The global reach of Filipino nursing continues to expand—not simply through the movement of nurses across borders, but through the leadership, professional networks, and communities they build wherever they serve.
Reflecting this growing international presence, the Filipino Nursing Diaspora (FiND) Network has announced the appointment of four new country representatives: Dr. Ma. Christine Rose T. Orbase for New Zealand, Lyzander Rea for Ireland, Dr. Rizaldy Bandola for the United States West Coast, and Gwynn Serra Ginson for Kuwait.
Together, the four representatives bring substantial experience spanning critical care, dementia and aged care, clinical governance, nursing education, perioperative nursing, quality improvement, and workforce leadership. Their appointments strengthen FiND’s ability to connect Filipino nurses across different health systems while creating pathways for professional development, research, mentorship, collaboration, and community engagement.
For New Zealand, Dr. Ma. Christine Rose T. Orbase brings more than two decades of international nursing experience. Based in Auckland, she is a PhD-qualified nurse leader whose career has traversed critical care, aged care, nursing leadership, and education.
Her leadership experience includes senior roles as Nursing Director and Dementia Care Unit Coordinator. Her doctoral work focused on person-centred dementia care, reflecting a sustained interest in improving the experiences of older people and those who care for them. She currently serves as Patient at Risk Nurse Educator for Adult Services at Auckland City Hospital, combining clinical expertise with education and workforce capacity building.
Her appointment gives FiND an experienced leader who can help deepen engagement with Filipino nurses across New Zealand while strengthening connections in education, clinical practice, research, and leadership.
In Ireland, FiND will be represented by Lyzander Rea, a nurse leader and clinical governance executive with expertise in quality, governance, education, aged care, and workforce development.
Rea is currently a PhD candidate in Nursing Leadership and Management. His academic preparation includes an MSc in Psychiatric Nursing, completed with Academic Excellence, a Postgraduate Diploma in Gerontology, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing earned cum laude. He is also a Registered General Nurse and a Fellow of the International Society for Quality in Health Care.
His combination of clinical, academic, and governance experience is particularly relevant as health systems increasingly expect nurses to contribute beyond direct care—to quality assurance, organizational governance, patient safety, workforce development, and system improvement.
FiND’s representation in the United States West Coast will be strengthened through the appointment of Dr. Rizaldy Bandola, a Doctor of Nursing Practice with extensive experience in critical care, nursing education, and professional leadership.
Dr. Bandola currently practices as an ICU nurse and serves as a Clinical Instructor for the American Heart Association. His professional journey demonstrates the multidimensional contribution of Filipino nurses in the United States, where bedside expertise increasingly intersects with education, leadership, and professional advocacy.
He has also served as President-Elect of the Philippine Nurses Association of America–North Carolina Chapter, supporting professional development and engagement among Filipino nurses. His appointment provides an opportunity to strengthen FiND’s connections with Filipino nursing communities across the western United States and, importantly, to build bridges among established professional organisations and emerging networks.
Completing the four appointments is Gwynn Serra Ginson, MAN, RN, CNOR, CSSL, who will represent FiND in Kuwait.
Ginson is a perioperative nursing specialist with nearly 17 years of experience and currently serves as Clinical Charge Nurse in the Operating Theater at Ahmadi Hospital. He holds a Master of Arts in Nursing from the University of the Philippines Open University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mountain View College.
His professional credentials include both Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR) and Certified Surgical Services Leader (CSSL) certifications through the Competency & Credentialing Institute. He also serves as a CNOR Coach and ACLS Instructor and is a member of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. His leadership extends into education, Joint Commission International accreditation, and quality-improvement initiatives—areas increasingly important to safe, high-performing surgical services.
Collectively, the four appointments demonstrate the diversity of contemporary Filipino nursing leadership. They represent nurses working in different countries, specialties, and professional contexts, yet their careers share common threads: continuous learning, service, leadership, and a commitment to improving healthcare.
In a statement welcoming the appointments, the FiND Network leadership team said:
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Christine Rose Orbase, Lyzander Rea, Dr. Rizaldy Bandola, and Gwynn Ginson to our global leadership network. Each brings a remarkable combination of clinical expertise, professional leadership, education, and commitment to service. More importantly, they understand that diaspora leadership is about building bridges—connecting Filipino nurses with one another, creating opportunities for collaboration, and ensuring that our collective knowledge and experience contribute to better nursing and healthcare both in our countries of residence and in the Philippines.”
Country representatives play an important role in FiND’s broader vision. They are not simply organisational contacts. They serve as connectors between local Filipino nursing communities and an expanding international network, identifying opportunities for collaboration, supporting professional and educational initiatives, strengthening local engagement, and bringing country-specific perspectives into global conversations.
The appointments also illustrate how the Filipino nursing diaspora itself is evolving. Filipino nurses overseas are increasingly visible not only as members of the healthcare workforce but as clinical leaders, educators, researchers, governance specialists, quality-improvement champions, and professional advocates.
From Auckland and Dublin to the American West Coast and Kuwait, Orbase, Rea, Bandola, and Ginson represent different expressions of that leadership.
Their appointment ultimately reinforces a simple but powerful idea at the heart of FiND: distance does not have to mean disconnection. By linking Filipino nurses across countries, specialties, and generations, the diaspora can become a platform through which knowledge is shared, leadership is cultivated, and professional contributions are amplified.
Four new representatives now join that global effort—bringing four distinct professional journeys, but one shared commitment to connecting and advancing Filipino nurses wherever they may be.
