After growing up on an Indiana farm, Norea’s teenage trip to her mother’s homeland in the Philippines provided, with hindsight, a valuable dose of culture shock. Not only did it open her eyes to the injustices of the world, but to her own position of privilege and her opportunity to leverage that position for positive change.
 
Alongside playing guitar and singing in punk and indie rock bands, Norea earned a degree in Ethnomusicology, with a focus on the music of Southeast Asia, at the University of Washington.  She later earned a Certificate in Technical Writing and Editing from the University of Washington.
 
Norea built a career in technical writing, editing and marketing, those skills ultimately proving valuable to organizations she loved in the nonprofit sector.  She created a firm of writing and editing professionals, BukoTree, plus joined the Development team at Washington Women in Need. A tireless advocate for women and children, Norea has volunteered with Passages Northwest, Open Arms Perinatal Services, Landesa, Rain City Rock Camp for Girls, Pinay Sa Seattle, and Lake Washington Girls Middle School. She is a founding member (bass guitar) of the local kindie-rock sensation, The Not-Its!