Founder and CEO, Filipina Women’s Network
President, San Francisco Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure
Marily Mondejar has parlayed her success as a business leader and image consultant into founding the successful non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization, the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN).
FWN has members in 28 countries and seeks to increase the influence of Filipina women as leaders and policymakers in the private and public sectors.
Mondejar has steered the organization to a leading position in the Filipina women community worldwide. Her campaign to re-shape the Filipina image grew out of the necessity to elevate the status of Filipina women.
In 2001, an internet search for the word Filipina returned millions of hits, including “mail-order brides, sluts, exotic, sexy and submissive wives.” Her plan was to highlight the leadership roles and economic contributions of Filipina women in corporate America, small business, public service, and the government.
As an executive coach and management consultant, she has provided counsel to the senior leadership of prestigious organizations.
Mondejar is recognized for the Image 360(r)-degree assessment questionnaire, a method for measuring executive image performance and corporate reputation. She has delivered business, career, and image presentations in a variety of formats and has reached over 10,000 participants internationally. A select list of international and trade publications that have quoted Mondejar include The Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, AdWeek, Self, Allure, Working Woman, Black Enterprise, Academy of General Dentistry’s AGD Impact, El Norte (Mexico), Cintermex Magazine (Mexico), Momentum (magazine for Mercedes Benz owners), and various TV, radio and publications in the US, Philippines, Canada, and the UK.
Mondejar balances her professional life with advocating for other women in the business arena and serves on multiple boards engaged in public service, community, philanthropic, and professional development. She has been appointed to commissions and task forces by San Francisco Mayors Willie Brown, Gavin Newsom, and Edwin Lee.
A resident of San Francisco, she has raised two wonderful sons as a single mother and is a proud grandmother of three boys and adores her new great-granddaughter.