WOMAN ADVOCATE
Susan Pineda
Founder of Ing Makababaying Aksyon (IMA) Foundation
WHERE IT BEGAN
A Life Shaped by Courage
Susan is a human rights activist and a feminist. Her advocacy grew from years of involvement in youth and socio-civic organizations and from her work helping rebuild communities devastated by the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.
During her relief and rehabilitation work, she was abducted, tortured, and almost killed. After surviving that experience, she turned her pain into action—organizing community women and eventually founding organizations dedicated to women’s empowerment and support for victims of gender-based violence.
FROM EXPERIENCE TO ADVOCACY
Turning Experience Into Action
After her ordeal, Susan organized community women as a response to the challenges facing their communities. She founded the Kapisanan para sa Kagalingan ng Kababaihan sa Angeles (KKKA) and later the Ing Makababaying Aksyon (IMA) Foundation, creating spaces and programs centered on women’s empowerment and support.
What began with community organizing grew into a broader commitment to women’s rights, gender and development, policy advocacy, and humanitarian work.
A LEADER WHO CREATES CHANGE
From Community to Policy
COMMUNITY
Susan organized women in her community and helped establish organizations focused on women’s empowerment and support for survivors of gender-based violence.
POLICY
As a two-term Angeles City councilor, she worked on legislation addressing Gender and Development and HIV/AIDS, helping bring women’s concerns into local policy.
ADVOCACY
Her work has extended into national and international spaces, where she has contributed to conversations on women’s rights, human rights, and social development.
BEYOND IMA
Advocacy Without Borders
Susan’s advocacy continued beyond the Philippines. In the United States, she worked as a bilingual advocate for survivors of domestic violence, a senior paralegal in immigration law firms, and a program manager for a nonprofit organization.
She also became a Department of Justice-accredited legal representative, assisting victims of human trafficking and members of Asian communities with immigration matters. Her work with immigrant communities became another part of her continuing commitment to human rights.
EDUCATION
• Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology
• Bachelor of Laws
• Graduate studies in Public Administration
• Women in Management Program — CENTEK University, Sweden
RECOGNITION
• Outstanding Kapampangan Award — Women Category
• Various local and international recognitions for advocacy and community work
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE ADVOCATE
A Life Beyond the Work
For Susan, advocacy is not separate from life. It is shaped by the realities women face in their homes, communities, workplaces, and society. Her work reflects a belief that women deserve not only protection from violence and inequality, but also the opportunity to live, lead, and build better lives.
Her story continues through the people, programs, and movement she helped build.
