Eileen has 39 years of experience in public and private governance serving in various capacities, such as her work in nonprofit organizations focused on health, women and children, and community development programs as well as her work in the Philippine Senate, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and local government units in Metro Manila, Luzon, and Mindanao.
Eileen has come full circle from her position as Chief of Staff of Senator Orlando S. Mercado from 1994 to 1998, assisting in the technical legislative work for the landmark Indigenous People’s Rights Act passed in 1998. She has assumed the role of Program Manager for the bamboo value chain program in Mindanao, Luzon, and soon Visayas for Rizome Philippines, working with Indigenous Peoples’ communities, as well as Rizome’s Community Development Lead.