Maya Butalid

Maya Butalid was born in 1957 in Cebu City, Philippines. She studied at the University of the Philippines, where she became an activist against the Marcos dictatorship. She was sent to the Netherlands to work there from 1983 to 1993. She graduated with a Master’s in Psychology from Tilburg University, Netherlands. She served as Tilburg City Councillor from 2003 to 2010. She now works with the Netherlands Council for Refugees.
Since 2012 she has worked with Pasali, a development NGO in Mindanao, southern Philippines. She is married to Carlo Butalid; they have two daughters Ligaya and Elena, and grandchildren Tala, Manuel, Noan and Léa.