Every journey reveals a hidden landscape within.
– Riza Rasco
Short Bio
Dr. Riza Rasco is a scientist-turned-global explorer, author, and internationally recognized leader in women’s leadership and social impact through travel. After a prolific career in the life sciences, she traveled to all 203 countries and found unexpected healing, reinvention, and purpose along the way.
She now leads nonprofit and business organizations that harness the power of travel to uplift communities, and she speaks and consults globally on purposeful travel, reinvention, and impact-driven leadership.
Long Bio
Dr. Riza Rasco is a scientist-turned-explorer, author, and internationally recognized leader in women’s leadership, global travel, and social impact.
With a Ph.D. in bioengineering and over two decades of experience in scientific innovation and intellectual property strategy, Riza built a prolific and accomplished career in the U.S. biotech and consulting industries.
But in midlife, following a period marked by infertility, divorce, the deaths of her mother and great aunt, and a growing disconnection from her once-driven sense of purpose, she found herself standing at a quiet crossroads.
What began as a break from the life she had always known became an unexpected transformation. Over the next ten years, Riza would go on to travel to all 203 countries (193 UN member states and 10 non-UN countries), as well as all 82 provinces of the Philippines.
She hadn’t planned to reinvent herself through travel—but it became the mirror and the map through which she slowly rediscovered meaning, courage, and connection.
That journey became the foundation of her memoir, The World Is My Mirror, a contemplative story of healing and reinvention, tracing how one woman’s global odyssey helped her reconstruct a life grounded not in achievement, but in authenticity and impact.
Along the way, Riza co-founded the Philippine Global Explorers (PGE)—now the world’s largest national travel club—uniting globally accomplished Filipinos in service of community projects that promote education, cultural preservation, and sustainable tourism across the Philippines.
She also founded Explore Africa for Impact, a social enterprise that provided culturally immersive tours in West Africa, with all net proceeds supporting women’s empowerment, education, and environmental stewardship. Though it was closed during the pandemic, its legacy continues to shape her work.
Today, Riza serves as Chairman of the Board of PGE. She speaks at international forums on purposeful travel, reinvention, and leadership, and advises both nonprofit and for-profit organizations on how to integrate mission with meaningful global engagement and social impact.
Her journey and impact work have been featured in National Geographic, Forbes, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Philippine Inquirer, and other international media. She has received the International Women’s Leadership Award (2023) and was honored in Global Women Who Rule (2024) for her work at the intersection of travel, service, and women’s empowerment.
Through her writing, speaking, and leadership, Riza continues to explore how travel can serve not only as a path to personal renewal—but as a catalyst for collective good.
Featured In
The world is my mirror
One Woman’s Global Journey to Reinvention
The World Is My Mirror is a literary memoir told in vignettes—reflective, self-contained chapters capturing emotional turning points, personal insights, and transformative experiences across my journey.