Wilma Cruz-Tapalla

Wilma Cruz-Tapalla is a veteran speech trainor and image consultant in the Philippines. She is the Founder and Director of the Wilma Cruz-Tapalla Academe of Speech and Personality, a leading finishing school in the Philippines.
Early life and education
Tapalla completed her elementary education at St. Theresa's College, and high school education at La Consolacion College in Manila. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters, and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree from Lyceum of the Philippines (now Lyceum of the Philippines University).
She took up graduate studies in Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication; Speech Drama at Wayne State University; Poise and Personality at John Robert Powers Finishing School in San Francisco, California; Speech for Executives at the London Language School; Speech Pathology at St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital in Michigan; Speech Dynamics under Dorothy Sarnoff of New York; Charismatic Speech under Doe Lang of New York; Voice Acting at Speech Masters in New York; Phonetics under Hazel Brown of New York; Intensive English Pronunciation under Laura Darius of the Centre for Speech Arts in New York; Brandon Techniques in Sta. Clara, California; Personal Power with Firewalk Experience under Anthony Robbins of California; Speech Camp at the University of California; Television Acting at the KGO Channel 7 under Jack Henson of San Francisco; and Public Speaking and Public Relations Seminar in Washington D.C..
Coaching
Tapalla established the Wilma Cruz-Tapalla Academe of Speech and Personality (WCT Academy) in 1967. The academy is a finishing school offering speech communication, personality development, and foreign language, and ESL courses for students, tourists, models, politicians, and professionals. Under her leadership, the academy has trained prominent members of the Philippine society, including high-ranking government officials, beauty queens, local politicians, doctors, lawyers, actors, and athletes. Among her former students include former Executive Secretary Oscar Orbos, former Philippine Presidential Candidate Eddie Villanueva, former Secretary of Education Nilo Rosas, Miss Universe 1994 Finalist Charlene Gonzales, and veteran actress and now Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto. Her corporate clients include the Philippine Medical Association, San Miguel Corporation, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Professional Regulation Commission, Department of Justice, Philippine National Bank, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University-Manila, , St. Scholastica's College, College of the Holy Spirit, San Beda College, Mapua Institute of Technology, Centro Escolar University, Philippine Women's University, Arellano University, Lyceum of the Philippines University and St. Paul University Quezon City.
The WCT Academy was adjudged as the Most Outstanding Speech Clinic in the Philippines by the People's Choice Awards Committee.
Hosting
Tapalla served as a guest speaker in the People to People Organization, a non-profit group established by former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower in Royal Oak, Michigan. She was also the Master of Ceremonies in The Eleventh Filipino-American Holiday Cruise.
Media
Tapalla was selected by IBC-13 Broadcasting Network to host an educational show entitled Communicating with Wilma. She also runs a column at the Woman's Home Companion magazine.
Government
Tapalla was appointed as a member of the Movies and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), the official government agency regulating the film and television industry in the country.
She was also chosen by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) as one of the Women Experts in the Philippines.
Organizational affiliations
Tapalla is a member of the Speech Communication Association of America, and the International Platform Association, also based in the United States.

Awards
Tapalla was proclaimed International Woman of the Year from 1991 to 1992 in Cambridge, England; and from 1992 to 1993 in North Carolina, USA. She was proclaimed one of the Ten Best Speakers in Speech by Wayne State University in 2000. She was also listed in the World's Who's Who of Women and in the World's Who's Who of Intellectuals by IBC England.
She was the first recipient of the Most Outstanding Overseas Filipino Female Speech, Poise and Personality Educator award from the PINES Universal in Los Angeles, California. She was adjudged as Most Outstanding Educator and Leading Speech Instructress by the Citizens Civic Association of the Philippines.
She received the Celebrity Mother of the Year award in 1991 and 1995. She also received the Most Outstanding Alumna award from La Consolacion College and the Lyceum of the Philippines University.
She received the Year's Outstanding Women of the Nation (YOYWN) award, as well as the Ten Outstanding Women of the New Society (TOWNS) award.
Private life
Tapalla's daughter, Valerie Tapalla, attended the University of California at Berkeley and the Institute of Hospitality Management and English Studies in the Isle of Man, United Kingdom. She is now teaching Personality Development at the WCT Academy.
Tapalla's son, Vernon Tapalla, attended the College of Notre Dame. He has established his own language school, Vernon Tapalla's Communication Specialists and the Writing Institute.

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