Melinda Gabuya holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Management and a minor degree in Cultural Heritage Studies from the Ateneo de Manila University. Prior to SEDPI, she worked for Smarter Good—a US Ashoka Fellow-led global enterprise that provides program and administrative services for social enterprises and non-profit organizations abroad.
Her passion for the culture and social sector was cultivated by her involvement to various student organizations such as Ateneo Baliklaya for prison advocacy and the Ateneo Student Business Review for cultural entrepreneurship. Today, she continues to be a staunch advocate for cultural heritage awareness by co-founding Heritage Conservation Society Youth, a movement advocating for the celebration of Philippine art and heritage.
In November 2012, Melinda served as a Philippine delegate to the UNESCO Human Rights Forum Asia Region held in Thailand where she had the chance to learn and exchange ideas on social development from fellow youth social activists and changemakers
Melinda brings to SEDPI her experience gained in project management, communications, research, and writing. She dreams of building her own social enterprise one day that weaves together two of her life’s greatest passions: social development and cultural heritage.