San Francisco, CA — August 12, 2017 — The 32nd Annual Miss Asian Global & Miss Asian America Pageant dazzled audiences at the Herbst Theatre, showcasing the exceptional talents of 21 accomplished delegates.

Trisha Bantigue, a 23-year-old hailing from San Francisco, California, emerged as the distinguished Miss Asian Global and also earned the title of Miss Asian Best in Cultural Attire. Her representation and cultural expression left a lasting impression on the audience.

Meanwhile, Savannah Pham, a 20-year-old with Vietnamese and Cambodian heritage from Murrieta, California, secured the coveted title of Miss Asian America.

This year’s pageant saw a range of talented winners, including Kate Melanie Lam, who earned the titles of Miss Asian California, Miss Asian First Princess, Miss Imagine Talks, and Miss Asian Entrepreneur. Alexis Yup was honored with the titles of Miss Asian San Francisco and Miss Asian Second Princess, while Ernestine Siu shone as Miss Asian Third Princess. The event also recognized outstanding achievements in categories such as Photogenic, Popularity, Social Media, STEM, Scholastic, Congeniality, Talent, and Community Service.

The Miss Asian Global & Miss Asian America Pageant continues to be a powerful platform for empowerment, celebrating the accomplishments of exceptional young women.

Since her reign, Trisha Bantigue earned a spot on Forbes’ 2022 30 Under 30 list. She credits her entrepreneurial drive to the pageant, saying, “Pageants helped me get my degree, and they changed my life.” Trisha worked at Facebook, Google, and Uber, before co-founding Queenly, an online marketplace for formalwear, in 2017. The platform has successfully raised $7 million from venture capitalists.

Continuing her journey to promote mental health awareness, Savannah Pham is now pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Southern Methodist University. She graduated in 2018 from Stanford with double majors in Asian American Studies and Psychology. Her research centers on how culture, ethnicity, and race influence psychopathology and addictive behaviors. This work aims to enhance clinical interventions for better psychological well-being across diverse ethnocultural backgrounds.