The Philippines
Pre-Jury

Dr. Ruby Roan-Cristobal is a practitioner in the field of science communication and currently serves as the Executive Producer of a science and technology radio program broadcasted nationwide on national radio, cable television, and social media. This weekly radio program promotes science and technology to the public by featuring science news, Filipino scientists, locally developed technologies, STEM educational modules, young students who excel in STEM, and other science content. She is also actively helping organizations and academic institutions in crafting policy papers to further improve science communication in the country.

She previously worked for the Science Education Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-SEI) as Chief Science Research Specialist heading the Division which takes charge of STEM promotion, research in S&T human resources development and science education, and the Management Information System or MIS of the Institute.

She trained and practiced in various areas of science communication, science education, and S&T human resources research. Her advocacy includes climate change communication towards inclusive climate policy and action.

She obtained her PhD in Communication from the University of the Philippines. Her educational background in the natural sciences and communication has provided a good foundation that enabled her to design and implement programs that entice the youth to consider STEM careers in the future. These programs include science film making competition; robotics and other technology-based projects; and mobile, online, and media-based science learning facilities, among others.

She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Science Communicators Philippines (SciCommPH) Inc. serving as its Treasurer, Probe Media Foundation Inc. (PMFI) as its Vice- President, and the Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs (PSYSC), Inc., as PRO a regular member of the Philippines Communication Society (PCS), and the immediate past Executive Director of the Philippine Science Journalists Association (PSciJourn).

Peachie Dioquino-Valera is a Climate Reality Leader and volunteer Renewable Energy & Food Security Cluster coordinator of The Climate Reality Project—an organization founded by Nobel Laureate and former US Vice-President Al Gore. She has also been the organization’s Country Project Coordinator for the “Road to Paris Campaign (COP 21)”.

Ms. Dioquino-Valera, is also known as Peachie Keen & Green!: a social media platform of hers where she shares her intersectional environmentalism activism, citizen science, and conservation works. This ranges from contributing to different newspaper outfits; serving as a keynote/resource speaker and moderator for different engagements; collaborating or spearheading green projects; and handling consultancy sustainability work for various companies, environmental organizations, and government departments. She has worked with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), and Department of Education (DepEd).

As a presenter, Peachie utilizes an empathy and justice-based approach by highlighting the themes of Equity, Indigenous Values, & Compassion in the Climate Crisis, Veganism, Plastic Pollution, and Zero Waste/Circular Economy stories.

Ms. Dioquino-Valera is a scholar of Harvard Business’s “Power & Influence” course, which is helped developed by the Social Innovation + Change Initiative (SICI)program. She integrates her learnings and research here to her social changemaking style. Peachie serves as a public sector pro-bono consultant for Astria Corporation, a Digital Forensics and Incident Response solutions provider in the APAC region since 2020. They are relentlessly trying to aid the Philippines’s anti-OSEC (Online Sexual Exploitation of Children) efforts and other crimes that warrant digital/AI evidence.

The other hats that Peachie wears are the Writer, Talent, and Futurist hat. She has trained different organizations—local and international—on Futures Thinking and Foresight. Some of the global organizations are United Nations, WWF, Cities Today, East-West Center, etc. She is also a member of the Association of Professional Futurists (APF), PhilFutures Thinking Society, and Futures Space.

As a talent (Event, TV, & Print Ad), she has been doing this since she was in College.

Other facet of her life is being a Spirit Science Specialist and Intuitive under LightSeers, an offshoot of Spirit Questors, Inc. founded by Tony Perez. Peachie has been featured and interviewed on this topic by both local and international media such as FOX International, Asia Pacific Forum in New York, Club of Amsterdam’s “The Future Now Show”, and National Geographic Asia. They believe that in the future, Science, particularly Quantum & Astro Physics will be able to tangibly bridge the invisible to the visible, the unexplainable to the fathomed.

Rica Arevalo has been in the film industry for over 20 years as a director, producer, and writer.
She won best documentary in Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video for her thesis film, Nag-aalinlangang Ina.  She was awarded best director and Carlos Palanca for Literature at the first Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival for her film ICU Bed #7.
She also won Mient’s Pick at the SoHo International Film Festival for the film Ganap na Babae in 2011 alongside Ellen Ramos and Sarah Roxas. She received other local nominations like Best Screenplay at the 56th FAMAS Awards and 29th FAP Awards for Eddie Romero's Faces of Love, Best Documentary for her documentary film The Privileged Migrants at the 37th Gawad Urian Awards and Digital Movie Director of the Year for ICU Bed #7 at the Star Awards for Movies.
Her documentary, Vahay: The Ivatan House, was a finalist at Sinag Maynila 2020 Independent Film Festival and was screened at the 2021 Cinema Rehiyon Film Festival. 
She teaches at De La Salle University and De La Salle College of Saint Benilde and is a columnist (Zoom In) for the Lifestyle section of the Manila Bulletin.
Currently, Rica is the Head of Education at the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

Joseph has worked with the Department of Education in various capacities: as a Science Teacher, Science Department Head, Senior Education Program Specialist and most recently, as a Supervising Education Program Specialist. He finished Bachelor of Secondary Education from Adamson University and MST-Physics from the University of Wyoming on a Fulbright Graduate Student Scholarship. He also participated in the 2009 International Leaders in Education Program at Montana State University-Bozeman.

A classroom teacher for 22 years, he has organized and facilitated several teaching-learning programs and science camps for teachers and students alike.

He owns three small telescopes which he uses to propagate community-based astronomy education.