Dr. Marlon Saria for PNAA President-Elect's Profile

To Our Western Region Family,

Hope you are having a fantastic start to the Spring season!

Thank you!!! 

We did a lot of great things TOGETHER from 2020 to 2022 and I am hoping that you will allow me to continue serving you as President-Elect for the Philippine Nurses Association of America, Inc. I am not going to lie... the role of a regional Vice President is not an easy task... but somehow, in all the challenges and the chaos, we got through... BUT we did not just get through... WE radiated like the golden sunset that the West is famous for... and that was because of Emily Danuco, our Circle of Presidents Regional Representative, our Chapter Presidents, our Chapter Executive Boards, and all of YOU. I could not have asked for a better team. 

I wanted to share with you three things that I hope you will consider when choosing the leader that will represent PNAA and create a shared vision with all of you and our members.

We will keep the spotlight on our organization, our chapters, and our members.

The PNAA's mission statement begins with "uphold and foster the positive image and welfare of Filipino-American nurses." When I was new to the Air Force Reserve, I was called to the Commander's Office to respond to a controversial issue incident involving one of the Filipino-American Chief Nurses. I was asked if I know of a group (or part of a group) that provides an unfair advantage for promotions among its members. I responded that I was the President-Elect of PNA San Diego and have been recruiting members from the squadron, not to provide an unfair advantage, but to provide more opportunities for community service and professional growth. I was commended and was given instructions to "carry on" with the important work.

The work of our Past Presidents and leaders positioned PNAA as an essential voice among other nursing organizations. We stand on the shoulders of giants. While it is important to note that we are not on the sidelines anymore, it is equally important to recognize that there is room to grow. We need to support and provide an equal opportunity for Filipino-American leaders to rise up in other organizations. The dream to have a Filipino-American nurses as President of the American Nurses Association is much closer to reality. Our own Wilhelmina Manzano is currently the President of the American Nurses Foundation, an organization that is part of the ANA Enterprise. We have members who are actively involved in their respective specialty organizations; we will encourage and support them to be in the line of succession for the chief position in their organizations,  Daphne Peneza (AORN), Jay Larrosa (ACMA), Giancarlo Lyle-Edrosolo and Jerome Dayao (AONL), Lourdes Moldre (ONS), and many others.

We will hold the gains of previous administrations and continue to expand the space for new and emerging leaders.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "A sign of a good leader is not how many followers you have, but how many leaders you create." We will work with Dr. Gloria Beriones and the 2022-2024 Executive Board to strengthen the onboarding for new board members, both at the national and chapter levels. We will work with chapters to create a robust pipeline of leaders. We know how important "line of succession" is, so important that is is codified in the US Constitution. What is our desired outcome? When we are not begging, borrowing, or recycling officers because we have a pool of leaders who are willing and able to hold chapter-level positions.

We will keep PNAA agile to respond to the rapidly changing global landscape and healthcare ecosystem.

We will purposely integrate brainstorming sessions during our Executive Board meetings to discuss threats and opportunities that may face PNAA. We cannot wait for another singularity (like the pandemic) to happen and then react to it. We need to be more proactive and be a step ahead...  because “Playing catch-up isn’t a fun ‘game’ to play.” 

I am hoping that you will give me a chance to serve.

Thank you,

Marlon