Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino is the youngest Senator of the 16th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines. In 2003, he became the youngest head of a government agency when, at 25, was appointed as the Chairperson of the National Youth Commission, the primary national policy-making body for Filipino youth. Bam also co-founded the social enterprise Hapinoy, which has received global awards for helping lift poor Filipinos out of poverty through micro-finance and micro-enterprise support. Bam has dedicated his entire career to empowering the youth and the poor, helping thousands of Filipinos improve their lives through access to opportunities and crucial support systems. Because of this work, he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 2010, one of the Asian Social Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2011 and one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World in 2012.