Born and raised in Manila, she finished her studies at the University of the Philippines and the University of Illinois in Chicago. 

In Manila, she was a legislative consultant, speechwriter and program director for various high-profile Philippine institutions such as: 1986 Constitutional Commission, Philippine Senate, National Centennial Commission. In Chicago, she was program development officer for various NGOs, counsellor for the Chicago Abused Women Coalition, and freelance theater artist. In Switzerland, she is a lecturer at the University of Finance and writing consultant for an investment firm.

She is actively involved in volunteer work around the globe, including:
- The Asian Women's Human Rights Council (HQ in Manila and Bangalore) - as representative in Europe.
- Lila Pilipina Organization of survivors of sexual slavery during WWII (Manila).
- Pintig Cultural Group (Chicago) - as founding Boardmember and former Artistic Director.
- Jugendsekretariat Bezirks Dielsdorf (Youth Commission of Dielsdorf-Zurich) - as cultural translator.

As a writer and artist, her work crosses oceans and continents.

Her stage and theater arts experience includes the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the PINTIG Cultural Group in Chicago, which she co-founded. Her poetry, articles, and photographs appeared in the Malaya Newspaper and the prestigious Caracoa Literary Journal. She wrote for The Sunday Chronicle, The Manila Times and the ( now-defunct) Midweek Magazine.

Performances in literary events include the Guild Complex, the Montrose Peace Festival and the Printers' Row Book Fair (all in Chicago), the Medellin International Poetry Festival for Peace (Colombia), and Poetry Africa (South Africa).

She has written for Filipinas Magazine (San Francisco), the Philippine Women's Forum (Koln), Philippine Times (Chicago), Gintong Lahi (Hong Kong), Filipino Martial Arts Magazine (New York), Wendekreis and Forum Magazin (Zurich), Regards Africains (Geneva), and various other English and German publications.

Rehearsing BRIDGES actors in Zürich.

In Zürich, she founded the multicultural theater group BRIDGES Intercultural Productions, 2000. She was instrumental in the 1998 Philippine Centennial Celebration in Switzerland, as events organizer, scriptwriter and stage performer.

As Inang Bayan (Motherland) in the Philippine Centennial production.

Her first book, Alone on the Road at Night (short stories and poetry, 1999), was launched in Zürich through a theater presentation which she wrote and directed. The book is now available at the Bider & Tanner Bookstore (Basel), Ad Infinitum (Chicago) and Rex Bookstore (Manila). Her work appeared in 2000 in Ticking Along Free, the much-acclaimed anthology of English writers in Switzerland. This anthology is available at Orell Füssli Bookstore (Zürich) and from the publisher, Bergli Books (Basel). 

Her second book, In A Quiet Place (poetry, 2001), was published and launched in four cities in South Africa. It is now available through Ad Infinitum and Adams University of Natal Bookstore (Durban).

As guest poet in Poetry Africa 2001 in Durban.

Her stories also appeared in Tulikarpänen (Firefly), an anthology of Filipino stories in Finnish.

E-mail: edessa@cssdsc.ch