Dazzelyn B. Zapata

Dazzelyn recently left life in Singapore to relocate in Nova Scotia, Canada on September 2021. She finds herself her own subject in the midst of her family's recent migration. Her lived experiences as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) informs her research and community involvement within the Filipino diaspora previously in Singapore and now in Nova Scotia.

Prior to moving to Canada, Dazzelyn was a lecturer at the Communications and New Media Department at the National University of Singapore after she obtained her PhD from the same department in 2015. She taught in the area of mobility and new media, health communication, science communication, advertising literacy, among others. She was also an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philppines Baguio from 2002-2009. Dazzelyn currently teaches communication courses remotely at the Graduate Studies Department, College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines Diliman.

Dazzelyn was also a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (previously in Singapore now based in New Zealand), where she continues doing research on foreign domestic workers and their health. Her other research interests include ICT use in marginalised communities, health communication, mobile phone use in indigenous communities, ethnic representation on television.

Back in the Philippines, Dazzelyn did a lot of community work with various indigenous and rural communities, training youth and teachers in the local schools on leadership, journalism, and conducting research among other topics. She continues with this role in smaller ways and mostly remotely. Dazzelyn is also a trainer on e-diplomacy and the use of social media for diplomatic work for the Foreign Service Institute, Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippine Government.

Dazzelyn is a news correspondent for GMA 7, a Philippine-based television network, where she reported news in Singapore that are of interest to Filipinos back in the Philippines. Dazzelyn has started to embed in the Filipino diaspora in Nova Scotia and looks forward to continue in the role. Some of her recent authored news that aired on GMA TV and GMA Online were about COVID-19 and how it has affected Filipinos in Singapore. She also reported on Filipino visual artists, food and culture, the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and recent Philippine Elections. She is also a co-founder and Senior Correspondent at Rated J News and Information, a social media-based news platform in Singapore.