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WHO WE ARE

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Foundation for Puerto Rico (FPR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that seeks to unleash Puerto Rico’s potential in the global economy, so more people can live, visit, work, and invest in our beautiful island. Our targeted economic development and resilience programs work hand in hand with our community partners, providing resources, training, funding, and networks that improve the local economy from within. 

We go from knowledge to action, combining innovative, data-driven thinking with strong field-based work across more than 32 communities. We’ve supported over 600 small businesses and collaborated with over 100 local and national NGOs. Our mission control runs out of El Colaboratorio in the heart of Santurce, a space designed to foster collaboration, sharing new ideas, and creating synergies among other NGOs—all united by the goal of transforming Puerto Rico.

Our motto, “there is no future in rebuilding the past,” reflects our transformative vision and dream for the future of our island: a prosperous Puerto Rico that unleashes the talent, creativity, and passion of its people.

Foundation for Puerto Rico Team
We count with a first-class team of talented, passionate, and dedicated changemakers, who – along with our network of partners, sponsors, and in-kind volunteers – work together for a better Puerto Rico.
Our collaborative approach to problem-solving is what’s made us a trusted and reliable partner and recipient of a number of prestigious federal and public grants from entities such as the USDA Rural Development Agency, the US Economic Development Agency, the Kauffman Foundation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Support from these partners allows us to operate our programs with the highest compliance standards.

our Mission

Transform Puerto Rico’s economy into a thriving and sustainable one.

our Vision

A prosperous Puerto Rico that unleashes the talent, creativity, and passion of its people.

Learn more in our Annual Report

OUR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

FPR takes knowledge to action to achieve resilience, economic growth, and policies that scale up social and economic impact. 

Developing and advocating for policies that will create a solid foundation upon which to build Puerto Rico’s economic future is key to fulfilling our vision. Our pillars of strategic innovation, visitor economy, and resiliency are the key areas where we focus our initiatives. We believe that sustainable economic development through these strategies are the most direct pathway to a thriving Puerto Rico, and as Hurricane María clearly showed, resilience is critical to Puerto Rico’s long-term socio-economic development.

In addition, strategic innovation is crucial to drive policy & advocacy efforts. From this vantage point, we’ll providing Puerto Rico with a robust capability to identify and determine the feasibility of high-impact opportunities for transformation, design a purposeful path forward for their development, and drive these projects to successful fruition. 

FOUNDATION FOR PUERTO RICO:

A BRIEF HISTORY

FPR was founded with the goal of becoming a thought leader in the economic development of Puerto Rico.
Established a think tank unit focused on research, public policy and coalition building.
Created the first mission-driven incubator in Puerto Rico – El Colaboratorio (“laboratory of collaboration”) to house, support, and grow Puerto Rico’s NGO ecosystem.
Developed working plans that created a local DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) as a recognized worldwide tourism best practice.
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María, we opened the doors to El Colaboratorio, housed over 180 organizations, and launched over 250 relief missions.
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Designed, piloted, and funded the Bottom Up Destination Recovery Initiative. Chosen by the PRDOH to lead the Whole Community Resiliency Program (WCRP)
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Received a historic grant from the prestigious Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to launch Emprende360° - an innovative small business incubation initiative.
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Reactivated the Small Business Support Program for earthquake victims; published the Biological Border proposal for COVID-19; launched over 50 webinars to support small businesses.
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Launched the Center for Strategic Innovation to provide Puerto Rico with a robust capability to identify and determine the viability of high impact opportunities for transformation.
2011
2013
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

THE

TEAM

Jon Borschow

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
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Annie Mayol

President & Chief Operating Officer
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Damaris Ocasio

Chief Financial Officer

Alexandra Lúgaro

Executive Director, Center for Strategic Innovation
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Ana María López

