Patricia Espiritu Halagao, Ph.D.

Patricia Espiritu Halagao, Ph.D.
Professor of Education, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Founder & Executive Director, Global Teach

Dr. Patricia Espiritu Halagao is the co-author and executive director of Pinoy Teach, the only multicultural and pedagogical curriculum on Filipino Americans in the nation. In 2000, she received the first Young Pioneer Award from the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) for her innovative work with Filipino Americans and education.

Dr. Halagao is an assistant professor of multicultural education and social studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She received her Ph.D. in these areas from the University of Washington, Seattle. Her teaching philosophy is based on “stirring the heart, mind, and soul” of students into action so that they promote equity and social justice in the world. She also has teaching experience at the elementary, middle and high school level in California and Washington State.

Dr. Halagao’s research interests include designing and implementing multicultural curricula that represent the diverse experiences and histories of ethnic groups, and examining the effects that these innovations have on members of the groups they target and other ethnic groups. She is particularly interested in using her research to improve the educational experiences of disenfranchised ethnic groups like Filipinos and Pacific Islanders.

Timoteo Cordova
Playwright, Community Activist
Special Projects Manager, Filipino Youth Activities

Noted playwright, poet, musician, and lifetime community activist, Timoteo Cordova serves as Special Projects Manager of Filipino Youth Activities, Inc of Seattle. He is one of the foremost national speakers in the Filipino American community and has been featured in a number of newspapers across the country. He is the author of “Eight Rays of the Revolution” and “Pledge of Alliance.”

As the founding artistic director of Sining KilUSAn Theatre Art Ensemble, Cordova has written, produced, and directed musical dramas that express an unparalleled range of themes rooted in both Philippine and Filipino American experiences. His first musical "Across Oceans of Dreams," (1977) chronicles the Filipino immigrant pioneer experiences and his longest performing musical "Heart of the Son" (1994, 1996, 1998, 2003) explores Filipinos' passion for freedom during the 1896 Philippine revolution (www.heartoftheson.com).

In his more contemporary works like "Barkada Sindrome" (1993), he uses rap poetry plus original music and dance to convey the sensibilities and struggles of Filipino youth gangs in the United States. In "Bamboo Split" (1996), Cordova explores the conflicts encountered in a romance between a post-1965 Filipino immigrant's daughter and a streetwise urban Pinoy.