by VFM
As I watch my children play and laugh, I can’t help but think of the thousands of children suffering in detention at the US-Mexico border. In their days, do they have a chance to run and jump? Do they chuckle and laugh? Do they play? For the motivating logic of deterring unauthorized crossing of the US-Mexico border, the current US administration has been trying … Read More A Play Date and a Protest
by VFM
Caregivers work hard. They work hella hard. And fact is, the caregiving industry is unregulated. Care home owners, often Filipino, relegate caregivers, often Filipina, to exploitative conditions, and thus, endangering their patients. Not a new fact: Filipino Community Center and MIGRANTE, among many organizations, have been organizing around these issues for years. For me, its part of my history. When we landed in the US, … Read More Worked Over
by VFM
Last work trip of the semester took me back to Montreal to the Pinay Power II Conference. It was my honor to learn from contribute to the conversation about the power of Pinays. Here are some snaps of the amazing Pinay scholar-activists, kasamas and artists I was in conversation with. Circle of Filipinos talking about organizing in the US Jhem and Leah from Pinay … Read More Power of Pinays
by VFM
March was a quiet month for this last semester on book tour but there were other types of amazing buzz circulating about The Labor of Care. Two of which are written by Filipina graduate students and scholars–check them out below: Giselle Dejamco Cunanan writes a book review for Ethnic Racial Studies alongside Jan Padios’ amazing work A Nation on the Line. Xenia Rochelle Jones writes a … Read More
by VFM
So excited to be back in Toronto! I was in Toronto for a workshop in 2014 and haven’t been back since. Still, I have been in conversation with Filipino-Canadian scholars and community members for quite some time and I’m thrilled to be back in the city to share insights from the book and learn about the community there!
by VFM
Being a working mama isn’t easy. That guilt and sadness–that one that really gets ya when you’re on your way to work (to workplace, work trips, international and national, etc.)? It is brutal. Then, making sure things are set up at home to ensure family members have what they need to live their best lives while you’re gone is a lot of work. Between … Read More The Labor of Leaving
by VFM
Tiffany Mendoza, Jessa Delos Reyes, Stephanie Ancheta, Jeannel Poyaoan and Katrina Liwanag were amazing co-researchers in a study about Filipino language access in San Francisco. A team of undergraduate, graduate and recent alums, we co-authored a paper about the key role Filipino community-based organizations (CBO) play to help Filipinos/as in San Francisco. Recently, our work was featured in SFSU news and I’m still so … Read More Kapwa
by VFM
And I’m off again! For the Spring 2019 book tour, I’ll be making my way out to Montreal (McGill University and Concordia University), UC Irvine, UC Davis and University of Toronto and, there’s even a special book salon event at my alma mater and home institution San Francisco State University in honor of Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon! I’m so excited to continue to share … Read More Labor of Care Book Tour Spring 2019
by VFM
Even before my sabbatical started, I was really obsessed with “doing it right”. I asked a group of scholars and they advised me: never to go on campus, put an away message in my inbox, set clear goals. So I did that, and then life stepped in. When I started sabbatical, Cy was just 18 months old. Really still a baby. He was just … Read More Lessons from Sabbatical, Part 2: Mothering on Tenure Track
by VFM
I took my very first sabbatical in the Fall of 2018. A part of my plan during my time off was to take up a new hobby: baking. I didn’t know that it would teach me so many things about my scholarship, grieving and joy. The art of mise en place in the baking process threw me into a loop. I’m the kind of cook … Read More Lessons from Sabbatical, Part 1: Baking cakes and ideas
by VFM
I’ll be in Montreal in January to talk about The Labor of Care and the possibilities for building migrant worker power with the theories and stories in it! Such an amazing honor also accompanied by the book landing in the 2018 McGill Reads Holiday Book List! Can’t wait to come back to Montreal!
by VFM
Fact: writing and getting a book published is hard work. But on the flip side of publication, promoting the book and getting to go on book tour has been so exciting! It has been such a privilege to (1) tell my community’s stories in so many different places all over the U.S. and (2) engage with brilliant students, faculty, scholars, colleagues, and activists about … Read More Labor of Care on tour in 2018
