These Are The Speakers You're Going To Be Learning From At Metro Mom Con 2021
Get to know them better here
There's no arguing about it. Of the billions of people in the world, moms are some of the most hardworking, patient, and solid multi-taskers that ever lived. And with the new normal brought on by the pandemic, their responsibilities have more than tripled in the last year.
To thank moms, give them a much-deserved break, and to help them retain a sense of balance and fulfillment in their lives despite the many current challenges they face, Metro is happy to invite them to this post-Mother's Day virtual event, the first-ever Metro Mom Con!
The online event is a six-part workshop that touches on everything the Metro mom loves and does; there are segments dedicated to cooking and food, entrepreneurship, beauty, family life and mental health, and even love and sex in the time of COVID and working from home.
To make each workshop all the more exciting and meaningful, Metro Mom Con invited six main speakers to lead the day's activities, all of whom are experts in their fields:
Dr. Lia Bernardo, The Happiness Doctor and Training and Behavioral Specialist, will lead the discussion on mental health and staying happy these days. Chef Him Uy De Baron will be talking about all things food and kitchen with a Shibuya Hotspot Cooking Workshop. Happy Ongpauco-Tiu will share tips about setting up for special family occasions. Dr. Rica Cruz will answer all your burning questions about intimacy with your partner, while celeb favorites hairstylist Lourd Ramos and makeup artist Albert Kurniawan will make sure that moms get their beauty needs met, alongside Drs. Risa Caldoza de Leon and Cecilia Catapang.
Metro editor-in-chief Geolette Esguerra will host the segment with Dr. Lia Bernardo; they will be joined by celebrity moms Jodi Sta. Maria, Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, Andi Manzano, Mikaela Lagdameo-Martinez, and Sofia Andres. Geolette will also host the workshop with Happy. Host Lexi Schulze will join Chef Him Uy de Baron for the cooking workshop. Janeena Chan will take on the hosting duties for the beauty workshop with Lourd Ramos, Albert Kurniawan, and Drs. Risa Caldoza de Leon and Cecilia Catapang. Host Dela Mar Arias will chat with sex and relationship therapist Rica Cruz and the participants.
Get to know these speakers better in the gallery below!
The Guest Speakers at Metro Mom Con 2021
The Guest Speakers at Metro Mom Con 2021
Dr. Lia Bernardo: How to Keep Your Sanity While Raising Your Kids
There's a reason why she's been nicknamed "The Happiness Doctor." Psychoneurologist and personal development training and behavioral specialist Dr. Lia Bernardo's practice is anchored on person-centered approaches, or in other words, teaching her clients and anyone lucky enough to have a good long chat with her about self-love. To her, self-love is fundamental to a person's functioning and well-being. It's all about remembering to nurture ourselves in spite of all the demands our many roles in life impose on us, never forgetting to put ourselves first when it's time do so. For moms, especially, who willingly dedicate their time and energy to raising their children and providing a lovely home environment for all members of her family, it can be easy for them to forget to take a breather and scoop out some of their time in their day for just themselves. Keeping things real about the current "new normal" and what this means for moms and their self-care, Dr. Bernardo hopes to share insightful practices and habits that all moms can adopt to better care for themselves during this time.
Photo Credit: Ronan Capili
Chef Him Uy De Baron: Shibuya Hotspot Cooking Workshop
If there's a name you should be associating with some of Manila's most forward-thinking restaurants and experimental kitchens, it's his. In the local food scene, Chef Him Uy De Baron has a carved a name for himself with over 20 years of experience. He's not one to stick to a single cuisine because there are just too many scrumptious things from all over the world to taste, to love, to bring home, to make his own, and ultimately, to share with others. He's the man behind Nomama Artisanal Ramen, Cocina Peruvia, and the forever beloved Ping Pong Diplomacy, plus he's become an expected guest in international events like Madrid Fusion and the World Street Food Congress—all testaments of his prowess behind a pot/skillet/oven. Moms are surely in for a treat when they join his workshop that's all about sharing with them the art and fun in cooking.
