By Trish Fontanilla
Ever since I started telling people about BOSFilipinos, everyone has been introducing me to their Filipino friends. And by everyone I mean BF even comes up in business meetings! Earlier this year I was having a coffee chat with Alo Mukerji, COO of coUrbanize, and she said I just had to meet her former colleague Patty de Castro. Patty and I went out for coffee, and next thing you know we’re bonding over our Filipino families and planning out a food excursion.
Thank you Patty for being our Filipino in Boston feature this month, and I hope you all enjoy learning more about Patty as much as I did!
Where are you and your family from?
Patty: I grew up in Quezon City but my parents are from the Visayas (Cebu and Negros Occidental), which means my Tagalog is pretty bad.
Where do you work and what do you do?
Patty: I work at Brightcove, an online video platform. I am a Senior Program Manager, which means I work with our Product and Engineering teams to build and launch our video products.
In your career you’ve bounced around from being a consultant, engineer, product manager, and program manager. What motivated you to get back into program management?
Patty: I really love being in tech, it’s been my whole career. Being a software engineer was pretty cool because I got to build parts of much larger systems. Being a product manager allowed me to create the vision and strategy for the product(s) I owned, but I really missed working across the entire org, from working with the execs all the way to individual developers and with every department in the company. As a program manager, I love working with Engineering, Operations, Product Management, Marketing, Sales, Legal, Customer Success, etc. and aligning everyone so our products exceed our customers’ expectations.
On Boston…
How long have you been in Boston?
Patty: 32 years (yikes ang tanda ko na!)
What are your favorite Boston spots:
Patty: The Greenway, the Harborwalk, or the Chestnut Hill Reservoir for walks. The MFA and Symphony Hall to get my mind away from all things digital, even for just a few hours.
Are there any Boston-based programs or companies in tech that you love?
Patty: We’re very lucky to be in Boston where there are so many programs available to pretty much everyone. I always check out BostInno and MassTLC to see what’s going on in Boston tech. One of the companies that really intrigues me is Hopper, which is headquartered in Cambridge. I have a deep interest in travel tech and Hopper has a very interesting story, as a company and in the work they are doing.
On Filipino food…
What's your all time favorite Filipino dish?
Patty: Wow, that’s like asking who your favorite child is! I mean, we’re talking FILIPINO FOOD - it’s all so good. I can’t pick just one, so I’ll do a favorite meal (rule-breaker!). I’d start with garlic mani (peanuts) and chicharron (fried pork belly / rinds) with vinegar. The mains would be callos (stew), lengua estofada (ox tongue stew), palabok (noodles), and someone else’s adobo (I do not make a good adobo). And lots of rice. Dessert would be mangoes from back home and brazo de mercedes (jelly roll dessert). Always shared with friends and family.
What's your favorite Filipino recipe / dish to make?
Patty: Sans rival (Filipino dessert cake). I find making the cashew meringue layers very therapeutic.
On staying touch…
Facebook or LinkedIn, but the best way is the old fashioned way - a friend of a friend. We’re Filipino, after all, so we’re only three degrees separated.
We’re always looking for BOSFilipinos blog writers / subjects! If you’d like to contribute or have any suggestions, feel free to send us a note: info@bosfilipinos.com.