Julienne “Jules” Edar Ballaran is a climate change advocate, photographer, and a marketing & publicity creative. She completed her secondary education in Portland, Oregon, and later pursued Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a specialization in International Affairs in New York City. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Diplomacy and International Relations at Ateneo de Manila University in 2026. Jules is a photographer and has gained professional experience in marketing and publicity. She is particularly interested in Climate Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy.

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Margery Bautista is an independent consultant and technical advisor specializing in sustainability, ESG, and international development. She has held senior roles in government and consultancy, advising on policy reform, program design, and stakeholder engagement across Asia. Her collaborations include working with EU-PH Green Economy Partnership with UNDP, Independent Evaluation Office of UNFPA, Australia Awards, and Asia Group Advisors, focusing on climate resilience, renewable energy, and inclusive economic growth. Margery holds a Master’s degree in Development Policy from De La Salle University and is a Certified Professional Manager under IFPM London. Her academic foundation in policy and governance is complemented by practical expertise in project and operations management, market insights and business analysis, and digital tools for monitoring and evaluation. She has done researches in maritime and coastal community resilience, having developed frameworks that integrate ESG principles, disaster preparedness, and livelihood protection in vulnerable coastal zones. Her work emphasizes the intersection of environmental and social defense, community adaptation, and economic co‑benefits—ensuring that resilience strategies safeguard both ecosystems and local industries. She is currently conducting research on initiatives addressing post‑harvest fish losses, circular agribusiness, and renewable energy integration in host communities exposed to climate and disaster risks. Margery is an active member of networks such as Asia Society, EvalForEath, Energy Evaluation Asia Pacific, and inDev Collective Community of Practice (Australia). At the Manila Dialogue, she brings a perspective shaped by both policy and practice—emphasizing collaborative governance, maritime sustainability, and confidence‑building measures to advance a rules‑based maritime order.

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Suzanne Faelnar is an independent consultant in Human Security and Systems-Thinking Strategy, with 20 years of humanitarian leadership operating at the complex intersection of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Counter-Terrorism, and Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE). She is the Convenor of Z Group Global, a multisectoral network focused on peace, sustainable development, and security, and President and Co-founder of Network Empowering Transformative Societies (N.E.T.S.), Inc., advocating for environmental justice and security. A Member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Community of Practice on Human Security, she bridges field practice with global frameworks. Her relevant training includes the UNITAR Leaders for Free and Open Indo-Pacific Sea and Human Security Program, the UN DESA Program on Government Innovation for Social Inclusion, and graduate coursework in International Relations and Diplomacy at Schiller International University in London, UK. Authorized by former AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr., she represented the Armed Forces of the Philippines via the Operations Research Center of the Philippine Army (ORC-PA) as a civilian expert at the U.S. DoD Irregular Warfare Center on the Archipelagic Whole-of-Nation approach. Her abstract on the Archipelagic Laboratory for civil-military cooperation was selected by the NATO CCOE for a case study exhibition at acaCIMICs in The Hague. A delegate to the closed-door Asia-Europe Counter-Terrorism Dialogues in Brussels, Berlin, and Jakarta, she has also guest-lectured for the AFP Civil-Military Operations School, Philippines. Ms. Faelnar holds a BA in Mass Communication from Assumption College.

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Fahadz Lulu teaches at the School of Arts and Sciences of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU), where he handles subjects such as Introduction to ASEAN Culture and History and Philippine Indigenous Societies: A Socio-Anthropological Approach. Currently, he is studying topics related to Sirawai, the Kolibugan tribe, the Tausug, pagsasaatan or putikaan, the Iglesia ni Cristo, and analyzing the Tausug local story “Lutaw Bantut.”

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Aliza Racelis received her PhD in Business Administration (University of the Philippines Diliman) in April 2010. She is a Management and Business Ethics professor at the University of the Philippines Business School. Her current research interests are in the areas of Business Ethics, Corporate Governance, A.I. Ethics, Virtue Theory, Social Responsibility, Transcendental Leadership, and Sustainability. In 2018, she was granted a Fulbright scholarship to do research and teaching in the U.S. during the Fall Term.

