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FWN Member Spotlight: Michele Bumgarner

Michele Bumgarner made her debut into single seater racing with the National Karting Series in the Philippines in 1999 at the age of 10. She has participated in the Asia-Pacific Karting Championships Japa, Shell Super Karting Series, Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC), and the Italian Masters Series.

In 2006 Bumgarner made her auto racing debut driving in the Asian Formula Three Championship, finishing third in the series' Promotion Class.

On September 19, 2008, she became the first female champion of the Rock Island Grand Prix in Rock Island, Illinois, the world’s largest street karting race. The 7th foreign-born winner in its 14-year history, Michele steered the Margay Team to a 1-2-3-4 finish with 11 minutes and 24.144 seconds. She said: "This will stick with me my whole career. Everyone goes on about how great this race is and it’s special that this is my first time here and my first win here. I hope to come back." On September 6, 2009 she successfully defended that title in a three kart battle.

In September 2013, Michele announced that she will join the Mazda Road to Indy program with World Speed Motorsports, to which she made two starts in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires at Houston, claiming a top-10 finish and earning the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award for most positions gained in the race.

In 2014, Michelle joined the Pro Mazda Championship full time, racing for World Speed Motorsports Team. She will be racing in this year's IndyCar Go Pro Grandprix at the Sonoma Raceway as Mazda Road to Indy Driver on August 22-23 in Sonoma, California. For results and series coverage go to www.StarMazda.com and http://roadtoindy.tv.

Pistahan 2014 Update

 

 

              

1.Karissa Fernando letting u  know why she is a #Filipina Disrupter. 2. FWN's table set up with some good dessert. 3.Ramar Foods hosted an ube ice cream eating challenge. 4. Mae Cendana Torlakson showing off pinay power.

FWN @ Pistahan 2014 (Aug 9 & 10) was filled with the best of Filipino art, dance, music and food. Held at the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, the two day festival is billed to be the largest celebration of Filipino Americans in the U.S. This year's festival theme celebrated the unique Visaysan culture and honored the resilience of the Visayan people.

Does the Prospect of Running for Office Discourage Women?

NEW YORK TIMES - The electoral process is rarely described as pleasant. But is there something about facing voters that contributes to the relative lack of female candidates in U.S American elections?

Research from two political scientists at the University of Pittsburgh suggests that women may be more “election averse” than men. Among men and women with similar qualifications, ambitions and political environments, the study said, “the fact that representatives are chosen by electoral means is enough to dissuade women from putting themselves forward as candidates.” More FWN.