Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I admire her for her service in the US Supreme Court and for having the most empowering quotes in modern history that will inspire every girl in the world! RIP

Thunder Ann (from Davey Crocket)

Thunder Ann embodies bravery, gumption, and standing strong in a man’s world (and the wilderness!). She did not fit into societal norms for a lady, but instead led and lived her best life exploring the wild frontier living in one with nature and wrangling wild beast with ease. “Like Thunder Ann, go give ‘em hell”

Maria Orosa as well as my amazing mother figures

I’ll start with Maria Orosa—she is a celebrated Filipina war hero and food technologist known for the Filipino household staple: banana ketchup. She believed in a self-sustaining Philippines and made it her life’s work to study native food, and the use of fermentation and various preserving techniques to educate and uplift people in need.  

I also want to call out the three amazing women I’ve been blessed with as my mother figures in my lifetime. My birth mother, who had breast cancer and courageously chose not to have an abortion, so I could live to be here today. My grandmother (turning 94 this year!!!) who raised me in the Philippines while my father worked hard to keep our family and relatives afloat. And last but not least, my stepmother, a breast cancer survivor, whom I know has always had my best interests at heart and is one of the strongest, most resilient women I know.