Our Story

Founded in October 2019 by 11 friends at a local cafe in New York City, the Association of Filipino Scientists in America (AFSA) is a community of Filipino scientists seeking to utilize their expertise to support their communities in the Philippines and the United States. AFSA began with small in-person meetings in NYC, but due to the pandemic, it transitioned to online Zoom meetings in 2020. This brought unexpected growth in our membership with online meetings, allowing Filipino scientists nationwide and overseas to connect and find community in AFSA. Our ever-growing membership spans all stages of science careers, ranging from undergraduate students to established professionals. 

We specifically organize Filipino scientists to create a space for awareness and discussion of issues affecting us the most and address our needs. AFSA enables Filipino/Filipino-American scientists in the US to connect their conditions to the scientists’ struggle in the Philippines. AFSA does this by working in collaboration with AGHAM or Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, which organizes and advocates for science and technology that genuinely serves the interests of the Filipino people. 

AFSA supports issues and concerns affecting Filipino scientists in the Philippines and in the US – support for environmental advocates, push for genuine agrarian reform and support for modernization, comprehensive development of national industry, promoting science and technology education geared to serve the Filipino people, and campaigning for the welfare of Filipino scientists.