Fil-Am young professionals network and serve community

YFPA members networking at mixer in honor of Fil-Am History month at the Pink Elephant. PHOTO BY ALEX DRECHSLER

SAN FRANCISCO – A group of young Filipino American professionals has been building personal connections and promoting ideas and expertise among peers in the greater San Francisco Bay Area for 13 years and is still going strong.

Your Filipino Professional Association (YFPA), formerly known as the Young Filipino Professional Association is a nonprofit organization that values Filipino culture and encourages collaboration among members.

With the guiding motto, “Connect. Educate. Serve,” YFPA is led by a unique and 100 percent volunteer-based board of directors.

It has established itself as the main networking resource for Filipino professionals in the Bay Area that constantly builds relationships with community partners.

“I have connected with several professionals in all industries and levels of expertise,” 10-year member and previous president Regina Finuliar said.

“This was also helpful at a time when I was looking for new career opportunities and getting to know others and what they liked about their careers, and then getting informational interviews with their companies.  As an HR professional I also took the opportunity to connect with professionals and interns on career opportunities at my company,” Finuliar added.

YFPA provides benefits and activities such as free access to monthly mixer and development events, opportunities to serve the community, mentoring in YFPA’s mentor program, meeting new friends, clients, employees, and/or employers, networking and participating in community partner events, serving on the board of directors to gain leadership experience, and learning more about Filipino culture.

YFPA member and previous board member Eleanore Fernandez said, “I have been a member since 2005 and for me, it gave me a way to widen my community roots circle and also talk with my peers who were in similar professional challenges and who I can count on support to bounce ideas or seek career advice.”

YFPA continues to hold its monthly networking mixers leading up to its annual scholarship gala in February.

“Becoming a YFPA member is a great opportunity to meet and network with other young Filipino professionals,” said current YFPA Membership Director, Nina Rossi.

“It’s more than just networking, though. Through my experience I have gained a lot of great friends, been exposed to a lot of wonderful opportunities such as mentoring and volunteering. It is a wonderful way to make a positive impact on our local communities. For me, since my family is very Americanized, it has been a great learning experience to get to know about my family history and culture,” Rossi explained.

For more information of YFPA, check its website at www.yfpasf.com

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