{"id":2865,"date":"2025-03-28T02:06:44","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T02:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-alumn-nus.pantheonsite.io\/alumnus\/?p=2865"},"modified":"2025-07-28T14:56:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T06:56:00","slug":"empowering-governance-and-inclusive-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2025\/03\/28\/empowering-governance-and-inclusive-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering Governance and Inclusive Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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To commemorate Women\u2019s Month and champion the value of inclusive governance, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) Alumni Association \u2013 Philippines Chapter, in partnership with the NUS Alumni Network Manila, hosted an intimate dinner and panel conversation on 28 March 2025 at Caf\u00e9 Mary Grace, Rockwell Power Plant Mall, Makati.<\/p>

The event, themed \u201cEmpowering Governance: The Synergy of Women\u2019s Leadership and Inclusive Policy-Making,\u201d gathered alumni and professionals from across the National University of Singapore (NUS) community. While spearheaded by LKYSPP, the initiative was supported by representatives and alumni from other NUS schools\u2014including Yale-NUS, Medicine, Public Health, Law, Business, and FASS\u2014highlighting the strength of cross-school collaboration within the NUS community in Manila.<\/p>

Inspiring Keynote: Purpose, Resilience, and “Mothering a Business”<\/strong><\/p>

The evening began with a heartfelt keynote from Ms Mary Grace Dimacali, Founder and CEO of Mary Grace Foods, Inc., who shared her journey from a small home kitchen to a beloved Filipino brand with over 140 branches. She shared: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more humbling than being a mother. Women embody stamina, endurance, service\u2014and the ability to take punches with grace.\u201d Ms Dimacali emphasised the importance of emotional intelligence, spiritual grounding, and slow, deliberate growth\u2014values echoed in her leadership style and her company’s philosophy.<\/p>

The event also featured a compelling panel of three accomplished LKYSPP alumnae, whose careers span the regulatory, corporate, and development sectors: Atty Monalisa Dimalanta (SFPS 2021), Chairperson and CEO, Energy Regulatory Commission; Atty. Maria Anthonette C. Velasco-Allones (MPM ’07), CHRO, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation; and Ms Mary Jean T. Pacheco (SFPS 2021), Undersecretary, Department of Trade and Industry.<\/p>

They shared personal insights on navigating leadership roles as women in traditionally male-dominated spaces. Atty Allones reflected on the four pillars of governance: stability, rule of law, a professional bureaucracy, and an inclusive civil society. Atty Dimalanta noted how \u201cpublic sector leadership brings larger consequences,\u201d while Ms Pacheco debunked gendered expectations by affirming \u201cbeing direct is not a male trait\u2014it\u2019s a leadership trait.\u201d<\/p>

Lastly, the event also welcomed the newly appointed NUS Alumni Network Manila Executive Committee (2025\u20132026), now led for the first time by a female Chairperson, Dr Venus Oliva Cloma-Rosales (MPH ’13), and Vice-Chairperson, Ms Patricia Villar-Yambing (MBA ’15). Their presence exemplified the growing role of women in leadership within the NUS Manila community, and the strong commitment to inclusivity and alumni engagement across all NUS schools. This gathering not only celebrated Women\u2019s Month but also reaffirmed the alumni network\u2019s shared mission of leading with purpose, inspiring change, and building a future grounded in inclusive, ethical leadership.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Attendees from NUS schools in the Philippines gather for a commemorative group photo during the Women\u2019s Month Dinner Conversation at Caf\u00e9 Mary Grace.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The LKYSPP Alumni Association and NUS Alumni Network Manila celebrate women\u2019s leadership in policy and public service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-happenings"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2865"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3163,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865\/revisions\/3163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}