YANNA VERBO ACOSTA is a Communication Arts - Writing Major alumna of UP Los Baños. She received an award as Debater of the Year at the Annual UPLB Campus Debate in 1999 and holds units in Master of Arts in Women & Dev’t Studies @ UP Diliman. As a Civic Worker, she has functioned as Communications Consultant for foreign-assisted projects under the Int’l Tropical Timber Organization and the United Nations – Food & Agriculture Organization.
In 2004, she worked with the Living Asia Channel as Host, Writer, and Executive Producer.
In events management, she is currently the Senior Marketing Director & Media Relations Consultant of the Annual BACKDOOR VENTURES ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL. She has produced several events as an individual entity for the Gabriela’s Purple Rose Campaign from 2001-2003.
As member of the academe, she is an ex-profesora at Miriam College and De La Salle-Araneta University. An accredited Master Trainer in Performance Poetry under the British Council & the UP Institute of Creative Writing, she has handled workshops in UP Baguio, UP Los Baños, Aklan, and Bicol. She currently works as resident mentor for Creative Writing at the Philippine High School for the Arts located on the mystic Mt. Makiling.
Baptized by her contemporaries as La Gitana, Yanna has garnered the respect of the art community, being the Renaissance woman that she is. In her spare time, she does photography and is a stage actress. She has created her signature flare as a passionate writer: a playwright, poet, and songwriter (she has written 2 songs for UK’s CANDID RECORDS with musical director Sammy Asuncion). As a musician, she stands as the fiery frontwoman of ambient-experimental world music group, PROJECT GANYMEDE. She is also a fire dancer and is currently studying flamenco and the violin.
Her book and spoken word album will be launched very soon…
