co-founded Feed the Hungry. He has assumed responsibilities for overseeing and monitoring the completion of classroom construction. Close to 56 classrooms throughout the Philippines have been built. Seven are under construction, six are to be constructed and one is under study. Pablito was inducted into the Asian Academy Hall of Fame on November, 2005 in Athens, Greece.

Lyta Sese

Lyta is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas College of Architecture. She recently retired from Kaiser Permanente after 20 years managing the design and construction of medical facilities in the mid-Atlantic states region. She is past president of the Philippine Arts, Letter and Media and the Philippine Council of Arts and Architecture. Married, with five children and ten grandchildren, she resides in Bethesda, Maryland. She loves to garden, paint and read.