Karen Dominique Brillantes earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University. In the university, she joined organizations that worked closely with marginalized sectors and wrote for a student publication centered on socio-political and economic issues, impelling her to work in the field of development.
She joined SEDPI shortly after graduation. As part of the management staff, she conducted organizational appraisals and impact assessments for microfinance institutions all over the country, and was involved in researches commissioned by local and international non-profits. Under AdMU’s Microfinance Capacity Building Program, she delivered various microfinance trainings. Together with her colleagues, she also assisted in the improvement of several microfinance institutions under SEDPI’s Technical and Mentoring Assistance (TAMA).
Seeking experience in the education sector, where her real advocacy is, she left SEDPI in 2011 and joined an Ateneo-based educational non-profit organization and then a private training institution, organizations where she further developed her training and program management competencies.
At present, she is an associate leading the development of SEDPI’s training materials and process manuals.