James Ronald Opulencia-Mesina is currently the Assistant Vice-President for External Relations and Global Linkages of Mapua Malayan Colleges Laguna in the Philippines. 

His primary role is to create strategies and implement programs that will globalize the teaching and learning of the University; lead institution-wide efforts for the promotion of sustainable development goals (SDGs); and champion the capacity-building activities for global linkages and internationalization. 

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Santo Tomas; Master of Arts in Political Science major in Global Politics from the Ateneo de Manila University; and currently a candidate for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Management at the Brother Andrew Gonzalez College of Education, De La Salle University. He is also a licensed professional teacher. 

He has been in the academe for two decades now and has been active also in social organizations here and abroad.  

He is also the founding Director of the Institute for Excellence in Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (I-ExCELL) at Malayan Colleges Laguna after serving the institution’s Community Service and Relations Office (CSRO) as Director. 

His professional engagements and consultancy activities include various training programs for the Philippines’s Department of Education on curriculum development, instructional leadership, assessment and evaluation, and professional development. Since 2008, he has spearheaded over 100 teachers’ training programs for the Department of Education and other civil society organizations. 

He actively engages in Mapua MCL’s teams working on Quacquarelli Symonds’ STAR rating, Times Higher Education, and other ranking systems. In 2020 and 2021, Prof. Mesina was a two-time recipient of the Catalyst Award of Blackboard Learn for Student Engagement in 2022 and 2021 for leading the Academic Services teams in transitioning the admission, enrollment, and student support services during the pandemic. 

 
At the sidelines, Prof. Mesina teaches in the E.T. Yuchengco College of Business and the College of Arts and Science handling Social Responsbility, Humanities, Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education courses.