MR. MANOLITO MARIANO AGUSTIN

Mr. Manolito Agustin, known as ‘Ka Noli’ or ‘Gaspadin Noli’ in NEU, is an Industrial Designer by profession. He earned his BA in Industrial Design in Stroganov Academy in Moscow. He was a recipient of state scholarship granted by then USSR government.

Being a Russian scholar for many years, Gaspadin Noli found himself teaching Russian here in the . He is a part-time Teacher of Russian in Every Nations Language Institute in Makati and was a substitute Russian Instructor in the UP of Arts and Letters from 2017 to 2018. In 2019, Gaspadin Noli was appointed by the to teach Russian language in the NEU-School of International Relations.

Aside from Russian language, Mr. Agustin also teaches Animation and Video Editing, Basic Drawing for Animation, CAD, Maya 3D, interactive Media, DTP, Color theory, Principles of Design, Post-Production, Classic Animation, Maya 3D, Avid Editing, Soviet Cinema and Political Cartooning.

MS. JOCELYN “JOYCE” SOCAO-ALUMNO

Ms. Joyce Socao-Alumno is a staunch advocate of Healthcare Globalization or Medical Tourism. She is the Founder and President of HealthCore, a center for global healthcare management, quality accreditation and medical tourism services in the Philippines. For years, Ms. Alumno has been advocating the ASEAN Economic Community integration for healthcare trade services and promoting international standards in healthcare and hospitality towards Patient Safety and Excellent Quality Healthcare.

Ms. Alumno is also an educator, teaching Marketing Management course; a media practitioner; and a well sought-after Consultant and Speaker in many international conferences. She finished her Bachelor of Science in Tourism, graduating as Cum Laude, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

MS. ALELI ARGUELLES Ms. Aleli Arguelles is a part-time instructor teaching Japanese Language at the NEU School of International Relations. She finished an Intensive Japanese Language Course at Hokkaido University International Student Center back in 1999. In 2020, Ms. Arguelles participated in professional conferences including Online Japanese Language Teaching: Practices and Challenges and Asian Languages Forum: Strategies and Tools for Foreign Language Teaching and Learning organized by the Foundation, the Malaysian-Japanese Instructors Society and the UP Diliman Department of Linguistics, respectively.

Ms. Arguelles has a Degree in Physics for Teachers which she completed in the Philippine Normal University in 1991 and a Diploma in Physics from the in 1996.

She passed the Civil Service Professional Exam in 1991, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N5 Level in 2013, and the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N4 Level in 2015.

ATTY. IDA MARIE ESCOLANO-CANTON Atty. Ida is a seasoned educator and lawyer with more than 10 years of experience in the academe serving as New Era University’s Corporate Secretary and teaching several subjects in the College of Law, Accountancy, Business Administration, Arts and Sciences, Education and International Relations.

Atty. Ida has earned her Bachelor of Laws from the University of San Carlos, Cebu in 2008 and her Master of Arts in Education – Educational Administration from the University of the Philippines in 2019. She is currently taking her Doctor of Philosophy in Education – Educational Administration in the University of the Philippines.

Aside from being a Corporate Secretary and faculty member, Atty. Ida is also a Notary Public and a licensed Real Estate Broker.

MS. MALOU DE JESUS-FRANCISCO

Ms. Malou de Jesus-Francisco has a Master’s degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma with years of experience in teaching and was trained in Teaching German as a foreign language at the Goethe-Institut in Munich Germany. She also taught English as a Foreign Language at the Language Center of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium.

She also trained in Advanced Radio Journalism in the Deutsche Welle Training Center, Cologne Germany, and was a Trainor and Production Coordinator for the INC Media in Northern Europe.

Currently, she also teaches German in NEU, is the EBC Europe Correspondent based in the Netherlands, helps to organize as well as produce news and features for the EBC European Bureaus under the EBC News Main, and is the Segment Producer of "German is Fun" on INC Radio Germany.

