He is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Engineering at Don Bosco Technical College (Philippines) as top five of the graduating class and president of the college student council. He completed his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of San Carlos (Philippines), topping the USC Graduate School Comprehensive Examinations and as president of the graduate students’ organization. He finished his Strategic Business Economics Program (SBEP), graduating with merit, at the University of Asia & the Pacific (Philippines). He completed his Diploma in Supply Chain Management under the Business & Training Linkage Program of the PUM Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs (The Hague Netherlands). In the same year, he was awarded the ACE Chairman Scholarship to attend the ACE Ashridge Executive Development Program at the Ashridge Business School (United Kingdom). He expects to finish his Executive Master in Disaster Risk and Crisis Management at the Asian Institute of Management (Philippines) in December 2021.
He is a recipient of several scholarships to attend executive programs on climate changeiii at the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom); sustainable consumption and productioniiiiv at the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and TERI University (India); green energy and climate financev at the Renewables Academy (Germany); and the ASEAN Leadership Programmevi by the Common Purpose Asia-Pacific (Singapore). In 2017, he completed his executive program on sustainability leadershipvii at Yale University (USA). In 2018, he was selected as the only Filipino and one of the 10 Asians to attend the Academy of Change, an 8-month program designed for 50 future leaders working for climate change and sustainability. He represented the Philippines to attend the 2021 G20 Global Leadership Program at the KDI School of Public Policy and Managementviii. This July 2021, under a scholarship, he will attend the Summer Institute for Climate Change Education in Minnesota, USA.
A Climate Reality Leader and twice Mentorix, he is the Executive Director of the Young Environmental Forum and a Non-Resident Fellowx of Stratbase ADR Institute, one of the country’s respected think tanks. As a fellow, he wrote the occasional paper on “The Interconnectedness of Health, Climate Change and Society”xi during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also heads the Information and Knowledge Management Division of the Philippines’ Climate Change Commission. He also maintains a weekly column, All About Choicesxii, in the business section of The Manila Timesxiii, and has written over a hundred and sixty articles on environment, climate change, and sustainability. He was part of the external assurance panel that examined and reviewed the environmental aspect of Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s Sustainability Reports on Expanding Horizonsxiv (2017) and Rising to the Challengexv (2018). He was formerly the Treasurer and Vice-President for Business Operations of the World Wide Fund for Nature (Philippines) and has served the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Asia-Pacific Finance & Operations Group.
His articles, statements, and works has been used, quoted, and covered by the ACUCA Newsxvi, Adamson Universityxvii, Atenewsxviii, Bicol Mailxix, BusinessWorldxx, Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs xxi, Climate Action Trackerxxii, Climate Change Commissionxxiii, Daily Tribunexxiv, Department of Agriculturexxv, Department of Environment and Natural Resourcesxxvi, Deputy Speaker Loren Legardaxxvii, Dumaguete.Infoxxviii, Eco-Businessxxix, Enderun Collegesxxx, GENEWSxxxi, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternativesxxxii, Global Shapers Manila Communityxxxiii, Green Minded Mexxxiv, Health Care Without Harm US and Canadaxxxv, IHS Markitxxxvi, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainabilityxxxvii, Holy Angel Universityxxxviii, Kuroshio Sciencexxxix, Lehigh Universityxl, Manila Standardxli, Mediumxlii, Metro Naga Water District xliii, Muck Rackxliv, News Monitor xlv, Palawan Dailyxlvi, PanahonTVxlvii, Philippine Information
Agencyxlviii, Philippine News Agencyxlix, Polytechnic University of the Philippinesl, Port Calls Asiali, Rapplerlii, Stratbase ADR Instituteliii, SunStar Pampangaliv, Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippineslv, The Daily Guardianlvi, Tunza Eco-Generationlvii, and the United Nations Environment Programmelviii.
For 2017-2018, he was the only Filipino selected to be one of the mentors of the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, an 8-month leadership academy administered by the University of Cambridge-Institute of Continuing Education (United Kingdom). In 2018, he mentored awardees from India, Malaysia, and Lesotho. Two of his mentees – Deane de Meneses (India) and Chia-Wen Shin (Malaysia) – were selected as Forbes’ 30 Unde 30 Asia in 2019. In the Philippines, he has mentored several youth-led organizations on their environmental advocacies. One of them was Mr. Kim Alvin de Lara who was selected as part of the EE (Environmental Education) 30 Under 30 Class of 2019 by the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP).
He is a recipient of various recognition among these include the Miguel R. Magalang Individual Climate Leadership Memorial Awardlix awarded by The Climate Reality Project for his numerous acts of leadership in the global climate movement; and the Dangal ng Kalikasan Award by the Mister Earth Philippines Organization for his unselfish acts to be a constant inspiration to our young people on the conservation and preservation of the environment. He was recognized as a Mentor of the Yearlx finalist in the Asia Leaders Awards 2018. He is one of the Asia Pacific Luminare Awardees for 2021.
He is a dynamic and a sought-after speaker, reaching audiences with an entertaining message of practical optimism: our common world under climate change, but we have the tools, resources, and creativity to create a sustainable world. Once a TEDx speaker, he has graced both local and international speaking engagements in Argentina, El Salvador, Germany, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. He had given over a hundred presentations and workshops on the environment, climate change, sustainability, and leadership; and had reached over 40,000 people, most of them represent the youth of today. One of his powerful engagements was facilitating an international workshop attended by environmental journalists from Brazil, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