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Brian English

Senior Adviser of Development

Félix Aponte

Senior Program Officer

Niulka Quiñones

Human Resources Director

Ana Puig

Finance and Accounting Manager

Carla Martorell

Communications Manager

José Rivera

WCRP Communications Manager

Andrea Castro

Grants Manager

Luis Laguna

Marketing & Production Manager

Francis Pérez

Research & Analysis Manager

Jaime Rodríguez

Research & Analysis Manager

Anneliz Oliver

Program Manager - Emprende 360°

Carlos Ayala

Program Manager - Bottom Up

Christian López

Program Manager - Bottom Up

Michelle Torres

Program Manager - Bottom Up

Luz Rodríguez

Grants Manager

Francisco Chévere

Community Grants & Compliance Lead

María McCormack

Community Outreach Lead

Lourdes Pérez

Community Planning Lead

Marisa Rivera

Research Data Analyst

Kevin O. Pérez

Procurement Officer

Hazel Garay

Accounting Coordinator

Mariany González

Facilities Coordinator

Ramón Quiñones

Project Coordinator

Carmen Villanueva

Community Outreach Coordinator

Marie Ann González

Regional Community Outreach Coordinator

Soraya Flores

Regional Community Outreach Coordinator

Rosamaría Ramírez

Regional Community Outreach Coordinator

César García

Regional Planning Associate

Maria Gabriela Méndez

Regional Planning Associate

Zaimara Vera

Regional Planning Associate

Jorge Carrasquillo

Grants and Compliance Officer

Valery Alicea

Grants and Compliance Officer

Vladimir García

Administrative Coordinator

Nelson Villalobos

Development Coordinator

Verónica Montalvo

Procurement Associate

Verónica Rodríguez

Copywriter & Translator

Kevin J. Esteves

Graphic Arts Designer & Digital Media Specialist

Rafael Merced

Accounting Associate

Lydette Lanzó

Communications Content Associate

Anthony Pabón

Bottom Up Area Coordinator

Leishla Agosto

Bottom Up Area Coordinator

Leandro Díaz

Bottom Up Area Coordinator

Lucciano Díaz

Bottom Up Area Coordinator

Natalia Pagán

Bottom Up Area Coordinator

Valerie Mercado

Bottom Up Area Coordinator

Shalomir Gierbolini

Bottom Up Storyteller

María Rivera

Area Coordinator - Destination Planning

Joshua Candelario

Accounting Associate Clerk & Support

Pedro Vélez

Compliance Office Internal Auditor

THE

BOARD

Jon Borschow

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
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Graciela Eleta

Vice Chairwoman

Rafael Ortiz

Director

Managing Director at Moonsail Capital

Ingrid Rivera

Secretary

Founder & President, Rove Consulting

Alexander Borschow

Director

Managing Partner at Semillero Ventures

Ronald Castro

Director

Principal & Chief Strategist at Roca Marketing

Milton Cruz

Director

Chairman & CEO at Insignia Senior Living

Nancy Santiago

Connector. Communicator. Strategist.
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Ramón Mellado

Director

President at Electra Corporation

Juan Antonio Ramos

Director

CFO & Strategic Planning Director at Best Option Healthcare

Juan Sabater

Director

Valor Equity Partner

WANT TO BE
A CHANGEMAKER?

Want to work with people help
to transform Puerto Rico?
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CAREERS

2017

  • Launched an island-wide Visitor Information and Experienced Warehouse database - VIEWPR - with over 11,000 geo located points of interest in the island, including attractions, restaurants, and lodging services for visitors.
  • Convened and collaborated with leaders in state government, NGOs, and the private sector to get the government to approve and sign into law Act 17, which created the Puerto Rico Destination Management Organization (Discover PR).
  • Raised over $4M for the Hurricane Maria Relief Fund, allowing us to launch hundreds of missions, provided direct aid to families, farmers, artists, and small businesses, and pilot innovative recovery programs like the Small Business Cash Grant Program (later renamed the Small Business Support Programs).
  • Served as fiscal sponsor of more than $10M to local NGOs.

