PhD. MBA. MHA. CPA. Professor. Scholar. Songwriter. Music & nature lover. AI enthusiast. A Filipino-American soul who finds meaning in Taoist philosophy, the hum of acoustic guitar strings, the open sea on a cruise deck, and the quiet thrill of a new idea.
"To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something." — Lao Tzu
I hold a Doctor of Philosophy, a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Health Administration, and am a Certified Public Accountant. I've spent years in the world of business, finance, and education, but what drives me has always been the same: a restless curiosity about how things work, and why people do what they do.
My philosophy leans Taoist. I believe in simplicity, in flow, in not forcing things. I find that the deepest truths tend to show up quietly, whether in a line of code, a chord progression, or the way light hits the water at sea.
The questions that keep me up at night are not about problems to solve but about patterns to understand. Why does Nature organize itself so elegantly? What does it mean to know something? How do consciousness, complexity, and beauty all emerge from the same underlying order?
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Lao Tzu
"Whatever is, is in Nature, and nothing can exist or be conceived without Nature."
Deus sive Natura — Nature, or the Infinite
I write and produce original songs in English, Tagalog, and Cebuano under the name Pinoy Ninja. My music is made with Suno AI, shaped by years of playing acoustic guitar, piano, keyboard, and ukelele, and filtered through a Filipino heart. From soft jazz lullabies to heartfelt ballads, every song is a small act of honesty.
I don't just use AI tools, I build with them. From AI-powered music production with Suno to custom Python pipelines using large language models, I treat artificial intelligence as a creative and intellectual collaborator. The question I keep asking: not what can AI do, but what can we do together?
Travel is how I reset. There's something about being far from the familiar that sharpens the mind and softens the ego. I'm drawn to places that have a story, a flavor, a particular quality of light. And nothing quite compares to standing on a cruise deck at night, watching the ocean breathe.
"Not all those who wander are lost." But some of us do enjoy getting wonderfully, intentionally lost.
Some of the best moments in life happen on a dance floor. Connie and I share a deep love for ballroom and Latin styles. Dancing is really just a conversation, one where the music does the talking and the body does the listening.
"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak." — Hopi Indian Saying
Behind every prof who thinks he knows everything is a wife who actually does. Connie is the steady force that holds this family together, not as a supporting role but as the lead. A devoted partner, a loving mother, a fearless home handyman, and a dancer whose passion for the floor is matched only by her passion for the people she loves. She is, without exaggeration, the best thing that ever happened to this professor.
"She is not the wind beneath my wings. She is the whole weather system."Prof. Elf, speaking the truth for once
I am from Davao, the heart of Mindanao, and that city lives in me wherever I go. The culture, the food, the warmth of the people. Being Filipino is not just a nationality. It's a way of being in the world: resilient, generous, and deeply communal.
Connie and I built something together that no degree, no research paper, and no song will ever surpass: two remarkable young women who grew up Fil-Am, curious about the world, fierce in their discipline, and warm in everything that matters. They are researchers, dancers, musicians, martial artists, and lifelong learners, which is to say, they are very much their parents' daughters.
