Announcing Eleanore Fernandez as New Executive Director of
Manilatown Heritage Foundation

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 18, 2021—Historical, cultural, and arts nonprofit organization Manilatown Heritage Foundation has chosen Eleanore Fernandez, a longtime community organizer and public servant as its new Executive Director.

Fernandez first joined the Manilatown Heritage Foundation a year and half ago as a board member and then became its Board President soon after. Eleanore brings with her nearly twenty plus years of marketing, public relations, event planning, and community outreach experience to the organization. She has held various executive board positions, most notably as the Vice President of YFPA/ Your Filipino Professionals Association for ten years. She was also an executive board member with GFN/ Global Filipino Network. A key GFN highlight was when she co-produced a well attended, global cultural arts forum entitled “Sangdiwa” at the San Francisco Philippine Consulate Office.

Throughout her career, Eleanore has developed trusting and productive working relationships, earning a high reputation of being a hard-working, energetic, self-starter while motivating her team members to stay involved as they execute exciting and well-run events. She coordinated and led community-based events, most recently, popular health fairs that were sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, Sutterhealth – CPMC, UCSF, the San Francisco Giants, the San Jose Sharks, the San Francisco Forty-Niners, and the Golden State Warriors.

Prior to joining Manilatown Heritage Foundation, in 2012, she was also selected by The Filipina Women’s Network as one of the TOP 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S. in the “Builders and Emerging Leaders” category at their summit that year. She was honored amongst the ranks of powerful Pinays in attendance that day, such as Criseta Comerford, the White House’s Executive Chef, Victoria J. Santos, the President of Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) East Bay, Penélope V. Flores, Professor Emeritus of San Francisco State University, and an original I-Hotel defender who worked alongside farmworkers activists and icons, Larry Itliong, Cesar Chavez, and Dolores Huerta, Cynthia A. Bonta, President of the Philippine National Day Association (PNDA). At the summit, Eleanore delivered a spoken word piece about remembering our legacy, honoring ancestors, and empowering her fellow Pinays.

In 2016 she was recognized with a community service award from then San Francisco District 10 Supervisor, Malia Cohen and also, given a congressional recognition by the Honorable Madam Speaker, Nancy Pelosi during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

“I am honored and humbled by the board’s vote of confidence in me, and I am so excited to have this opportunity to lead such a well recognized and reputable organization. Manilatown Heritage Foundation has been a model of resilience and I know we are confidently looking ahead, our eyes clear, and heads held high to continue to offer the excellent programs that our entire community deserves,” Fernandez said. “Our stories will not be forgotten, our memories will not be erased, and this is because we will continue to build upon them to create more meaningful memories for future generations.”

As executive director, Fernandez will work closely with staff and the Manilatown Heritage Foundation board to ensure the organization can continue to adopt new ways to serve people through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. One of her first acts as director will be to watch over the Manilatown Heritage Foundation’s upcoming Annual August 4th Commemoration of the I-Hotel Eviction led by Caroline Cabading—it is the most important event each year for Manilatown Heritage Foundation. She will also look after the continued expansion and growth of Manilatown Heritage Foundation’s Operations and Maintenance of the International Hotel Manilatown Center and its related programming, as well as exciting, new potential projects planned with artists, educators, and supporters in the near future.

About Manilatown Heritage Foundation
The Manilatown Heritage Foundation’s core program is to maintain the legacies of San Francisco’s historic Manilatown neighborhood and the 1977 International Hotel Eviction by maintaining the International Hotel Manilatown Center as both a memorial to these legacies and as a multipurpose community gathering space for artistic, educational and creative expressions relevant to today’s community. The mission of Manilatown Heritage Foundation is to promote social and economic justice for Filipinos in the United States by preserving our history, advocating for equal access, and advancing our arts and culture. In solidarity with Filipino and other community service organizations, we envision an inspired and self-sustaining Manilatown Heritage Foundation that effectively and creatively enhances the Filipino community’s capacity to shape social, political and economic policies. Our community will be one that has equitable access to resources and opportunities, as well as pride in our culture, history and traditions. For more information please go to www.manilatown.org

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Announcing Eleanore Fernandez as New Executive Director of Manilatown Heritage Foundation

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Announcing Eleanore Fernandez as New Executive Director of
Manilatown Heritage Foundation