The following is an announcement from the Filipino Community of Seattle:
Filipino Community of Seattle Executive Director, Sheila Burrus has been chosen as the official White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders delegate to attend the 2015 Asian Pacific Economic Council (APEC) Summit to be held in Manila, Philippines from November 16 to 18.
Initiated in the Philippines in 1996, the APEC CEO Summit is a business forum in the Asia Pacific region that brings together global business executives, economic leaders, and policy makers. It is the only platform where the business community can engage with the APEC Economic Leaders.
“The United States is committed to strengthening commercial and economic ties through the Asia-Pacific, which is a critical dimension of the president’s focus on this fast-growing region,” Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews said in a statement. “With a population of 2.85 billion people and an economy currently accounting for nearly 60% of the world’s GDP, the APEC region is an important economic partner to the United States. The Commerce Department will continue to collaborate with APEC members to build a highly competitive, vibrant, open, and transparent regionally integrated economy that is an engine of global growth.”
Burrus will also join the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) National Director Alejandra Castillo, as part of the delegation of small and medium-sized enterprises to the Philippines for the inaugural APEC Small Medium Enterprise (APEC SME) Summit on November 15.
Owner of Crewsing International, LLC, contractor and operator of Food Kiosk & Crew Center Development at the Port of Seattle, Burrus has been and continues to be an active member of Asian Business Community. She is a past president of the Northwest Filipino Chamber of Commerce and an accredited agent of the Philippine Consular Service, serving the Pacific Northwest.
She is involved in numerous boards and community activities:
Founding Member, Celebrate Asia (Seattle Symphony)
VP Membership – Federation of Philippine Chambers of Commerce (2011-2013)
Board Advisor – Seattle Chamber of Commerce Urban Enterprise Center
Advisory Council – Seattle School District Parent Advisory Council
Advisor – Greater Seattle ASEAN Canada Business Alliance
Board Member, Fund Development Chair, Filipino Community of Seattle 2010-2013
Past President – Filipino Chamber of Commerce Pacific Northwest
Burrus is also the owner of Sheila Burrus Insurance and Financial Services, a State Farm Insurance agency since 2006. She attended the University of Sto. Thomas in Manila, Philippines. She completed the Minority Business Executive Program in 2013 at the UW Foster School of Business. She was a private banker for a national bank for 14 years. She just finished a certification as a Legal Assistant and Paralegal with highest honor awarded.
She has been awarded several honors including honoree for Women of Color in
Promoting Financial Security, recipient of the 2011 Asian American Pioneers in Social Entrepreneurship Award and nominee, Filipino Women Network, 100 Most Influential Filipina in the United States, 2011.
In these positions, Burrus uses her resources and many connections to better serve the underrepresented population and small businesses in the Filipino community. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Filipino Community of Seattle.