Filipinotown Seattle began in 2017 as a response to the willful erasure of Filipino American history in the International District. What started as a coalition of community leaders and neighbors has grown into a movement — bringing visibility, pride, and recognition to the Filipino community that helped shape the neighborhood.
Our Vision: Solidarity
To grow the multicultural life & interracial solidarity of the International District as championed by city hero Uncle Bob Santos.
Our Mission: Preserve
To enhance the historical and cultural presence of
Seattle’s International District with Filipino American activities and preservation efforts.
Support Filipinotown Seattle
Your donation helps preserve and celebrate the legacy of Filipino Americans in Seattle’s Filipinotown — affirming the historic and living community that helped shape what is now known as the International District.
Filipin@ Community Events
Meet The Board
Devin Cabanilla
Executive Director
Devin is the founder for Filipinotown Seattle and an advocate for inclusive history and equity in local institutions. Devin is a 4th generation Seattleite with lifelong participation in the International District. Devin holds an MBA from Northwest University with concentrations in Project Management & International Business.
Devin conducts research as a public historian and is former board Secretary for the Filipino American National Historical Society - Seattle chapter. He utilizes public records for research projects, genealogy, and community preservation & development efforts. He has also been on advisory committee for projects at the Wing Luke Museum such as the Redline Heritage Trail.
Devin is a frequent speaker on Asian Pacific American issues, and organizes public events around American Ethnic history and social justice topics. Some of his recent community initiatives involve passing Filipinx American US History in the Seattle Public School district, and launching the Filipinotown Seattle Streetcar redesign graphic.
Terrence Jeffrey Santos
Interim President
Terrence Jeffrey Santos is Husband to Julianne, Father to Santino and Sinatra, son to Chris and Maria.
A Seattle based independent Filmmaker, Terrence believes a more appropriate title for his work is as a community storyteller. Founder of FIlipinotown Magazine and a 2016 NATAS Northwest Emmy Awardee.
“My passion and desire to celebrate community stories was first stoked by capturing my grandmother's story before she passed. Generations of knowledge and diverse range of experiences are held within us and our families and are so deserving of grand storytelling”
Michael S. Tamayo
Treasurer
As a 3rd generation Filipino American, my grandparents were part of the generation of immigrants who laid the foundation for Filipinotown Seattle. Following in the footsteps of my grandmother, I’ve been teaching in Seattle Public Schools for over 18 years and have served as President of the Seattle Education Association leading multiple contract bargains and organizing campaigns. I am currently serving as Board Chair of the Economic Opportunity Institute, a progressive policy think tank here in Seattle. My last meal would be a bowl of dinuguan with garlic fried rice and a crispy fried egg on top (dinuguansilog).
Robert Gavino
Secretary
Descended from landless farmers in Bulacan, humble educators in Tondo, from the volcanic Bicol, to the waterways of Malabon, Robert (they/siya) was born in Coast Salish territory, Seattle, to two immigrant parents doing their best.
They are an educator and facilitator in South Seattle (API Chaya, Seattle University, People’s Institute, In Lak’Ech Consulting).
From training coaches and players with All Girl Everything Ultimate Program to prevent and respond to relational harm, to training student leaders in the Highline and Seattle school districts the fundamentals of campaign base building, Robert is committed to people of all ages realizing their full power to change the world.
They build community leadership in Filipino community campaigns like Defend Dr. Jose Rizal Park and Tanggol Migrante as a grassroots community organizer (National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) and Samahan ng Kilusang Lumalaban Alay sa mga Bayani (SIKLAB) Coalition.
Following in the footsteps of their uncle, Fr. Robert Reyes aka ‘The Running Priest’, they support Christian communities follow the call to serve the oppressed, helping Beacon United Methodist Church re-launch the Crossroads Justice Ministry and building migrant ministry in the Seattle Archdiocese.
Despite their elusive schedule, you may spot them learning line dances with Beacon Hill elders, karaoke-ing at the Bush Garden, or eating ampalaya in a kitchen near you.