2018

  • Designed, piloted and funded the Bottom Up Destination Recovery Initiative (Bottom Up) in Orocovis and later on in Humacao. As a result, we received a $7.9 million federal grant from the Economic Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce (EDA), allowing us to scale Bottom Up to 12 additional municipalities island-wide.
  • In December, FPR was chosen to lead the Whole Community Resiliency Program (WCRP) by the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDOH). This makes FPR a sub recipient of Community Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CBDG-DR) funds established in the Action Plan approved by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

2019

  • Bottom Up started work in the regions of Aguadilla & Isabela, Cabo Rojo & San Germán, Arecibo & Camuy, and Barceloneta & Manatí.
  • Began the program design phase for the WCRP, expanded our team, and engaged with NGOs and municipalities across Puerto Rico.
  • Received a grant from the prestigious Erwing Marion Kauffman Foundation under the Inclusion Open 2019 competition. Our small business incubation initiative - Emprende 360 - marks the first time the Kauffman Foundation supported a program in Puerto Rico

2020

  • Puerto Rico suffered a series of earthquakes, including a 6.4 magnitude earthquake on January 7th mainly affecting the Southwestern part of the island. FPR created the Earthquake Relief Fund to ensure emergency resources get where they are needed most, including the reactivation of the Small Businesses Support Program to provide relief to small businesses impacted by the earthquake.
  • Bottom Up expanded to new regions: Luquillo & Fajardo and Naguabo & Ceiba.
  • Puerto Rico underwent an island-wide lockdown starting on March 16th as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, dealing a devastating blow to the local and global economy. FPR published the Biological Border Proposal as a policy recommendation for controlling the spread of infections stemming from the LMM Airport. We also launched the Stay Open, Stay Safe campaign, which looked quickly and carefully into ways to keep our economy active without compromising the health and safety of our people. We’ve also held over 40 webinars since March to support small businesses to transition into the new realities of doing business in a pandemic.
  • WCRP developed an online interactive map of Social Capital and a Risk & Vulnerability Index, and hosted the 1st Community Resilience Conference in September.

Jon Borschow, Chairman & Executive Chief Officer

Jon Borschow was born and raised in Puerto Rico. After graduating from M.I.T. with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Jon returned to Puerto Rico to support the growth of his family’s Health business. He led this company for the next 30 years, employing hundreds of employees during that time. In 2008, the company was acquired by Cardinal Health. Today, the company is the leading healthcare distribution company in Puerto Rico with over 500 employees – the largest distribution business in Puerto Rico. Jon remained as CEO of the Puerto Rico business until his retirement in 2011. That year, Jon founded Foundation for Puerto Rico.

Jon has also given back to the community by serving on the boards of directors of hospitals, schools, charities, religious organizations, research foundations, resident associations, and insurance companies. Among the more recent charities that Jon has chaired are the Puerto Rico chapter of The United Jewish Appeal and the Puerto Rico Holocaust Memorial.

In addition to giving his time freely to these causes, Jon has donated to various charities including La Perla de Gran Precio, a home for homeless, drug addicted women infected with AIDS and for their children. Jon is a major philanthropic giver. At MIT, he has endowed a needs-based undergraduate scholarship for students from Puerto Rico. In 2011, he expanded his relationship with MIT to include a multi-million dollar investment in the MIT Puerto Rico Economic Project to develop a new strategy for growth for Puerto Rico involving the MIT Center for International Studies, The MIT Community Laboratory, The MIT Political Science Department, the Sloan School of Management, and the Puerto Rico Center for a New Economy. In 2011, Jon established the Foundation for Puerto Rico to focus on high impact catalytic philanthropy to support these goals.

Annie Mayol, President & COO

Annie Mayol is an experienced Chief Operating Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit and health care industry.  She is skilled in Government Management, Healthcare, Leadership and Policy Analysis. Previously, Mayol served as Chief Administrative Office of MSO of Puerto Rico, a Medicaid and Medicare Advantage Managed Care Company, where she managed the day to day operations of one of the top health insurance companies in the island.  Between 2006 and 2015, Annie Mayol was President and Founder of IMAGEN Strategies, a consulting firm focused on government relations, communications and strategy with clients from all around the world. During this period Mayol had the opportunity to train and capacitate women in the Middle East through a grant provided by the US Department of State. Mayol has also served as Chief of Staff for the Secretary of Health for the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH), and worked as Advisor on Federal Affairs and National Policy to the Governor of Puerto Rico, Hon. Luis Fortuño, during 2009 through 2010.  As Advisor, Mayol oversaw all federal affairs and national issues on behalf of the Governor and supervised federal programs in the various state government agencies.

