BAYBAY CITY, Leyte — Awards keep pouring in for AGREA CEO, proud farmer, and VSU alumna Cherrie Atilano.
She was awarded as one of The Outstanding Women in the Nations Service yesterday, November 10, 2016. Today Cherrie was named ‘Earth Mover 2016’ during Rappler’s Annual Move Awards.
Cherrie is a Magna cum Laude of the VSU Agriculture program. She graduated in 2007 and was one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines a few years ago. Cherrie was granted a two-year Fullbright scholarship and the opportunity to pursue her studies in the US. But after seeing the plight of our farmers when she volunteered at the GK Enchanted Garden in Angat, Bulacan, she gave up the well-sought after scholarship for a chance to help her countrymen.
Cherrie joined Gawad Kalinga and helped put up the Agricool initiative to empower farmers by teaching through inclusive decision making, and by equipping them with the necessary farming skills. Today, she is the CEO of AGREA, a company she founded to promote the “Cultivation of human beings through livelihood that is indigenous to the land”. In her own words: “to make agriculture smart, cool, sexy, and humane”.
Cherrie is set to come back to VSU on November 21, for a forum on leadership and civic engagement. Amaranth will be the lead organizer for the event, in partnership with DeCSo, and the University Supreme Student Council.