RISE 2019 Conference

Transforming University Engagement In Pre- and Post-Disaster Environments: Lessons from Puerto Rico

Nelson I. Colon

President and CEO

Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR)

 

havidan rodriguez photo

Dr. Nelson I. Colón is the President and CEO of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (PRCF) since 2000. Under his leadership, the Foundation initiated several programs including the Multi-sector Movement for a World Class Education in Puerto Rico. Dr. Colón has served as an international consultant on five different continents. After Hurricane María, the PRCF led the charge in fostering equitable access to energy through solar communities and equitable access to water by strengthening the community aqueducts in rural communities. Under his leadership, the PRCF became the main philanthropic force on the recovery of grass-root and afro-descendant communities in PR. Dr. Colón taught at University of Puerto Rico, at Inter American University and lectured at the School of Medicine. Founded the Caribbean Project for Peace and Justice of the AFSC and directed the Hispanic Office of Planning and Evaluation in Boston. His writings have been published in international magazines, at Harvard’s University “La Revista”, and local newspapers. In 2019, he was the lead investigator for “Tejiendo Redes” (Weaving Networks), a portrait of a successful school in a low income highly criminalized neighborhood in PR. Colón was named Emeritus Chair of Hispanics in Philanthropy in 2018 and serves on several boards including: the Northeast and Island Regional Education Laboratory and Community Foundation Leads. Dr. Colón is a former Commissioner of the Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission. Dr. Colón holds a BA in Sociology from UPR; MA in Cultural Anthropology from SUNY Binghamton; and a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University.