During the administration of President George W. Bush, Mrs. Mayol was appointed as Regional Political Director at the White House Office of Political Affairs, overseeing the Northeast region.  In 2002, Mayol served as Director of Hispanic Outreach for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), under then-Senator Bill Frist.  Mayol provided advice to all Republican Senatorial campaigns regarding Hispanic voters and acted as the key spokesperson for the NRSC in the Hispanic media.

Annie Mayol was born and raised in Puerto Rico.  She has a B.A. in Political Science from American University and a Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Alexandra Lúgaro

Alexandra Lúgaro is a lawyer and businesswoman born on June 10, 1981 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She graduated from the High School of the University of Puerto Rico at the age of 15 and which time she was admitted to the Río Piedras Campus of said university, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with triple concentration in Finance, Marketing and Economics and subsequently her Juris Doctor. In 2014, she completed her Masters of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Comparative Law at Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.

For more than a decade she served as Executive Director of America Aponte and Associates Corp. and The Metropolitan New School of America, leading dozens of educational projects, managing succesfully over $46 million in federal and state funds and improving academic achievement in over 500 schools in Puerto Rico.

Faced with the notable deterioration in the social, economic and educational frameworks of the island, in 2016, Alexandra Lúgaro aspired to the governorship of Puerto Rico as an independent candidate, becoming the third largest political force in the territory’s history.

In 2017, she founded the School of the Future, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to offer non-traditional education aimed at the social and economic formation of those who will lead a more just, equitable and self-sustainable Puerto Rico.

During the following years, Lúgaro provided strategic business counseling to multiple companies and individuals in Puerto Rico. Later, in 2020, she became the gubernatorial candidate for Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana. Recently, Lúgaro announced her retirement from electoral politics in Puerto Rico.

With more than 7 years of experience with public policy and her background in project management and business, Lúgaro will now serve as Executive Director and Policy Leader of the Center for Strategic Innovation of Foundation for Puerto Rico.

Nancy Santiago, Connector. Communicator. Strategist.

Nancy is a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the areas of education, economic development, federal policy, and philanthropy. She served for two terms in the Obama Administration and has been instrumental in the design and execution of key public policy and federal programs. Focused on aligning capital with justice, her leadership skills have been employed across the public and private sectors. 

Nancy currently leads community impact efforts at Ureeka, a platform that seeks to democratize economic opportunity for underrepresented entrepreneurs by providing the community, resources, and tools they need to grow and scale their business. Nancy also founded and manages the PowerUp Fund, a philanthropically sourced investment fund for Latino-led enterprises housed at Hispanics in Philanthropy.

Nancy served in several senior leadership positions as an appointee in the Administration of President Barack Obama including chief of staff for strategic partnerships for former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne  Duncan, and deputy director of the Women’s Bureau at the U.S Department of Labor. Additional White House efforts included serving on President Obama’s White House Task Force on Puerto Rico, the  National Equal Pay Task Force, and various intergovernmental, cross-agency efforts that focused on  economic development and place-based investment strategy. After her time with the Obama Administration, Nancy served as the chief external affairs officer for the Opportunity Finance Network, the leading network of community development financial institutions. 

Nancy’s partnership development experience spans sectors and states. Most well known for her ability to develop and sustain non-traditional partnerships, she has been involved in economic development and recovery activities with partners such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Google.org, and the YWCA USA, among others. She currently serves on the board of Colmena66 and Parallel 18 in Puerto Rico, and is a board member of the Esperanza Charter School system in Philadelphia. In Puerto Rico, Ms. Santiago continues to spearhead disaster and economic recovery activities with nonprofit and civic leaders.

An inspirational activist and speaker, she has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Aspen Institute España 2018 Programa Cervantes, Aspen Institute’s 2015 Salinas Scholar, the Belfer  Institute’s Seminar in Israel for Latino Policy Leaders; the Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching  2015; the Spanish Embassy’s Hispanic Leaders Program in Spain; and, the Woman of Distinction award from El Diario La Prensa, New  York city’s largest Spanish-language newspaper.

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