By Gianela Zapata

Filipina nurse and Mindanao native Potri Ranka Manis has been appointed to serve on the New York City government’s newly created Asian Affairs Advisory Council. 


Photo Courtesy of Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office/The FilAm


She is the only Filipino on the council established to advise the Mayor’s office on current issues affecting the Asian community.

In August 2021, Manis made the headlines when she was assaulted and harassed in an anti-Asian hate incident while distributing free masks on a subway in New York.

Manis is also the founder of dance company Kinding Sindaw and is an award-winning poet and playwright who has been greatly involved in creating solutions for societal problems impacting Filipino and Asian-American communities.

According to the Consul General of the Philippine Consulate General in New York, the members of the council will advise New York City Mayor Eric Adams on key issues such as public safety, economic recovery, and education. 

The council will also serve as a bridge for the Mayor’s office and Asian communities to call for a stop to anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes in the United States.