By the MabuhayRadio.com News Service

L os Angeles, California – Rear Admiral Eleanor "Connie" Mariano, MD, USN (Ret.), will launch her book "The White House Doctor: My Patients Were Presidents" in New York City at the MSNBC television network on June 22, 2010, at 6:45 p.m. Then a book signing will follow immediately at the nearby Philippine Center, 556 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036.

In a meeting between Ernesto Gange, the June 22^nd book-signing initiator, and Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, the Filipino envoy said that, "Dr. Mariano has brought honor to our community because she is the first Filipino-American naval officer to reach the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy." 

On the other hand, Philippine Consul General Cecile B. Rebong of New York said that "bringing Admiral Mariano to the Philippine Center in New York on June 22 is a historic event because she was the first woman to serve as director of the White House Medical Unit."

Connie Mariano was born at the Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite City, Philippines. Her father served in the US Navy as a steward, moved the family to the United States in 1957. Connie was the valedictorian of the 1973 class of the Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, California. She is a University of California, San Diego, alumna from Revelle College where she graduated cum laude and received her degree in Biology at the University of California, San Diego. After her undergraduate studies, Connie Mariano joined the United States Navy in 1977 where she received her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of Medicine in 1981 at Bethesda, Maryland.

Connie Mariano held many titles during her nine years at the White House. In each case, Connie was the first to hold the title: The first military woman to become a White House physician, the first woman Director of the White House Medical Unit, and the first Filipino American in American history to become a Navy Rear Admiral …Throughout my entire presidency, Connie was at my side making sure I stayed healthy. She was with me during the happy-and-the-sad times, as well as in the historic and private moments.  I trusted her with my life and the lives of my family. – William Jefferson Clinton

Ms. Mariano was nominated to the rank of Rear Admiral by President Bill Clinton and eventually served as the White House Physician for Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. She retired from the Navy in 2001. She joined the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2005, she founded the Center for Executive Medicine in Scottsdale. Dr. Mariano is a frequent speaker on the topics of care to VIPs, presidential disability, travel medicine and optimizing quality of care.

She stated that "Opportunities are available now more-than ever in the US Navy for women, especially those of Asian Pacific heritage, who seek purpose, opportunity and service to country." She adds, "I have been blessed throughout my life with numerous opportunities to learn.  Education has always been the cornerstone of my survival and achievement."

Ms. Connie told Ernesto Gange that her first and last visit to the Philippines was about ten years ago with President Clinton, when they stopped over in Manila from Indonesia. She confided that she is excited to visit the country of her birth sometime in August this year if invited by the new Government of the Philippines. She will promote the book and encourage the Filipino people to "work together and be proud of their heritage wherever they are."

F or further information about the June 22 book signing, please contact the Philippine Center in New York @ 212.575.4774; International Network of Filipinos Overseas, attention Linda Limcaco @ 609.903.1123 or Ernesto Gange @ 267.229.4267. # # #