By Trish Fontanilla

Of course there’s a million reasons why I love BOSFilipinos, but at the very top of my list is the ability to get into deep dive conversations with our community members on platforms like this. Noelle is one of those people that’s been in my network for years now, but we’ve never had a one-on-one. She’s also been amazing at nominating other people in the community to be highlighted across our feeds, so I figured it was time for her very own spotlight! Thanks to Noelle for chatting with me this month, and I hope you all enjoy her profile!

Where are you and your family from?
I was born and raised in So-Cal, in the coastal 805 area code. My parents immigrated to the States from Caloocan City’s Grace Park neighborhood in Metro Manila. My mom immigrated to the U.S. as a registered nurse, and was part of the Filipino “outmigration” of nurses and other workers in the 70s and 80s. My dad is not in the Navy or military, but spent most of his life working for the County of Ventura as a Sheriff’s Deputy and DA investigator.

Where do you work and what do you do?
I’m an Experience Design Strategist at George P. Johnson, a global experience and brand marketing agency located in Copley Square. I use my research, writing, and marketing skills to design user-centered experiences for our clients, like IBM’s flagship conference: Think.

I’m also the founder of GPJ’s first employee resource group (ERG) for multicultural employees, EPIC, which stands for Empowered People, Inclusive Cultures. Our mission is to use our experiential expertise to activate inclusion and equity in the community. We just launched officially, so stay tuned for more!

Tell us a little more about your career path and why you decided to get into experience design.
My career path is a great example of a zig-zag! I didn’t plan on going into marketing. My parents wanted me to become a lawyer or a doctor. The lawyer route is how I got my parents to accept my BA in Comparative Lit from UC Irvine. I tried law school for a year, but that didn’t pan out. After doing everything from teaching English to admin to accounting, I decided to take a leap of faith and move to Boston. After failing to find a stable job, I was accepted into Simmons College’s MBA program with a focus on Women’s Leadership and Diversity, Inclusion & Equity. I’ve always been passionate about Filipino culture and social justice, so it was a great program for me!

From there I worked for HubSpot as a recruitment manager, and was set on applying my D&I passion to the job-- you know, shake things up in tech! I learned a ton about startups and marketing, and co-founded their ERG for people of color. But in the end, it really wasn’t for me. I left that job (and all the free snacks, coffee and beer), to be unemployed for about 6 months. That was a really tough time! I didn’t think I was “allowed” quit a job just because it made me unhappy. I was taught to be thankful for employment, yada yada, but I had to do it for me! While I wouldn’t call it funemployment, I used that time as an opportunity to try other things. I was Board Chair of ASPIRE (Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence) here in Boston, so I threw myself into that work-- helping with marketing, outreach, events, and fundraising. I also got involved with Diversity@Workplace, a D&I consulting and training group, and delivered an inclusion workshop with them.

And now, here I am doing experience marketing! I found GPJ through my good friend, Mandy who I met at Simmons College. I love doing the research and writing the briefs! I know that sounds hella boring, but I love diving into the latest research and turning that into fuel and insights for our creative teams. It’s all about telling an interesting and authentic story. I hate dealing with the details of execution, but bless our producers for making it all real!

So back to the original question: I decided to get into this field because aside from my aforementioned skills because I AM that Filipina American woman that’s trying to make her way through corporate America. I’m trying to infiltrate from the inside and pay attention to my experience. In the same way my parents had to navigate American culture, I’m taking a deeper dive into American corporate culture-- someplace that no one in my family has really experienced yet. To make change, you have to be excellent and I’m still putting in that work.

On Boston…

How long have you been in Boston?
I’ve been in Boston since July 2013! It was a really rough transition from the West Coast, but I’ve come a long way.

What are your favorite Boston spots?
I live in East Boston, and love the vibe. If you’re looking for authentic Latino flavors, they’ve got it all! I also love Chinatown because of the food. I will drive down to JnJ Turo Turo for pinakbet since I can’t make it right! Bodega and Concepts are also great spots for streetwear. I’m a sneaker head who can’t help but buy more Nike stuff!

On Filipino Food...

What's your all time favorite Filipino dish?
My favorite is Pinakbet or Pakbet-- I’ve tried to make it, but I haven’t been able to layer the flavors right. And I always pick out the bittermelon. Sorry!

What's your favorite Filipino recipe / dish to make?
My regular meal prep rotation usually includes spamsilog, bistek, sinigang, and adobo of course, made loosely based on those recipes linked!

On staying in touch…

Do you have any upcoming events / programs / even work things that you’d like to mention?
ASPIRE’s Leadership Conference happening on November 16! Please attend, donate and support creating an intergenerational network of Asian American women! [Note: Trish is emceeing this year’s conference!]

How can people stay in touch?

ASPIRE: www.girlsaspire.org
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/noellesanjose
Personal Instagram: noe_san_joe
Hobby Instagram: kutsara_kusinera