What first attracted you to work at HOT?

I first heard about HOT from a former boss, Ms. Joji Bonilla, while we were working remotely from the beautiful island of Siargao. She showed me how to use OpenStreetMap and shared her experiences working with HOT.

I was immediately amazed. At the time, I was working to mobilize civil society organizations and local governments around social accountability. Whenever we needed maps, we would ask community members to literally draw them by hand—sketching out from memory where their village halls, evacuation centers, schools, and houses were.

Learning that this could be done digitally made me see the power of open mapping. It allows data to be collected efficiently and accurately, while still empowering local communities to maintain sovereignty over their own information. This is very well aligned with my personal and professional advocacy which has always been empowering communities to demand improved service delivery and transparency. Seeing how map data could achieve exactly that is what ultimately drew me to HOT.

Tell us a bit about how your career/personal journey led you to HOT.

Prior to HOT, I worked as a development professional in government and non-profit organizations, focusing on areas such as good governance, human rights, and international cooperation.

Throughout these different sectors, the common thread in my journey has always been community empowerment. My path eventually led to HOT when I learned that maps can be one of the most effective tools in bridging the gap of these development areas - giving local communities the tool they need to advocate and drive sustainable change.

What are you most excited about for the future of HOT?

I am most excited to see how our Marketplace experiments and learnings turn out! Seeing local vendors participate in the certification process, alongside growing interest from clients, represents a truly transformative way for non-profits to operate. It shifts how the development space sees communities - moving away from viewing them as mere beneficiaries, and toward recognizing them as equal partners for resilience and local change.

What is your current role at HOT, and how has it evolved?

Currently, I serve as the Marketplace Coordinator, where I am in charge of taking our broader strategies and translating them into clear, daily operational actions. Basically, I act as the main connector between different teams, keeping everyone on the same page and making sure the Open Mapping Marketplace stays on track.

​I originally joined HOT as a People Operations Associate back in 2024, and was eventually given the opportunity to work on partnership development and get involved in several key projects. My role has definitely shifted massively over my two years at HOT, which I’m so grateful for - I always love learning new skills and discovering more about myself! Plus getting to travel to new places such as Uzbekistan for the ADB Annual Governor's Meeting.

What is the most interesting project you've worked on here?

The Marketplace, of course! For me, it is unique and adaptive because it provides a new approach for HOT as an organization on how it connects mapping needs with local vendors. It is basically creating a healthy and sustainable ecosystem that still advocates for accessible, open, and ethical map data while creating livelihood opportunities to local communities.

In addition to this, I believe this is a strong model for non-profits. In an era where some organizations veer toward protectionism, it is interesting how HOT has found a way to uplift partner communities through open mapping. It proves that navigating a changing world doesn't mean stepping back, but rather finding more equitable ways to promote the greater good.

What are your goals in your role in the next 6-12 months?

For my role as the Marketplace Coordinator, my biggest priority immediately is ensuring that the pilot projects run smoothly, building strong systems to support the scaling-up phase, and documenting all our learnings along the way.

What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading Toni Morrison's "Beloved". It is a captivating story about the traumatic past of slavery, and the lingering imprints that haunt generations and familial connections, while navigating memory, loss, and healing.

Coming from a Southeast Asian country, I find a striking resonance in themes such as communal support and navigating contesting identities which hold the same concept in the book.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?

In my free time, you can always find me in a coffee shop, with a pen and a paper (or a book) while slurping a strong coffee or an earthy matcha. I love writing poems in public spaces! One of my favorite poems that I wrote was birthed inside KFC one random night.

Learn more about Andrea here.

Photo courtesy of Andrea