Dr. Jesus Catigan Insilada is the Secondary School Principal at Caninguan National High School in lloilo City on Panay Island in the Philippines. He comes from a poor background and is the first in his family to earn a college degree. The struggles his parents and older siblings endured to ensure his access to education inspired Dr. Insilada to become a teacher.

Dr. Insilada is an advocate of inclusive and culture-based education (CBE) and seeks to combat low self-esteem among marginalized students. He helps indigenous students discover their roots and affirm their identities through engaging lessons and culturally embedded activities. He promotes parent and community engagement in schools by involving local cultural experts, the local government, and NGOs whose work is aimed at advancing the rights and welfare of indigenous peoples. He believes that it takes a village to raise a child, and, more importantly, it takes a village to educate a child. Dr. Insilada is also a writer who uses his works as a means to educate a wider group of learners beyond the school. He has authored three novels as well as short stories, poems and essays in different local languages. His writing reflects his pride in his own indigenous background.

With his passion for teaching, Dr. Insilada is committed to transforming the lives of less privileged learners, the rural poor, and the indigenous peoples in his country. This transformation will eventually impact the community because students tend to apply what they learn at school in their everyday lives. His reward is to see each student learn knowledge and skills that lay down the path toward self-improvement in inclusive settings.