2007 Filipinas Magazine Achievement Awards

Community Service: Arlene Machetta, Esq.
Sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Arlene Castro-Machetta is one of those movers and shakers of the Filipino American community who can always be counted on to lend a helping hand, take a leadership role, speak on behalf of the downtrodden and provide pro bono legal services to those in need. There is no obstacle too big or an issue too small for her to put her best efforts in achieving what she has set out to do.

As Managing Attorney of the International Law and Immigration Section of the Machetta Law Firm in Houston, Texas, Arlene Machetta provides policy advice to multinational oil and gas companies and nonprofit entities on regulatory and immigration issues. Her professional credentials include a Doctorate in Jurisprudence with concentration on International Law from the University of Houston, a Masters in Public Administration fellow with concentration on Business and Government Policy from Harvard University, and membership in the American Bar Association’s International Law and Practice Section.

Machetta also uses her lawyering skills to defend domestic violence victims particularly those from the Filipino American community who may not know how to use legal means to protect themselves. Likewise, her advocacy of immigration reform and her strong support of Filipino veterans’ equity rights fit right into her professional acumen.

Deeply committed to community service, Machetta is chair of the National Federation of Filipino-American Associa-tion’s (NaFFAA) Southwest region and sits on the board of quite a number of civic organizations including People Helping People International, the Girls Scouts of Houston, the University of Houston Asian Studies Advisory Council, the Houston Mayor’s Advisory Board for International Affairs and Development, and the Houston Police Department.

Machetta showed the full extent of her mettle during the Hurricane Katrina crisis when she used her formidable organizing skills and contacts to mobilize community support and create an expeditious and effective crisis management response that eased the burden of the thousands of refugees that flocked to Houston from New Orleans. That many of them were Filipinos was significant but not crucial to Machetta. “The help we provided was for everyone in need,” she emphasized.

When asked which involvement she is most proud of, this Filipina who was recognized as one of Ten Most Outstanding Boholanos in the World in 2003 cites two: her work with People Helping People Foundation, which offers a microfinancing program for the poorest of the poor to help themselves, and the Girl Scouts, where she strives to instill the principles of pluralism and a genderless worldview to first-generation Asian American girls.

Beyond her professional and public advocacies, Machetta devotes her time to her husband and two young daughters, age four and one, and to her passion for riding. With her horse, Sam, she has joined endurance riding competitions that have her traverse 50 miles of very difficult terrain each time. For Machetta, who is not one to shirk from challenges, each obstacle—in riding and in life—is just a speed bump that makes the journey more interesting.

Souvenir Programme