About the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

Cecilia L. Lazaro

Chairperson

Cecilia “Cheche” L. Lazaro is a multi-awarded broadcast journalist who has been recognized both locally and internationally for her pioneering work in television. She was co-founder and producer of Probe Productions, a Philippine media company that produced several revolutionary Filipino programs, including 5 and Up, Art Is Kool, Gameplan, Cheche Lazaro Presents, Probe Profiles, and The Probe Team, the first and longest-running investigative newsmagazine in the Philippines.

For her works, Ms. Lazaro received several awards and recognitions, including the KBP Golden Dove Awards, Catholic Mass Media Awards (Hall of Fame), Malolos Heritage Foundation, Philippine Movie Press Club, and Gawad CCP para sa Telebisyon. In 2001, she received the Silver World Medal for Television Documentary and Information Program on Social Issues/Current Events at the New York Festival.

Suzanne E. Siskel

Vice Chairperson

Suzanne E. Siskel is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Asia Foundation, a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across Asia-Pacific.

Her past experience includes leadership roles at the Ford Foundation both in their New York headquarters and in its Southeast Asian operations. She served as acting director of Ford Foundation’s Gender Rights and Equality unit in support of women’s economic rights, LGBT rights, and HIV/AIDS. Her last role at Ford Foundation was as director of Social Justice Philanthropy. Ms. Siskel played an integral role in the establishment of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership through a grant from the Ford Foundation.

Trained as a social anthropologist, Ms. Siskel has served variously as a consultant, university teacher, and researcher throughout Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico. She studied social anthropology, receiving her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University.

Susanna B. Afan

President

Susan Afan worked for three decades for a Fortune 500 global staffing firm in the United States, Robert Half International, and retired as a District President in Southern California. In 2005, she was recognized as its number one Regional Manager in the world.

She returned to the Philippines in 2014 and served as Managing Director and a member of the Board of Trustees of the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation (ALKFI), the socio-civic arm of the Philippines most trusted media company, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network. She is also a current board member of WeSolve Foundation.

Ms. Afan joined the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation as its President in January 2021.

Gizela M. Gonzalez-Montinola

Treasurer

Gizela Madrigal Gonzalez-Montinola, also known as Ging, is a lawyer, businesswoman, and partner at Romulo Law. She has served on boards of various Philippine corporations, primarily in real estate and banking, and is involved in non-profit organizations such as the Consuelo Madrigal Foundation and Caritas Manila.

Ms. Gonzalez-Montinola was a Regent of the University of the Philippines and a founding trustee of the Beacon School, an International School in Manila, Philippines committed to developing students into agents of change. She established the Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center, now in its twenty-third year, to support newly published writers.

She authored “Where the Children Are,” a book highlighting the lives of Filipino children facing challenging circumstances.

Emily A. Abrera

Trustee

Widely acknowledged as an authority and trailblazer in advertising and marketing management, Emily Abrera served as Chairman, President & CEO of McCann-Erickson Philippines. Upon retirement, she was named Chairman-Emeritus at McCann Worldgroup Philippines, and non-executive Chairman of McCann World group in the Asia-Pacific region.

Her other interests are reflected in her involvement in diverse organizations, having served as Chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and as member of the EDSA People Power Commission. She is a trustee of the Bonifacio Art Foundation, the Philippine Board on Books for Young People, and the Philippine Eagle Foundation, among others.

Ms. Abrera served the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation as Chairman of the Board of Trustees in 2006 and 2010, Vice-Chairman in 2005, 2008-2009, and 2011, and was its Interim President in 2020.

Delia D. Albert

Trustee

Delia Domingo Albert, a distinguished senior diplomat, served as the Philippine Ambassador to Australia and non-resident Ambassador to Vanuatu, Nauru, and Tuvalu from 1994 to 2002. Later, she made history as the first female Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines, capping a 36-year diplomatic career.

Notably, she was the first woman career diplomat to become a Foreign Minister in ASEAN and Asia. Ambassador Albert’s roles included Director-General of the ASEAN National Secretariat and Undersecretary for International Economic Relations.

During her ambassadorship in Australia, she achieved significant milestones, such as defense agreements and the initiation of the Philippines-Australia Dialogue. She played a pivotal role in enhancing bilateral relations, recognizing Australian servicemen and promoting Filipino women’s interests. Ambassador Albert received recognition from the Australian Government in 2016.

Awarded the Knights Commanders Cross of the Order of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1992, Ambassador Albert, fluent in multiple languages, engages in advisory roles for organizations like the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and the Asian Institute of Management. Currently, she serves as a Senior Adviser to SGV and CO/Ernst and Young Philippines.

Ernesto D. Garilao

Trustee

Ernesto Garilao is the Chairman and President of the Zuellig Family Foundation, one of the largest healthcare services groups in Asia.

