Sila María Calderón Serra is a Puerto Rican politician,businesswoman,and philanthropist who was the governor of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first woman elected to that office. Prior to her term as governor,Calderón held various positions in the government of Puerto Rico,including the 12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from 1988 to 1989,and Chief of Staff to Governor Rafael Hernández Colón. She was also mayor of San Juan,the capital of Puerto Rico,from 1997 to 2001.
Mayagüez is the ninth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez,and is also known as La Sultana del Oeste,Ciudad de las Aguas Puras,or Ciudad del Mangó. On April 6,1894,the Spanish Crown granted it the formal title of Excelente Ciudad de Mayagüez. Mayagüez is located in the center of the western coast on the island of Puerto Rico. It has a population of 73,077,and it is the principal city of the Mayagüez Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Mayagüez–Aguadilla,PR Combined Statistical Area.
Puerto Rico celebrates all official U.S. holidays,and other official holidays established by the Commonwealth government. Additionally,many municipalities celebrate their own Patron Saint Festivals,as well as festivals honoring cultural icons like bomba y plena,danza,salsa,hamacas (hammocks),and popular crops such as plantains and coffee.
Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla,known as El Gran Ciudadano de las Américas,was a Puerto Rican educator,philosopher,intellectual,lawyer,sociologist,novelist,and Puerto Rican independence advocate.
The University of Puerto Rico,Río Piedras Campus is a public land-grant research university in San Juan,Puerto Rico. It is the largest campus in the University of Puerto Rico system in terms of student population and it was Puerto Rico's first public university campus.
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York is a public community college in the South Bronx,New York City. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and was created by an act of the Board of Higher Education in 1968 in response to demands from the Hispanic/Puerto Rican community,which was urging for the establishment of a college to serve the people of the South Bronx. In 1970,the college admitted its first class of 623 students at the site of a former tire factory. Several years later,the college moved to a larger site nearby at 149th Street and Grand Concourse. The college also operates a location at the prow building of the Bronx Terminal Market.
Santanu K. "Sandy" Baruah is an American politician from the state of Oregon and is the president and chief executive officer of the Detroit Regional Chamber.
Alfredo Salazar was an economist by education and a banker by profession. He entered into public service and ran for an elected position affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PDP). He ran for the office of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the United States Congress in the 2008 elections. Prior to running for Congress,he served as Chairman and President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank (GDB) and financial advisor to the then governor of Puerto Rico,Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. He had previously served as President of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company and GDB president during the first administration of Gov. Rafael Hernández Colón in the mid seventies and Head of the Economic Development Administration during Hernández Colón third administration.
The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) —Spanish:Compañía de Fomento Industrial de Puerto Rico —is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico authorized and empowered to induce private capital into Puerto Rico in order to establish trade,cooperatives,and industrial operations in Puerto Rico. As its primary function,PRIDCO is known for providing incentives to both native and foreign companies that either manufacture in Puerto Rico or export from Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico responsible for the economic development in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and all its commerce related matters.
Carmen Ana Culpeper-Ramírez served as the first female Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury during the administration of Governor Carlos Romero Barceló. During the governorship of Pedro Rosselló,she served as the president of the then government-owned Puerto Rico Telephone Company.
JoséGuillermo Rodríguez Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the Mayor of the city of Mayagüez,Puerto Rico for 27 years until March 31,2022 when he was suspended by the Special Independent Prosecutor Panel. He was born in Mayagüez on October 10,1956. He is a member of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico.
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters." The agency's activities have been summarized as the "3 Cs" of capital,contracts and counseling.
Karen Gordon Mills is an American businessperson and former government official who served as the 23rd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She was nominated by President-elect Barack Obama on December 19,2008,confirmed unanimously by the Senate on April 2,2009,and sworn in on April 6,2009. During her tenure,her office was elevated to the rank of Cabinet-level officer,expanding her power on policy decisions and granting her inclusion in the President's cabinet meetings. On February 11,2013,she announced her resignation as Administrator and left the post on September 1,2013.
Jovita Carranza is an American businesswoman who served as the 26th Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2020 to 2021,having previously served as the 44th Treasurer of the United States from 2017 to 2020. She was appointed to both roles by President Donald Trump. Before that she served as the Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration from December 2006 to January 2009. Appointed by President George W. Bush,Carranza was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Prior to her first appointment to the SBA,Carranza served as Vice President of Air Operations for United Parcel Service (UPS) at its facility in Louisville,Kentucky.
The Facultad de Derecho Eugenio Maria de Hostos was a law school located in Mayagüez,Puerto Rico. The School was founded by Fernando Bayrón,Juan Mari Brás and Carlos Rivera Lugo in 1995. The institution lost its ABA accreditation,and then the Puerto Rico Supreme Court also withdrew the accreditation due to school's economical difficulties. After having granted degrees to 900 alumni,Hostos closed in 2013,when the last commencement ceremony had only eight graduates,out of ten students in their final semester. The Eugenio Maria de Hostos Law School aspired to achieve the development of a legal professional who was also responsive to the needs of their communities and who would embrace the Hostos educational philosophy.
Alberto BacóBagué is a lawyer,a certified public accountant (CPA),and a legal and commercial advisor that served as Director of the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank from 1990 to 1993. Previous to that Bacóserved as Executive Vice President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank from 1989 to 1990. He also served as General Counsel at the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions from 1986 to 1989,and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Puerto Rico from 2004 to 2006. In his private life Bacóserved as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Marvel International and Bohío International from 2005 to 2011.
Jeanne A. Hulit served as Acting Administrator of the Small Business Administration from September 2013 to February 2014.
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican academic administrator,currently the eighth Chancellor of The City University of New York (CUNY),the largest urban public university system in the United States. A historian,professor,author and noted Puerto Rican scholar,Matos Rodríguez previously served as president of two CUNY colleges and as a cabinet secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Family Affairs. He assumed the post of Chancellor of CUNY on May 1,2019,becoming the first Hispanic to lead the university.
Isabella Casillas Guzman is an American government official serving as the administrator of the Small Business Administration in the Biden administration. She assumed office on March 17,2021. She is the fifth Latina woman to ever have served in the Cabinet of the United States.