Photo Credit: Chef Him Uy De Baron on Facebook
Happy Ongpauco-Tiu: Setting Up for Special Family Occasions
Happy Ongpauco-Tiu is known for two things: her love for food (she's a chef, too!), and her talent for talbescapes and beautiful homemaking. She's the whole package; she knows her way around the kitchen and can roll up her sleeves to whip up yummy family classics and sophisticated dishes alike, and once she's out the kitchen door, you can be sure she also knows how to enhance her edible masterpieces with the right plates, silverware, glassware, and table setups. In the past, Happy was, well, happy to cook for private parties by appointment and also style the venues of her clients. But because her love for beautiful things has never stopped growing, she's expanded into entrepreneurship; these days, she curates pretty dining sets that anyone can purchase, so that they, too, can see what it feels like to wine and dine with a beautiful table. It's a talent that Happy developed over time with lots of traveling, hunting for unique home finds, and constantly prepping her own table and others'. And lucky for Metro Mom Con attendees, she's more than glad to share what she knows with other moms hoping to follow in her footsteps.
Photo Credit: @happyongpauco_tiu
Albert Kurniawan: Zoom-Glam in 5 Minutes (Makeup)
You might not know what Albert Kurniawan looks like, but you'll surely know his work. Some of the best beauty looks of Heart Evangelista, Pia Wurtzbach, Toni Gonzaga, and other celebs and beauty queens are all the creations of Albert's, one of the most talented makeup artists in the Philippines today. His career skyrocketed just a few years ago with exposure from all his happy celebrity clients, making it hard to believe that he was a struggling creative not so long ago who moved to Manila all the way from his native Indonesia. Come 2021, he's not only a favorite of high-profile clients to call on when they have big events, he's also a business owner. Makeup brand Teviant is his, and it's his way of sharing quality makeup and beauty tools with women hoping to find fun and self-care through enhancing their best asset of all, their natural beauty. At Metro Mom Con, he hopes to do the same for moms by sharing with them valuable beauty tips for how to look (and feel) their best, especially when all our socializing and interactions are done online. All moms will know how tough it is to look great with an unkind laptop camera, but worry no more, Albert has arrived to address your Zoom makeup woes!
Photo Credit: @abtkurniawan
Lourd Ramos: Zoom-Glam in 5 Minutes (Hair)
With Albert there to handle all your makeup concerns, Lourd Ramos completes the picture by providing the other half of the beauty coin: hairstyling tips and tricks! The seasoned hairstylist who also has frequented celebrity dressing rooms, red carpet events, and homes of Manila's well-heeled for years is also part of Metro Mom Con. He has one and one objective only: to show moms how salon-fresh hair is achievable on their own, what with most salons closed down, and their hair pampering sessions put on hold indefinitely. He knows that hair is a woman's crowning glory and so he has dedicated his creative juices to caring for one of the most powerful beauty weapons a woman has at her disposal (his successful salon and the many people who have trained under him are testament to this!). Learn from the best during his workshop, and your hair will thank you. Just you wait.
Photo Credit: Lourd Ryan Ramos on Facebook
Dr. Rica Cruz: Let's Talk About Sex Over Cocktails
Psychologist Dr. Rica Cruz doesn't shy away from what so many Filipino couples worry about. As a sex and relationship therapist, she's all about addressing a crucial, but not often talked-about, element of intimate relationships. She has always acknowledged that in relationships, feeling loved, supported, and emotionally connected is important, but she also asserts that the physical relationship plays just as big of a role. It's definitely an objective of hers to discuss this topic at Metro Mom Con freely and lightheartedly (no taboos and prudes allowed!) where she's sure that participants will have at least one question about her specialty. After all, for moms whose stay-at-home lives have significantly altered their sex lives and the quality of intimacy they share with their partners (is there intimacy at all with kids and other members of the household always around?), Dr. Rica believes that this time is as good a time as any to talk about all things sex and how to keep the passion alive, COVID or no COVID.
Photo Credit: @_ricacruz
.jpg)
Doctors Cecilia Catapang and Risa Caldoza-de Leon
In addition to these speakers, Doctors Cecilia Catapang and Risa Caldoza-de Leon also hope to touch on a topic that not many women can confidently talk about: hair loss. Different conditions hasten hair loss (be it stress, age, pregnancy, constant hair treatment, or even hormones), and being women themselves, they know just how much its condition can impact women's self-esteem. They join Metro Mom Con as representatives of NOVUHAIR, a product that packs all of nature's answers to hair loss in a formula that works.
Photo Credit: Dr. Cecil Catapang's photo from Cecil Capatang on Facebook / Dr. Risa Caldoza-de Leon's photo from @risacaldozamd on Instagram
Lead photos from @happyongpauco_tiu @abtkurniawan @_ricacruz on Instagram / Photos of Him Uy De Baron and Lourd Ryan Ramos on Facebook / Dr. Lia Bernardo's photo by Ronan Capili
Top Stories
Metro Beauty Picks Of The Week
BEAUTYMar 14, 2023
