Aurece Aubrey Bahala is a training expert and program coordinator with the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, a policy, research, and training center in southern Philippines. During her Humphrey Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, Aubrey will study Public Policy and Public Administration to learn how civil society organizations in transitional and post-conflict countries shape public policies and institutions. She works to build governance capacity of political parties, civil society, indigenous peoples, former combatants, disenfranchised groups, and officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). These stakeholders are involved in the transitional period negotiated to resolve the decades-long conflict in Mindanao.

Aubrey previously worked in helping strengthen local government capacities with a NGO specializing in decentralization, and as a college instructor at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. She has a Masters in public administration and public policy from the University of the Philippines and a BA in political science.

Aubrey enjoys reading and travelling to explore and learn about food, art, and culture of local communities. She also loves to go biking in the countryside and goes surfing when at the beach.