Managing director
Jesson Reyes
Jesson Reyes was born in Saudi Arabia. He moved to Canada with his family in 2001, and to Toronto in 2011. He organized with fellow young workers and children of caregivers, serving as secretary general of a youth and student organization fighting for genuine freedom and democracy in the Philippines.
Prior to becoming MRCC’s Managing Director, Jesson was a regional coordinator for Migrante Ontario, where he helped organize migrant workers in the Greater Toronto Area and in the Atlantic region. His work in Migrante led him to various workplaces of migrant workers, exposing him to subpar living and working conditions. He also worked with the Canadian Council for Refugees as a youth ambassador where he and fellow youth organizers organized migrant and refugee youths in Toronto. In 2014, Jesson attended Seneca College for the Social Service Work Program. For a short time, Jesson worked as a Settlement Worker working with newcomer families in Mississauga.
Today, Jesson manages the day to day operations of MRCC from developing a strategic plan, convening the board of directors to fundraising for the migrant service institutions.
In his spare time, Jesson enjoys spending time with his partner (expecting their first born child in the Spring 2020), playing basketball, running, and exercising.
Mithi Esguerra
Mithi Esguerra was born in Quezon City, Philippines, and moved to Canada at the age of 13. Upon arriving in Canada, she became involved Filipino community youth organizations, both as a way to deal with her homesickness, but also because she saw common challenges among immigrant youth like herself, most of whom were children of migrant caregivers.
In 2004, she was actively involved in the Justice for Jeffrey (J4J) campaign, in response to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Filipino Canadian Jeffrey Reodica by Toronto police. Shortly after, she became a member of the board of the Community Alliance for Social Justice, a coalition of Filipino community organizations which grew out of J4J, advocating for various issues in the Filipino community.
Mithi has a Community Worker diploma from George Brown College. She also went to Ryerson University for undergrad studies in Social Work, but eventually decided to focus her time and energy on community organizing and raising a family.
Currently, she is an organizer with GABRIELA Ontario, a volunteer Filipino women’s organization working on campaigns to end violence against women and to uphold the rights of Filipino women and children.
Our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors, from left to right:
- Dr. Ethel Tungohan (Chair)
- Andrea Bobadilla
- Atty. Petra Molnar (Secretary)
- Bern Jagunos (Past Chair)
- Jesson Reyes (Managing Director)
- Mithi Esguerra (Program Coordinator)
- Maria Sol Pajadura (Treasurer)