Kapwa Konversations

On this we have Casielle Gaerlan. Casielle Gaerlan is a Filipino-American artist born and based Brooklyn whose work centers on storytelling through painting and illustration. Her practice explores themes of identity, cultural memory, and belonging, often drawing inspiration from her Filipino heritage. Through a combination of portraiture and abstract visual language, she creates layered compositions that invite deeper interpretation.

You can learn more about Casielle’s art on her website, and you can connect with Casielle on Instagram.

And if you’re interested in staying connected with the Kapwa Konversations, you can follow us on instagram and substack. Til next time, ingat (take care)!

On this we have Cinelle Barnes. Cinelle Barnes is the Philippine-born author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir, Malaya: Essays on Freedom, and A Way Home: A Memoir of Losing Yourself and the Beauty of Returning. She is also the editor of the New York Times “New and Noteworthy” A Measure of Belonging: Twenty-One Writers of Color on the New American South.

Cinelle is a survivor of a brain aneurysm rupture and sits on the Brain Injury Leadership Council of South Carolina, and is the recipient of awards and fellowships from the Sustainable Arts Fund, the Authors League Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, South Arts, and the North American Travel Journalists Association, among others. She has served on the jury panels for several literary awards, including the inaugural Pulitzer Prize for Memoir. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Coastal Living, Travel + Leisure, Oprah Daily, Newsweek, Southern Living, Memoir Land, and Longreads, among others. Cinelle lives in Charleston, SC, with her husband, daughter, and cat.

You can purchase a copy of A Way Home here, and you can connect with Cinelle on Instagram.

And if you’re interested in staying connected with the Kapwa Konversations, you can follow us on instagram and substack. Til next time, ingat (take care)!

On this we have Lauren Santiago, a Brooklyn-based community builder, multidisciplinary creative, and founder of aNAK—an immersive retreat experience rooted in the belief that creativity and connection can help us return to ourselves. aNAK stands for Awaken in Nature, Artistry, and Kinship, reflecting the three pillars that shape the experience: reconnecting with the natural world, engaging our innate creativity, and cultivating meaningful relationships with ourselves and others. Named after the Tagalog word anak, meaning “child,” the name also serves as a reminder of the curiosity, wonder, and authenticity the experience invites participants to rediscover.

Drawing from a career in nonprofit leadership, storytelling, and experiential design, Lauren creates spaces that invite people to slow down, step outside of their routines, and explore what it means to live with greater intention and aliveness. As a Filipina American, her work is grounded in community, culture, and reimagining who these spaces are designed for—and who feels represented, welcomed, and at home within them.

To learn more about aNAK, join the mailing list for future retreat cohorts at anakinthewild.com and follow along at @anakinthewild on IG.

As an exclusive save the date for our listeners, cohort 03 will be 10/15 - 10/18 at Outlier Inn in the Catskills!

And if you’re interested in staying connected with the Kapwa Konversations, you can follow us on instagram and substack. Til next time, ingat (take care)!

On this we have Michelle “Mich” Bengzon (she/her/siya/sila), LMFT. She is a couples and relationship therapist based in New York City who specializes in anxious attachment, people-pleasing patterns, and the childhood wounds that quietly run our adult relationships.

As a Filipino-American immigrant, Michelle brings a lens that most therapy spaces miss: one that holds the weight of colonial and cultural history and the impact on identity and relationships. Her work sits at the intersection of intergenerational healing, attachment, and identity — helping Filipinos, Filipino-American, and Asian clients untangle what was passed down and understand what they’re willing to take with them and what they’re willing to leave behind. Michelle helps clients understand why they react the way they do, where it came from, and how to build something new in their relationships, in their families, and within themselves. She works with individuals and couples, and her approach bridges nervous system regulation, parts work, and attachment-informed therapy without losing the cultural context that makes all of it make sense.

You can find her on Instagram and on her website.

And if you’re interested in staying connected with the Kapwa Konversations, you can follow us on instagram and substack. Til next time, ingat (take care)!

On this episode of the podcast we have Eunice Kimian (she/her), a Somatic Business Coach for visionary daughters of immigrants, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are ready to bet on themselves and build a thriving business and life they love, with ease and pleasure.

With over a decade of experience in somatic coaching, entrepreneurship, growth strategy, and sales, she helps you uncover your unique brilliance and create a peaceful, profitable business, without overworking or burning out. So you can unlock time and financial freedom and move beyond what once felt safe, secure, or expected.

Eunice is a 1.5-generation Korean American eldest daughter and mom to her 2-year-old son. She is the host of Embody Your Brilliance Podcast and loves swimming in warm waters and performing traditional Korean dance and drum.

• Learn more about Brilliance, her somatic business mastermind for daughters of immigrants & women of color entrepreneurs and creatives. (Join the waitlist)

Connect with Eunice

• Listen to her podcast: Embody Your Brilliance
• Follow her on Instagram: @eunicekimian
• Join her email newsletter

And if you’re interested in staying connected with the Kapwa Konversations, you can follow us on instagram and substack. Til next time, ingat (take care)!

On this episode of the podcast we have Mike Sagun who is the founder of SHIFT Men's Retreats, SHIFT Men's Foundation, and the co-founder of MELD (Men's Emotional Leadership Development). As a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) he designs, produces, and facilitates somatic based experiences through 1:1 coaching online programs, and in-person retreats for men.

