Ma. Stella Platon is currently the Administrative and Finance Officer of IFES Philippines. Prior to joining IFES Philippines, she served as a Local Facilitator for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), a USAID funded program which assessed the Philippine political situation during the presidential and legislative elections in May 2004. She also worked as a Satellite Office Manager for the USAID s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) funded program based in Cotabato City entitled  Support With Implementing Fast Transition (SWIFT) managed by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) from June 1999 until April 2001. SWIFT was designed to reinforce the 1996 Peace Agreement between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Government of the Philippines (GOP). It supported livelihood projects for MNLF returnees through a program of small Transition Assistance Grants (TAGs) wherein in-kind materials, trainings, or technical assistance were given in conjunction with counterpart resources from GOP line agencies. For eleven years, she worked for a newspaper publication - The Mindanao Cross, and broadcasting corporations - Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation (NDBC) and Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) in Cotabato City where she honed her administrative and financial expertise. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration major in Office and Business Management.