WHEN the Director of the Census Bureau appointed Ditas Katague to a new national advisory committee, it was just another milestone accomplishment for one of the highest-ranking Filipino-American officials in the United States.
Groves appointed the 47-year-old Katague as a member of the new National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations.
The purpose of the 32-member committee is to advise the Census Bureau on topics such as housing, children, youth, poverty, privacy, race and ethnicity, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and other populations.
“We expect that the expertise of this committee will help us meet emerging challenges the Census Bureau faces in producing statistics about our diverse nation,” said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau’s acting director in a statement.
“By helping us better understand a variety of issues that affect statistical measurement, this committee will help ensure that the Census Bureau continues to provide relevant and timely statistics used by federal, state and local governments as well as business and industry in an increasingly technologically-oriented society,” Mesenbourg added.
According to the Census Bureau release, Katague was chosen because of her expertise and knowledge of the cultural patterns, issues and/or statistical needs of hard-to-count populations. In Katague’s case, for years she has advocated for the Filipino community to stand up, participate and be counted in the Census.
“It is about us, but not only that, it’s about each other, the Filipino people,” Katague said to the FilAm Star, during a census event in 2010. “Nobody can match our spirit. It means standing up and being counted.”
Accomplished Filipina
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Ditas Katague is the youngest daughter of Dr. Dave and Macrine Katague.
Ditas Katague, the current Chief of Staff of Under Commisioner Sandovals, Pubilic Utilities Commission, Office of the Governor, received a Bachelors degree in Social Sciences and Practice of Art from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development.
For the past 20 years, Ditas has served in several leadership positions in the public, private and non-profit sector.
She served as a first vice president of state and local government affairs for Countrywide Financial; a manager at Deloitte Consulting’s Public sector; and program director for the non-profit California Telemedicine & eHealth Center, according to her bio.
Most recently, she served as chief deputy commissioner for California Department of Corporations where she was appointed by then governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Prior to that, she was one of the most important figures in the 2010 Census. As Director of Census 2010, Katague was tasked with overseeing and directing statewide outreach and coordination of the census. She was responsible for all aspects of the $24.7 million grassroots campaign.
During the 2010 census, Katague reached out to her fellow kababayans and urged them to participate and be counted.
She told many reporters that having the large Filipino counted would ultimately lead to more Fil-Am representation in local and state level politics.
“Why don’t we have a state or congressional representative? It is a challenge all of you should think about,” Katague told Asian Journal San Diego.
Proudly Pinoy
“What separates Ditas from other Filipino-Americans is that she’s proud to be Filipino,” said Dr. David Katague, Ditas’ father, in a conversation with the Asian Journal.
Despite being born in America, David said his youngest daughter never forgot where she comes from.
“There are a lot of Filipino-Americans out there and you know, they don’t even like being called a Filipino but my daughter is not one of them. She’s a proud Filipina,” he said.
David added that Ditas has always been a very dedicated and driven woman.
“She wants to help the community,” he said.
In his blog, David said he hopes the next generation of Filipinos should look up to his daughter and see what they could accomplish through hard work and dedication to the community.
“As her father, I am very proud of her accomplishments. If you are a member of the Filipino-American community in California and other parts of the United States, you should also be proud of her accomplishments I hope. I also hope that Ditas achievements can inspire all second generation Filipino-Americans in their search for a better and successful life here in the United States.”