He has also trained with Kathy Kain (Coupling Dynamics), Lincoln Center Education, and Owen Marcus (Somatic Mindfulness). Mike mostly serves the male population ranging in issues like stress/burnout, marriage/relationships, abuse, behavior

modification, and emotional awareness. In the past, he has worked with companies like Google, Google X, DirecTV, Men's Health Magazine, and DropBox.

If you’re interested in learning more about Mike’s work, you can check out his website and instagram. He is hosting a number of upcoming retreats and workshops, including:

• SHIFT: A Somatic Weekend for Men (Bay Area)
• SHIFT Men's Retreat Baja CA
• THE PRACTICE

And if you’re interested in staying connected with the Kapwa Konversations, you can follow us on instagram and substack. Til next time, ingat (take care)!

On this episode of the podcast, we have Kristine Citarella. Kristine Citarella is the CEO and Founder of Spark OBM Agency, where she helps online coaches and entrepreneurs streamline their systems, scale with ease, and step fully into their CEO role without the tech headaches. With a background in corporate product management and over a decade of experience in marketing, operations, and project management, Kristine brings both big-picture strategy and roll-up-your-sleeves execution to the businesses she supports.

As a mom of two boys and a first-generation Filipino-American, Kristine knows firsthand the juggle of building a business while raising a family. She has built her agency around that same balance of structure and freedom. Her team of skilled professionals spans tech, social media, and design, allowing Spark OBM to provide comprehensive support for coaches who are ready to grow sustainably.

Through her done-for-you operations support, scalable launch systems, and VA placement services, Kristine has become the behind-the-scenes partner that personal development and relationship coaches rely on to launch group programs, simplify their backend, and actually enjoy their business again. When she’s not managing systems or mapping out scalable offers, you can find her chasing her toddlers in New Jersey, sneaking in a coffee run, or dreaming up her next business venture. You can connect with her on instagram at @spark_obm.

On this episode of the podcast, we have Justine Lee. Justine leads the development and management of all artist and organization-focused programs at Asian American Arts Alliance (A4), a nonprofit serving AAPI artists and cultural groups across disciplines.

Previously, she facilitated bridge-building conversations featured on NPR, CBS Evening News, and BBC. Her work with the AAPI community includes Hyphen Magazine, Chinese for Affirmative Action, CAAM, and the Self Evident podcast. Justine advises WE ACT, an environmental justice nonprofit.

She resides in Astoria, Queens with her husband Glen and daughter Olive.

If you are in the NYC area, we invite you to attend A4's September Town Hall on the topic of "Traditions" on September 25, 2025, as well as their event, Artists for Liberation: A Panel Discussion on Asian American Cultural Organizing for Change on October 8, 2025.

On this episode of the podcast, we have Jerome Viloria, who I met through the dance community. Our journeys have followed similar journeys of integrating our identity into our art and our careers serving the AAPI community, through the theme of art as a form of wellness.

Jerome is a queer, non-binary public health professional based in Astoria, NY by way of the Hudson Valley. With a BA in Biology and minor in Philippine Studies, they moved on to pursue an MPH in Community Health Sciences & Practice at NYU, answering a call to destigmatize sexual and mental health by means of community-level education.

As a mid-career level public health practitioner, they have amassed experience in sexual and mental health research; community programming; grant writing; academic advising; and teaching at the University-level. On the artistic side, they have been a musician and dancer for 17 years, covering strings (violin, viola, cello), percussion (piano, kulintang), indigenous dance (Maranao, Maguindanao, T’boli, Tausug, and Yakan), modern (hip-hop, jazz funk, waacking), and singing (tenor). They have the best of both worlds, helping  forge a path to something only they can create.

Jerome is currently pursuing their Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at NYU, with a focus in nonprofit leadership, workforce development, and education. They seek to understand sources of health information, how they formulate our beliefs, and how community engagement can inspire positive health behavior change. They’re excited to take the next step in cultivating themselves as a nonprofit leader at Apicha CHC. Outside their professional realm, Jerome is an active musician, dancer, and gamer. You can find them performing with Kinding Sindaw during Queensboro Dance Festival 2025! Here is the  performance schedule.

And if you’re in the NYC area July 26th, we invite you to attend the 2025 NYC Summer Filipino Community Resource & Health Fair at APICHA. More info here!

On this episode of the podcast, we have Andrew Suseno, who I met through his workshop Brotherhood in Motion: Explore Masculinity through Movement & Reflection. It was a powerful space for Southeast Asian men to move through and discuss concepts of strength, manhood, resilience, and care using a framework designed by Moving Rasa. 

Andrew Suseno is a Chinese-Indonesian American movement artist and Doctor of Physical Therapy, living on Lenapehoking land. Certified in Feldenkrais and Laban Movement Analysis, Andrew is the founder of Moving Rasa, a pioneering initiative that blends indigenous Indonesian philosophy with somatics and improvisational movement to help people reclaim agency and build meaningful connections.

Andrew’s work centers the Southeast Asian diaspora, including an ongoing Virtual Healing Space for Southeast Asian men in partnership with ManForward, and Moving Rasa Weekend workshops with Kilusan Wellness supporting AAPI communities in the Bay Area. Moving Rasa is a proud recipient of a two-year American Rescue Plan grant, delivering culturally specific healing programs for AAPI survivors of sexual assault nationwide.

One participant reflected, “I mourned the colonization of my motherland through the caring touch of my body as land.”

Brotherhood in Motion will be offered again on Saturday, May 31st in Philadelphia, and Saturday, June 22nd in New York City 10am - 4pm. You can learn more about the workshop and sign up here!