Karina Fantillo

Karina immigrated with her family at the age of 9 to San Francisco, where she learned about Filipino and American culture through folk dancing. She began dancing at 13 years old with Barangay Dance Company of San Francisco through family and her church, then eventually joined Parangal.

She has worked in grants administration for 14 years, most recently as the Director of Contracts and Grants at the University of San Francisco (USF). Karina is currently a poetry fellow and candidate for an MFA in Writing at USF. Her poems have appeared as San Francisco Public Library’s Poem of the Day and in journals like The Racket and Night Music, in which she was the featured writer for the issue.

Karina Fantilla
Parangal, Board Member

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Karina was also Parangal’s first Executive Director and continues to serve on the Board of Directors because she believes in Parangal’s mission. Always remembering her immigrant roots, she still enjoys dancing and connecting with the Parangal Pamilya, new and veteran members.