Rizalyn Marquez Cruz is from Davao City, Philippines. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Ateneo de Davao University, a Jesuit run university in Mindanao, the southern part of the Philippines. Back in the Philippines, she was a high school teacher and part-time college instructor. She migrated to the United States in 1997. She studied at San Diego State University for her Teaching Credential and in 1999 she started teaching Filipino as an Adjunct Professor at Southwestern College. That was the beginning of her journey as a language teacher.

In 2010, she was hired as a full-time teacher of Filipino at Otay Ranch High School. Initially, she only had three classes. This jumped to five classes the following year. At Otay Ranch High School, she organized a Bayanihan Filipino Club that manages the Annual Culture Night, does community service, and promotes the Filipino Language Program on campus and in the community. She also continued a Filipino Folkdance Club called Pangkat Sayaw that was passed on to her by a former teacher. This club performs not only on school campus but also in the community events and in convalescent homes (before the pandemic). These club activities enable the diverse students of Otay Ranch High School to showcase their own culture.

Mrs. Cruz was a Teacher Trainor of SAILN few years after she received her Certificate as a Fellow of the California Foreign Language Project in 2010. In 2018, she was a Pilot Teacher of the very first after school Filipino Language Program in the Elementary Level.

Mrs. Rizalyn Cruz is currently the President of the Council for Teaching Filipino Language and Culture which meets regularly once a month. During her incumbency, she was one of the writers of Filipino 7-8 Honors Curriculum with the encouragement and the support of her School Principal. The Dalawang Baybayin (Two Shores) Intercultural Exchange Program was launched as a pilot project in collaboration with the San Diego County Office of Education. The purpose of this program is to establish international ties and collaboration between the teachers and students in the Philippines and in San Diego as well as to advance the development of multicultural and global competencies of the students. The CTFLC Rondalla was also formed last year in 2021. The goal is to be able to teach students to play a Filipino string instrument called Bandurria and to integrate music in the language classroom. Currently, Mrs. Cruz and the CTFLC Curriculum Committee members are working to finish the alignment of the Filipino Curriculum for three school districts.

Mrs. Rizalyn Marquez Cruz strongly believes in establishing a strong working relationship and membership with various education and social organizations like the Council of Philippine American Organizations (COPAO), Southern Area International Language Network (SAILN), Foreign Language Council of San Diego (FLCSD), California Language Teachers Association (CLTA), the Community of Practice, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) the California Association of Bilingual Education (CABE) and this newly formed Underrepresented Language SIG.

Jacquilin Magat Lapid is a Filipino language teacher at Mira Mesa high school and an adjunct professor at Miramar College. She migrated from the Philippines during her early teenage years and graduated from Morse High School. Jacquilin received her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies from San Diego State University and a Masters of Education: Curriculum Writing and Instruction from Alliant International University.

Jacquilin was the former president of the Filipino American Educators Association of San Diego County (FILAMEDA) and the Council for teaching Filipino language and Culture (CTFLC). She has served as an advisor for ASB, Yearbook, MMHS Filipino American club and the Gawad Kalinga (to give care) student club. Jacquilin also serves as the producer and content creator of the Voices of the Filipino American Youth livestream production. She encourages students to give back to the community and demonstrate that young people can make a difference in their communities. Jacquilin has served as Curriculum Writer and Co-Chair for textbook adoption at San Diego Unified School District. She is a very proud recipient of the Future Educators of America Scholarship from San Diego Education Fund, and Fulbright-Hays Scholarship from CSEAS UC Berkley. Other awards include Teacher of the Year at Bell Middle School, semi-finalist for Teacher of the Year of San Diego Unified School District, 79th District Woman of the year in Education, Bayani (hero) Award, Outstanding Filipina Leader Award in Education, and CLTA Outstanding Teacher Award.

Lastly, Jacquilin and her husband Michael Lapid are proud parents to their son Michael Richard M. Lapid.