PINAY PROUD. Claire Oliveros, a second-generation Filipina American born and raised in Portland, has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipinas in the United States by the Filipina Women’s Network. (Photo courtesy of Portland Community College)

From The Asian Reporter, V17, #43 (October 23, 2007), page 11.

Claire Oliveros, a second-generation Filipina American born and raised in Portland, has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipinas in the U.S. by the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN). Oliveros was nominated for the honor by Carmen Caballero Rubio, director of community affairs for the office of Portland Mayor Tom Potter. She will accept the award at a banquet and gala dinner during the fifth annual Filipina Women’s Network Summit, to be held October 25 through 27 in Washington, D.C.

"Claire is a thoughtful, intelligent, and progressive woman of strong character," said Rubio. "She works tirelessly and passionately to raise awareness around issues impacting women of color and the Filipino community. She is a strong ally to other communities who face similar human-rights violations and forms of oppression."

Oliveros was honored in the category of "Emerging Leaders and Builders." For over a decade, she has provided programs and services for Filipinos, Filipino Americans, and students of color as the coordinator of the Multicultural Center at Portland Community College. Since 1997, she has led community and campus efforts to link theory and practice through leadership development, political education, and organizing among youth, students, and allies to address systems of oppression and to work for social change.

In 2005, Oliveros returned from an international fact-finding mission on human rights in the Philippines and formed the Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (PCHRP). The organization works to raise awareness of human-rights violations and to mobilize support for the international campaign to "Stop the Killings in the Philippines." She also helped establish the Asian Pacific American (APA) Compass Radio Collective, which presents the only APA news and public affairs show in the Pacific Northwest on KBOO 90.7 FM Community Radio.

"I greatly appreciate the recognition and am honored to accept this award on behalf of the Filipino community and Portland Community College," Oliveros said. "My motivation is in service to the people. I appreciate the opportunity to join other Filipina women in an effort to raise awareness of critical leadership issues, especially the ever-worsening human-rights violations in the Philippines under the president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The (FWN) Summit is an opportunity to share critical information about the strong and growing international solidarity movement to raise awareness of the human-rights violations in the Philippines and hold governments accountable for the worsening conditions."

The first in her family to attend college, Oliveros earned her B.A. in Speech Communication from Western Oregon University, a Masters of Science in Education from Portland State University, and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in community college leadership at Oregon State University.

To learn more about the Filipina Women’s Network, visit <www.ffwn.org>.