Elena Mangahas is a Journalism graduate from the Institute of Mass Communications at UP Diliman, where she worked as a Research Associate for seven years. Like many of her contemporaries, she joined militant actions, taking to the streets to ignite an era of resistance to militarism and dictatorship. She joined the UP Repertory Company to stage original plays about the issues of the times. 

Alas, immigration to America beckoned. Elena, now retired, is a 34-year civil servant in workforce development. She managed an annual $3 million budget for a youth jobs program throughout the County. Elena’s workforce development experience includes a seasonal farmworkers’ transition program, a refugee entry-level jobs program, a welfare-to-work program with non-traditional career pathways for women, and youth jobs that include community leadership and service learning. As a community leader, Elena represented marginalized communities, minorities, and people of color. She helped the Filipino community in Stockton, CA. reclaim its contribution to America, particularly from the 1910s-30s. Trained in peace work with national and international peace and justice organizations, Elena became a long-term member of, and has joined, goodwill and diplomatic visits through the Stockton Sister Cities Association. Elena served as the Chairperson of the San Francisco-based Filipina Women’s Network in 2006, taking an active role in its sustained campaigns against violence against women and girls, and the ten-year staging of The Vagina Monologues, a Domestic Violence public awareness campaign.

Elena serves on the Governing Board of Little Manila Rising and is a lifetime member of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), both organizations dedicated to preserving Filipino American history. She volunteers as a docent at the FANHS Museum in Stockton. She is a 9-year Rotarian and is a Paul Harris Fellow.