Jan Edrozo
Board Administrator
Jan Edrozo is a Filipina community organizer and storyteller based in Seattle. She currently serves as the Board Administrator for Filipinotown Seattle and as the Small Business Program Manager at the Filipino Community of Seattle. Through her consulting practice, Inaramid LLC, she provides administrative, marketing, and technical support to nonprofits, grassroots organizations, artists, and small businesses working to strengthen community, culture, and economic opportunity.
Jan's connection to Filipinotown Seattle began during the COVID-19 pandemic while living in Seattle's International District-Chinatown neighborhood. At a time when many were experiencing isolation, grief, and uncertainty—and as anti-Asian violence and hate crimes rose across the country—she found herself searching for places of belonging, healing, and community. Through poetry workshops, book readings, cultural gatherings, and community events organized by local leaders such as Devin Cabanilla, Terrence Jeffrey Santos, Chera Amlag, Melissa Miranda, Derek Dizon and Brian Myers, she discovered a growing movement dedicated to reclaiming and celebrating Filipino American history in the district.
These gatherings offered more than cultural programming; they created space for intergenerational dialogue, exploration of identity, and collective healing. They reminded participants that Filipinos have long been woven into the fabric of the International District, inspiring community members to take pride in their roots and contribute to the living legacy of Filipino American presence in Seattle. Inspired by this work, Jan began supporting Filipinotown Seattle's efforts to strengthen community connections and visibility. One of her early contributions was helping develop a public community events calendar, a shared resource designed to help organizations, artists, and small businesses coordinate programming, build solidarity, and support the neighborhood's recovery in the wake of the pandemic.
Today, Jan continues to support Filipinotown Seattle's mission to preserve, promote, and celebrate Filipino American history and culture in Seattle. She believes that storytelling, cultural preservation, and community gathering are powerful tools for building belonging and ensuring that future generations can see themselves reflected in the communities they call home. Through her work and volunteer service, she remains committed to helping create a future where Filipino American histories are not forgotten, but celebrated, protected, and shared.
MaryKate W. Ryan
Historian
MaryKate W. Ryan is an architectural historian, 4th-generation Chinese-American, and has worked in South Downtown Seattle for almost 10 years. They currently work as the Preservation Planner at Historic South Downtown. Their hobbies are research, reading, and cats.
Kassie Procopio
Board Member
I was born and raised in Great Falls, MT. I then escaped small town life to attend Kansas State University where I graduated with my B.S. in Anthropology/Archaeology and a minor in Classical Studies. I then moved and obtained my Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Washington. I am very passionate and professionally driven to create and build ways that empower, protect, preserve, teach and collect history for marginalized and underrepresented histories. I currently work as the Community Education Coordinator for the Kent Historical Museum. I volunteer my time as the chair for the national archives and collection committee for the Filipino American National Historic Society and as board member for Filipinotown Seattle.
In my free time you will catch me training for a triathlon, yapping at Mam’s bookstore or ASDF studio, grounding myself at A Resting Place or just wandering around the CID, probably looking at everything but where I am walking :) I can always talk about history, grief, cats, books, or indigenous stewardship!
Jared Jonson
Board Member
Jared (he/him) is the Co-Executive Director of the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation & Development Authority (SCIDpda). He has nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit and public sector, and has served the SCIDpda on the board and staff for over 10 years. Jared’s career includes roles in running political campaigns and building civic/political power for AANHPI communities, built environment policy and government relations roles at the King County Department of Transportation and the Urban Land Institute, and real estate development at Seattle Housing Authority. Jared’s family is originally from Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines. When not in the CID, he is usually somewhere on a hiking trail with his other half Paula, their two kids Jaylen & Sofia, and their dogs Griffey & Charlie. Jared has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science & Comparative Ethnic Studies from Washington State University.
Rachtha Danh
Board Member
Rachtha is the Chinatown International District Community Organizer for Puget Sound Sage. He’s worked and lived in the CID for 15 years and gives non-official neighborhood tours every now and then. He comes from a big Southeast Asian family that all live within the Seattle region.
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