Current Students
The IDPP welcomes the inaugural cohort of the CIDP Master's program!
Mackie Calbay
Mackie Calbay is the Deaf Advocacy Program Coordinator at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Manila, Philippines. Mackie volunteers on the Executive Board of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf Youth Section, as well as for the Secretary-General of Phil-Sports Federation of the Deaf. In these various capacities, Mackie collects data, conducts research, ensures the accessibility of information, performs youth leadership training, networks with different individuals, and works to enact policy changes. Mackie brings people together to work toward the resolution of deaf issues while promoting an accessible, barrier-free, and rights-based global and national society. Mackie is a deaf person and a Filipino citizen. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Mackie is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service.
Mr. John Paul "Pong" Cruz
Mr. Cruz is a freelance policy researcher based in Pasig City, Philippines. Mr. Cruz obtained a Bachelor’s in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He has been engaged in various development projects of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Asian Development Bank, focusing on anti-corruption measures and judicial and electoral reform in the Philippines. Most recently, he served as a Research Assistant in a comparative study on urban waterfront redevelopment under the Institute of Water Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy-National University of Singapore. Aside from his research experiences, Mr. Cruz has also been conducting online classes to Korean nationals for the past several years. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, he is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service. Mr. Cruz is focusing his Master’s research on making the currency and the electoral process in the Philippines more accessible to the disability community, particularly the visually impaired sector.
Mr. Don G. De Vera
Mr. De Vera is the Senior Architect of Globalink Property Innovations Inc. (GPII). His designs range from simple to complex structures that incorporate universal design. He is also a member of the United Architects of the Philippines Accessibility Committee, and offers talks to schools and government offices regarding accessibility law and ways in which to make communities barrier-free. At present, he is assisting SIKAP Foundation in designing cost-effective schools. Mr. De Vera completed his B.S. in Architecture and M.S. in Architecture Education at Mapua Institute of Technology. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Mr. De Vera is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service. He resides in Las Piñas City, Philippines.
Mr. Raphael Domingo
Mr. Domingo is the Coordinator of Education Access for the Deaf at the Center for Education Access and Development (CEAD), where he works closely with the CEAD Director to develop support services for the deaf in a culinary arts diploma course offered by the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institute Management at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines. Mr. Domingo is the co-founder of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf, Inc. He holds several positions at non-governmental organizations locally and abroad and at government agencies, where he has taken on several different roles in the fields of advocacy, education, sign language, human rights, organizational development, and research. As a current consultant to three national organizations of the deaf - Philippine Federation of the Deaf, Philippine Federation of the Deaf-Youth Section, and Deaf Rainbow Philippines - he has been an active and experienced leader locally and internationally since 1995. He completed a Bachelor’s in Applied Deaf Studies and its track in Multimedia Arts at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Mr. Domingo is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service.
Mr. Khy Huy
Mr. Huy is originally from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Under the Fulbright Scholarship, he graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law with a Master’s of Law in International Legal Studies. He has volunteered at the War Crimes Research Office and interned at the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Born with a significant visual impairment, Mr. Huy has a strong interest in human rights, particularly the human rights of persons with disabilities. He aims to pursue his career in this field so that he can help protect the rights of persons with disabilities not only in his country, but also in other parts of the world. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Mr. Huy is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service.
Ms. Huynh Ngoc Hong Nhung
Ms. Huynh is Vice President of the Cantho Association of People with Disabilities, and works as a researcher at the Cantho Economic and Social Institute examining the social planning in Can Tho City, Vietnam. She represents a voice for people with disabilities in Can Tho City, helping to protect their rights and promote their needs in various aspects of life, including work and study. Ms. Huynh completed her Bachelor’s of Pedagogics in English from Cantho University, and her Bachelor’s of Finance and Accounting at Economic University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In 2008, she completed her MSc. in Rural and Regional Development Planning from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand as a scholarship recipient of the International Fellowship Program at the Ford Foundation. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Ms. Huynh is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service. She resides in Can Tho City, Vietnam.
Ms. Della Leonor
Ms. Leonor is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Association for Persons with Disabilities, President of the Persons with Disabilities Roxas City Chapter, and Intellectual Disability Regional Representative for the National Anti-Poverty Commission of the Office of the President of the Philippines. Ms. Leonor is an overseas manager and online tutor at Sky-Study Online English, hoping to provide more jobs for persons with disabilities in the information and communications technology sector. She completed her B.A. in Commerce at Colegio De La Purisma Concepcion in the Philippines. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, she is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service. Ms. Leonor lives in Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines.
Mr. Tran Ba Thien
Mr. Tran is a computer teacher for the blind at Van Lang University in Vietnam. He frequently participates in workshops organized by the government of Vietnam with the mission of making new and enhanced policies and legislation for people with disabilities. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the National University of Social Science and Humanity in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Mr. Tran is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service. He lives in Ho Chi Minh City.
Mr. U-Wen Wong
Mr. U-Wen Wong currently works full time as an Information Technology Assistant at an offshore oil and gas corporation headquartered in Singapore. Mr. Wong was born and raised in Singapore until he left at a young age for the United States, where he lived, studied, and worked for nearly 20 years. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Rochester Institute of Technology. He was a social work intern for six months at the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, New York. While he held a full time job at this Center after graduation, he also served as a member of the steering committee at the National Center for Deaf Health Research in Rochester, New York. He has worked at nonprofit disability organizations and academic institutions for several years. Since returning to Singapore in mid-2009, he has been actively involved in the disability movement. He is a President of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Federation (Singapore), and continues to work closely with local NGOs to promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in hopes that Singapore will soon sign and ratify the CRPD without reservations. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Mr. Wong is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service.
Ms. Ma. Eloisa C. Zepeda
Ms. Zepeda is from Manila, Philippines. She completed her B.S. in Architecture at Mapua Institute of Technology, and subsequently worked as an executive architect and marketing officer. After losing her sight, she helped initiate local associations for persons with disabilities, and was appointed as the Executive Director of Kasama Sa Kalusugan for Tuberculosis patients under the Tropical Disease Foundation. She contributed to the movements of Women with Disability – National Capital Region, and was appointed to represent the Blind Women for Accessibility on a national scale. Appointed by the Chairman of NOVA Foundation, she spearheaded the Blind Committee while performing medical missions for children with disabilities. Currently, she is part of the Philippine Blind Union, and disseminates information about government mandates and accessibility to private entities. She works as a consultant to Computer Imaging Institute, a diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology clinic, by providing Webmaster services. In addition, she works as a corporate planning consultant to the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone, promoting the inclusion of accessibility law Batasang Pambansa 344 and other appropriate disability policies in support of universal design. Through The Nippon Foundation fellowship and the Institute on Disability and Public Policy, Ms. Zepeda is currently an M.A. candidate pursuing a Master’s of International Affairs in Comparative and International Disability Policy from American University’s School of International Service.
