Lynn Pinugu, COO and Finance & Operations

I bring to the group my 11 years (and counting!) of experience as an educator and social entrepreneur focused on empowering lowincome communities through education and sustainable livelihood for women. In fact, my inspiration for co-founding She Talks Asia was because I've seen through my work in Mano Amiga that it's often the women who reinforce damaging gender-based stereotypes.

I've seen a mother teach her daughters to endure emotional and verbal abuse from their father for the sake of keeping their family together, or a mother-in-law discourage her young daughter-in-law from going back to college because she should be content with staying at home. One of my roles in She Talks is to ensure that all our flagship programs have a corresponding callto-action that brings the impact of our work to the grassroots level. In a country that has had two female presidents and where majority of women enjoy a good education and well-paying jobs, we often forget that there are many Filipino women and children who don't enjoy the same opportunities and are quite vulnerable to abuse because of poverty. My drive for scaling up She Talks is so I could eventually bring our mentorship and leadership programs to more women and children, particularly those living in far-flung areas.

She Talks Asia helps women by giving them a voice to speak about their trials and triumphs in life. It gives women a space to share what they’ve gone through and allows other women to learn how to heal. I think that by sharing stories, we are able to better understand ourselves as well. We become more self-aware as well. We are all mirrors for each other’s healing journey. My role is called “partnerships” but I do believe in creating authentic relationships with who we work with. I aspire to build with people on a long-term basis so that we can create change together. Truly connecting the right people to our project creates a powerful energetic force that is felt across different platforms. When I first partnered with She Talks Asia, it was because I wanted to get the powerful message of self love and body love out to Filipinas. Upon joining the team, I have realized the power of women coming together to help make this world a better place. I also learned so much from my partners from every event we set up and content we put out. I now see our movement going beyond the Philippines, even beyond Asia through our content, conferences and grssroots projects. I bring to the table the biggest smile I have and the passion to help heal and teach others through our own healing and learning. I have also been appointed PR head, so all the years of being branded Miss Congeniality is actually paying off! Every relationship matters! - Iza Calzado-Wintle, Public Relations

I take the “power” of having a platform (because of the nature of my job on TV/print) seriously; that it is not something to take lightly or flaunt, it is a great responsibility. Being a part of She Talks Asia with four driven, inspiring women is a big step for me to help develop conversations about women’s issues that we should be talking about more—self love, boundaries, worth, pressure, and so much more! Among the partners, it’s the arena of social media that I can help to bring our messages to more people. - Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, Digital Strategy