Mr. Garilao has extensive experience in development work as Executive Director of Philippine Business for Social Progress (1978-1992). He served as Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agrarian Reform under the administration of Pres. Fidel Ramos. From 1994-1998, he was Vice-Chairman of the Social Reform Council, the highest policy-making body for the Philippines’ anti-poverty programs.

In 2019, Mr. Garilao was awarded the Xiong An International Health Forum Impact Award, a recognition for an outstanding achievement by an established professional in improving global health.

Cielito F. Habito

Trustee

Cielito Habito was the youngest member of the Cabinet of Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos as Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority. He chaired the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development from 1992-1998, and was elected Chair of the Sixth Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in New York in 1998.

He has worked at the World Bank, Harvard University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies in Kyoto University, and Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo. He is a Professor of Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he is also the Director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development. He is also Chairman of Brain Trust: Knowledge and Options for Sustainable Development Inc.

Prof. Habito’s column, “No Free Lunch,” appears weekly in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the Philippine’s leading broadsheets.

James Kondo

Trustee

James Kondo currently serves as the Chairman of the International House of Japan, an independent foundation dedicated to promoting international cooperation for a free, open, and sustainable world.

He holds additional roles, including Global Trustee and Japan Co-Chair of Asia Society, Board Member of US-Japan Foundation, and a Trustee and Visiting Professor at Keio Medical School.

Previously, Mr. Kondo was Vice President of Growth Strategy at Twitter Inc and Chairman of Twitter Japan. He has received recognitions such as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Yale World Fellow by Yale University, Asia 21 Fellow by Asia Society, and Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy.

Josephine Lok

Trustee

Josephine Lok is the CEO of Mizuho Bank Singapore where she oversees the Singapore Office of over 1000 employees. With more than two decades of senior management experience, Ms Lok is a highly respected leader and brings with her a wealth of expertise and a proven track record of leadership.

Previously, Ms Lok was the Singapore COO at UBS, a leading Swiss Bank, where she played a pivotal role in steering the organization through critical operational strategies and advancement. She has also held various leadership positions at Credit Suisse and is one of the industry pioneers in the data analytics field.

Committed to driving positive changes in society, Ms. Lok mentors and nurtures young talents across the region to cultivate next generation leaders. A staunch advocate for diversity and inclusion, she champions initiatives aimed at empowering women and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

Guillermo M. Luz

Trustee

Guillermo M. Luz is a consultant at Ayala Corporation, a prominent Philippine business group with diverse holdings. Additionally, he serves as the Chief Resilience Officer of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), focusing on disaster preparedness and recovery.

Mr. Luz leads Liveable Cities Philippines, dedicated to enhancing urban planning. Formerly, he was the private sector co-chairman of the National Competitiveness Council and has held various roles in organizations like the Asian Institute of Management, Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.

He co-convened Task Force T3, contributing to the private sector’s collaboration with the government on the national COVID-19 response. His past positions include Executive Director of Makati Business Club, Executive Vice President/COO of Ayala Foundation, and Secretary General of NAMFREL.

Ramon R. del Rosario Jr.

Trustee

Ramon R. del Rosario Jr. is the President and CEO of PHINMA Inc and PHINMA Corporation. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of PHINMA Education Holdings, Inc., which provide the underserved sectors access to quality education and of the nine educational institutions in the PHINMA education network. Mr. del Rosario is also the founding Chairman of Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) and is Vice-Chairman of Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and Caritas Manila, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

He served as the Secretary of the Department of Finance of the Philippines from 1992 to 1993. He was the Chairman of the Makati Business Club, the Integrity Initiative, and the National Museum of the Philippines. He was Chairman of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation from 2016-2017.

Mr. del Rosario was selected as the Most Outstanding Student of the Philippines in 1967, one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines in 1978, the MAP Management Man of the Year in 2010 and received the “Business as a Noble Vocation Award” in 2018.

Kotchakorn Voraakhom

Trustee

Kotchakorn Voraakhom is the CEO and Founder of Landprocess and Porous City Network. She also serves as the Chairwoman of the Climate Change Working Group at the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA World), serves on the Global Commission on Nature Positive City for the World Economic Forum, and is a design critic faculty member at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

As a Thai landscape architect, she focuses on creating green public spaces to address climate change in urban areas and vulnerable communities. Notable projects include the Chulalongkorn Centenary Park, mitigating urban flood risk, Thammasat Urban Rooftop Farm, addressing food and water scarcity, and Chao Phraya Sky Park, the first bridge park crossing a river in any capital city.

Ms. Voraakhom has received accolades such as the UN Global Climate Action Award and has been recognized in TIME’s “100 Next 2019,” which lists 100 rising stars shaping the world’s future each year, BBC’s “100 Women,” and Bloomberg’s “Green 30 for 2020.”