Dr. Dana G. Vera Cruz

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dana G. Vera Cruz holds a Ph.D. in Hotel Management (2017) from the Bircham International University, Madrid, Spain - with Dissertation: Challenges and Opportunities of Hotel Management Companies in Various Spheres of Influence as Affected by the ASEAN Integration Framework.

Among her extensive academic and career portfolio, she is best known for winning the International Gold Award on Food Innovation at the Salon International d’la Agroalimentaire (SIAL) ASEAN 2016 for her Tilapia Ice Cream. She has continued to innovate Tilapia downstream products through value-adding and was provided a project grant of 2 million pesos in year 2015 to 2016 by the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) for the Tilapia Ice Cream and Tilapia Cookies Enhancement and Commercialization. Her success in this area has paved the way to represent the Philippines to showcase the product in Salon International d’l Agroalimentaire (SIAL) innovation Exhibits in New York, Paris, Indonesia, Abu Dhabi, Canada, and China in 2016-2017.

This year from 2020 to 2022, she will be tapping another 5 million pesos project grant for the Upscale Production an Commercialization of Tilapia Ice Cream by Department of Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (DA-ACEF). She is also the founder and managing partner of Vera Bella Enterprise Limited Company, the Manufacturer of Tilapia Ice Cream.

She is our Board Advisor and Consultant in the area of global pre-commercialization and commercialization of Tilapia Ice-Cream and Cookies.