MS. PRINCESS FAME PASCUA

Ms. Princess Fame Pascua is a faculty member of the School of International Relations (SOIR), New Era University, and teaches History, Geography, Culture, Research, and Diplomacy for more than a decade now. She also serves as Research and Publications Coordinator of the SOIR.

She obtained her Bachelor of Arts (History) and Master in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman. In 2021, she successfully defended her dissertation proposal which made her a PhD candidate (Philippine Studies, UP Diliman).

Some of her research works were published in Asian Studies, journal of the UP Asian Center, and Scientia, journal of . She recently presented academic papers in the “25th Young Scholars’ Conference on Philippine Studies in Japan 2020” and the “National Historical Commission of the Philippines’ 31st National Conference on History and Culture 2020.”

MR. NOE POBADORA Mr. Noe Pobadora is a regular full-time faculty member at the New Era University-Main Campus. He teaches subjects in Political Science, International Relations/Foreign Service and Social Sciences such as Philosophy and Art Appreciation. Sir Noe, as he is known in NEU, is also the current Director of the NEU- ASEAN Studies Center. Prior to this, he was Program Coordinator of AB Foreign Service and Director of NEU Information Office. Mr. Pobadora earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Mindanao State University-Marawi Campus, and his Master in Philippines Studies (Philippine External Relations) at the Asian Center-UP Diliman.

MS. DENISE ANN-MARIE R. SUAREZ, ENP Ms. Denise Ann-Marie Suarez has over 12 years of experience in the government, private sector and academe. She is currently a part-time faculty of New Era University and has been continuously teaching undergraduate students and thesis-advising since 2015.

Ms. Suarez also serves as capacity development adviser in GIZ Philippines on a climate change project in the Philippines and was previously the knowledge development research specialist at Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative, an international NGO that is an accredited member of the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction platform. She was head of the training component in a disaster risk management project (DREAM, PHIL-LIDAR 1 Program) implemented by the University of the Philippines-Diliman and funded by the Department of Science and Technology prior to working in NGOs. She has co-authored a textbook entitled "Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction" used by senior high students in selected schools in the Philippines.

Prof. Di-Ann, as she is fondly called, graduated with merit in Master’s in Diplomacy from the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy and Master’s in Environmental Management and Development from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, in 2013. Her short courses under international programs include sustainable urban ecosystems and urban resilience in the University of Amsterdam and University of Tokyo, respectively. She finished her Bachelor's Degree in Economics in UP Diliman graduating cum laude in 2007.

DR. CARLOS C. TABUNDA, JR., DPA

Dr. Carlos C. Tabunda, Jr. is a public administration practitioner and educator with more than 25 years of experience in project management, project proposal preparation, evaluation and management, research, curriculum development, and broadcasting, with particular emphasis on social development, agricultural policy, governance and public policy, national security, international relations, and ASEAN affairs. Dr. Tabunda served as Assistant Secretary under the Office of the President handling special concerns, and agricultural modernization. He also served as Chief of Staff at the Office of the National Security Adviser during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was a former Executive Fellow at the Development Academy of the Philippines. At present, Dr. Tabunda serves as the Dean of NEU-School of International Relations. He also hosts the TV program “ASEAN in Focus Weekend”.

MS. JONALYN L. VILLASANTE

Ms. Jonalyn L. Villasante obtained her Master of Arts in International Relations and Master of Diplomacy from the Australian National University. She completed both degrees with honors. She also graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts major in Speech Communication.

At present, she is a Supervising Legislative Staff Officer II of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives. She also serves as Associate Professor of the School of International Relations, New Era University, and Senior Lecturer of the Department of International Studies, .

Ms. Villasante is a Kautilya Fellow of the India Foundation and Fellow of the US Department of State’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies. She is also an alumna of Rotary International’s Group Study Exchange Program (GSE), Fu Hsing Kang College – National Development Course Program, and the United Nations University for Peace – IARU Program.