Karissa Fetalvero-Paronia

Karissa R. Fetalvero-Paronia, RN, MAN is the first lady mayor of Sison, a fifth-class municipality, after 57 years of male dominance. She is a visionary leader that embodies the spirit of proactive and transformative leadership, currently serving her third and last term.

Her journey is marked by remarkable achievements such as being the first municipality to declare as ZOD (Zero Open Defecation), under Health & Sanitation Best Practices, in spite of having 3 IP communities which made it more challenging; being a recipient of the SEAL OF GOOD LOCAL GOVERNANCE for four times, which is the highest and prestigious award a local government can receive.

Karissa exemplifies courage, bravery and resiliency in her quest to fight insurgency and the injustices brought by the terrorists in their place, which made her successful in bringing an impactful change, resulting in peace, safety and security that everyone wishes to sustain.

She worked as the Local Area Coordinator of the Philippine Commission on Women for the Magna Carta of Women Project, in partnership with AECID. She served as a Sangguniang Bayan Member, passing several ordinances for gender equality and women empowerment. She is an advocate for lifelong learning as manifested by several of her leadership trainings, receiving recognitions and awards from different NGAs and civic organizations. She is a true and natural leader and a driven and relentless worker that always envisions success for the welfare of the people she’s serving.

She is a graduate of two courses: BS Accountancy and BS Nursing, with a Masters in Nursing. A licensed nurse in the Philippines.