2019 TOFSA AWARDEE

Evelyn Ballesta Crow

Evelyn Ballesta Crow currently serves as President of KARILAGAN Philippine Cultural Group, Inc. KARILAGAN is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit tax-exempt cultural, educational, and charitable organization whose mission is to preserve and promote the Asian Filipino heritage to the greater community. It focuses primarily on the authentic portrayal of Filipino culture through the performing arts, specifically traditional folk dance and music. It is an all-volunteer group started by dedicated Filipino women in the late 1980s that now includes members of several families from various diverse groups, not just Filipino Americans.

KARILAGAN offers free membership and training to interested individuals who want to discover or re- connect with their Filipino roots. It also provides scholarship grants to selected college students of Filipino American descent. KARILAGAN performs at various events and venues in San Antonio and beyond, with its all-volunteer group. KARILAGAN operational funds come from performance donations, sponsorship, community support, and group fundraising activities.

Before coming to the United States, Evelyn Ballesta Crow attended the University of the Philippines in Iloilo where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Comparative Literature. She was a Cross-Cultural Trainer for Peace Corps Philippines and taught with her husband Burton at St. Peter’s College in Ormoc, Leyte, followed by three more years as Peace Corps Volunteers and college faculty members at West Visayas State University in Iloilo. Later, Evelyn obtained a scholarship grant at Columbia University in New York City for a Master’s degree in Anthropology and Education, graduating in 1980. When husband Burton completed his PhD in Comparative and International Education in 1986, they and their two sons moved to Texas to be with family in San Antonio.

In San Antonio, Evelyn worked as Director of International Programs at Saint Mary’s Hall until she retired. Before that she served as Educational Specialist at the Institute of Texan Cultures and as Faculty in Charge of the SPECTRA Humanities and International Program at St. Luke’s Episcopal School.

In 1989, Evelyn was inducted into Leadership San Antonio, the first Asian Filipino member selected in the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce program. Due to her passion and accomplishments in international education, the National Peace Corps Association selected Evelyn for the Global Educator Award in 2001, followed by the Franklin H. Williams Award for Community Service in 2002, both honors presented to her by Peace Corps in Washington, DC.

In addition to her professional work, Evelyn has served as Chairperson of the Asian Festival at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) in 1989 until 1999, and until 2002 when the Asian Festival was moved to the Institute of Texan Cultures. She was past President of St. Andrew’s Church United Methodist Women. She is currently a member of the Asian Festival Steering Committee and the Filipino Exhibit Advisory Committee at the Institute of Texan Cultures.

Evelyn and her husband, Dr. Burton Crow, have two sons - David in Boston and John in Tokyo - and two grandchildren, David Porter and Shelby Quinn.