She obtained her master's degree in Global Studies in Sophia University, Tokyo in 2011 and her bachelor's degree in Sociology (graduated cum laude) from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2003. She was a recipient of the Japanese Ministry of Education's Research Scholarship Grant in 2008 and the Sumitomo Corporation Undergraduate Scholarship Grant in 2000. She is the Managing Editor of Asia-Pacific Social Science Review, a biannual social science journal listed in SCOPUS. She specializes in migration research, particularly in the areas of migrant philanthropy, migrant identity, and Filipino migrants in Japan. Her PhD dissertation project shall deal with return migration in the Philippines.