Front & Female Awards 2025: 3 young leaders elevating women’s sports and design communities in the Philippines

Jack Animam is a Filipino professional basketball player known as one of the top women’s basketball prospects in the Philippines and a trailblazer for Filipino athletes internationally. Animam rose to prominence as a six-time UAAP champion with the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, earning multiple individual awards, including UAAP Rookie of the Year (2015), MVP (2017) and Finals MVP (2018). She later played for Shih Hsin University in Taiwan, helping them achieve an undefeated season and a UBA championship.

Her professional career has spanned several countries, including Serbia (through the professional basketball club Radnički Kragujevac), France (Toulouse Metropole Basket and USO Mondeville), China (Wuhan Shengfan), Australia (Ringwood Hawks) and Romania (FCC UAV Arad).

Animam has been a key player for the Philippine national team since age 16, winning two Southeast Asian Games gold medals and participating in international competitions such as the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup and FIBA 3x3 World Cup. She advocates for women’s basketball in the Philippines, pushing for a professional Philippine women’s league. In June, she held the first Jack Animam Camp for boys and girls of different ages in Malolos, Bulacan. 

What is the greatest challenge you’ve overcome? 

One of the greatest challenges I’ve faced and overcome as a professional athlete from the Philippines is the lack of exposure outside my home country. Playing overseas has been a significant hurdle, not because of my skill, but because of where I’m from. Many teams lose interest the moment they hear I’m Filipino, often without ever seeing me play. 

Filipino women’s basketball is not widely recognised, and coming from a country that isn’t known for producing professional women’s basketball players often feels like an uphill battle. I had to change the perception clubs had, not just of Filipino athletes, but of myself. I needed to prove, every single day, that I not only deserved a place, but that a Filipina basketball player belongs at this level. I carry with me not just my aspirations, but the dreams of thousands of young girls back home. I want them to see that what once seemed impossible can be achieved.

What is your greatest strength? 

I believe my greatest strength is my happiness, especially my smile. No matter what life throws at me, I choose to look at things positively. It not only helps me through the tough days, but I’ve found it also uplifts others. People often tell me that my smile brightens their day. That’s something I carry with pride.

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Natasha Tanjutco is a Filipina designer, advocate and social entrepreneur recognised for her work in culture, climate action and youth empowerment. A National Geographic Young Explorer, Natasha began engaging with climate-affected communities as early as age nine. Her childhood travels across the Philippines exposed her to cultural festivals, environmental degradation and typhoon recovery efforts, shaping her commitment to sustainability.

In 2015, she and her sister Isabella Tanjutco co-founded Kids for Kids Philippines. This youth-led organisation has mobilised over 1,500 volunteers globally, raised US$300,000+ for climate resilience, and created safe spaces for youth-driven community projects.

Tanjutco is also the creative director at TAYO, a design studio and “change agency” focusing on sustainability through Filipino cultural frameworks. TAYO (meaning ‘we’ or ‘to stand’) develops brand strategies, art festivals like Kamalayan and initiatives like Pulo for localised climate solutions.

Throughout her work, Natasha employs neo-vernacular Filipino aesthetics to address global challenges, emphasising culture as “soft power” for sustainable development. Her work with organisations like UNICEF, WWF and Museo Pambata integrates indigenous knowledge systems and collaborative design thinking.

Who are your heroes, and why? 

My heroes are the Filipino youth who still have hope, who still dream. Hope is so hard to come by in our world today. It does become more difficult as we grow up. But because I was able to start this work at a young age, I made a promise to future generations that I would never stop believing in them and the world we hoped for when we were younger. I hope that one day in schools, instead of focusing on the heroes of the past, students see how the young people sitting right in front of them are heroes too, in their own way. It is brave to continue dreaming, and it is crucial for us to help the youth achieve their goals. 

What is your advice for the next generation of women and girls? 

We are cultural bearers and storytellers. We need to realise this at an earlier age because the stories we tell are the ones that last for generations beyond ours. These stories are the ones that shape what home is. And home is not just a place but a feeling that everyone needs and looks for when everything around them falls. 

The power of both the head and heart lies with us. It is only right that we begin to see beyond our generation. We must never forget the women before us who birthed the revolution, who cooked and cleaned up our nation, who knew empires built by men wouldn’t last forever, and so we created homes for everyone to run back to. I’m so proud to have been raised by such empowered women, strong and creative Filipinas who date back thousands or even millions of years, that shaped this archipelago. Filipinas everywhere need to know they are a part of this larger legacy of storytelling that we girls hold.

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