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Jomari Jesus Tan is an instructor at the University of Santo Tomas and a Political Researcher for Religioscope in Fribourg, Switzerland. He received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Santo Tomas and his M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago. Serving as one of the Sean Yu Taiwan Fellows from UChicago, he discussed contemporary Indo-Pacific military and diplomatic strategies with premier Taiwanese universities, policy centers, media networks, and think tanks. He was also a former Graduate Research Assistant for the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, researching American Political Extremism and Suicide Terrorism in collaboration with the Operations Research Center at the US Military Academy at West Point. He was previously a graduate associate for the Chicago Center on Democracy, helping organize events exploring the state of liberal democracies in Latin America and Eastern Europe. His research interests revolve around the role of middle powers in contemporary IR, with a regional focus on Southeast and East Asia. Specifically, he blends elements of Offensive Realism, Rational Choice Theory, and Ontological Security to analyze how states navigate heightened tensions in the region. He also explores Chinese Cognitive Warfare strategies and espionage in both the Philippines and Taiwan; delving into how these states react and respond to targeted campaigns to its populace.

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Accomplished his Master of Arts in International Studies Major in European Studies Degree at De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines from 2021-2024. Currently he is an early academic, part-time lecturer, and the European Studies Program Coordinator under the Department of International Studies also at De La Salle University. He serves as a guest contributor for The World Financial Review and has written for The Monitor of the Carter Center’s China Focus Initiative, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, FACTS Asia, and the Global Policy Journal. For his academic endeavours, he also served as a peer reviewer for a number of Scopus-indexed journals. His published articles, lectures, engagements, and academic research revolve around International Relations, Security Studies, migration, sustainable development, as well as the outer space and Astropolitics. Moving forward, he aims to transition and focus fully on Security Studies, the outer space, and Astropolitics, contributing knowledge and directions in the academe, international organizations, policy-making circles, government institutions, the defense sector, and think-tanks. Currently he is a fellow under the 2026 SQUAD Forum of the Yokosuka Council on Asia Pacific Studies.

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Prof. Hadji Balajadia is a fulltime faculty in Ateneo de Davao University engaged in policy advisory and civil society work in Southern Philippines. For over two decades, she has served as advisor to institutional transformation initiatives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), contributing to reforms in peace, security, and governance. She is a former Vice President of the Philippine Sociological Society, where she advanced sociological research and advocacy nationwide, and has also served as President of the Ateneo de Davao University College Faculty Union. Her work bridges academic research, organizational leadership, and grassroots advocacy, underscoring her commitment to institutional accountability and social justice.

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He is a faculty member of the Department of Political Science and History of Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) in the Philippines. He teaches Philippine Political Parties and Social Movements, and Philippine Public Administration. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA), 2017-2019. His commitment to the practical application of his academic knowledge is evident in his fieldwork, which took him to Mindanao, He conducted validation work for “Outstanding Filipinos” of the Metrobank Foundation. A program dedicated to Filipino nationals who excel in public service. His previous research focused on women in violent extremist (VE) groups, covering formerly volatile places of the southern Philippines in 2020. His research contributions are also incorporated into the book, “Electoral Dynamics in the Philippines: Money Politics, Patronage and Clientelism at the Grassroots,” published by NUS Press in Singapore in 2019. His latest article on CSOs was published in 2022 by Ateneo de Manila University Press, “Transfiguring Mindanao: A Mindanao Reader”. The voluminous, multi-authored book won the Best Book in Social Sciences award in 2023. In July of 2025, the Institute for East Asian Studies, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea, invited him to deliver a paper, “A Capo Rules a City: A Case of Rodrigo Duterte.” His latest project is on Surigao gold, an archaeological find accidentally discovered in 1981, and a portion of the finds is available at the Ayala Museum and Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas Museum.

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With nearly 25 years of combined experience spanning government and academia, Ms. Jonalyn L. Villasante currently serves as the Committee Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the Philippine House of Representatives and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Studies at Miriam College. She also holds the position of Executive Director for Strategic Partnerships of the Women’s Alliance for Security and Peace. Ms. Villasante earned a Master of Arts in International Relations and a Master of Diplomacy from the Australian National University. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts, specializing in Speech Communication, from the University of the Philippines. She is a Professional Fellow of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) at the American Legislative Council in Washington, D.C., and the Indo-Pacific Security Fellowship at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. She completed specialized courses in regional security, human security, and peacebuilding at Fu Hsing Kang College in Taiwan, the Kautilya Foundation in India, and the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica. She has been recently selected as one of the Asia Pacific Leaders 2025-2026 of the prestigious Obama Foundation. Her research interests include Indo-Pacific Security, ASEAN, maritime security in the South China Sea, and Philippine politics and foreign policy.

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