Puerto Rico at the Crux of Climate Change and Recovery

Dr. Ariam L. Torres Cordero is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Planning at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. He completed his Ph.D. in Regional Planning at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign in 2022 and served as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Columbia World Projects, Columbia University in 2023. His research focuses on urban, coastal, and regional planning, with an emphasis on community engagement, climate adaptation, and disaster recovery.

Wanda Crespo Acevedo, PPL is an urban and environmental planner with over 20 years of experience managing complex projects in Puerto Rico. Extensive experience in land use, conservation and climate adaptation planning. Managed major island-wide and municipal projects on strategic planning, climate change adaptation and resilience, coastal zone management, hazard mitigation, community planning, environmental justice, sustainability, outdoor recreation, green infrastructure, and transportation planning. Currently, she serves as Climate Adaptation Program Specialist, NOAA- Asociaciones de Adaptación Climática en Puerto Rico/Lynker.

Dr. Patricia Chardón Maldonado has been working with the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS) for the last few years and has been involved in multiple research projects analyzing and modeling climate, weather, and coastal features/processes and their impacts on socio-ecological systems, infrastructure, and communities in the US Caribbean region. A civil Engineer by training, Dr. Patricia Chardón-Maldonado has expanded her knowledge and skills through a Master of Science in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and a Ph.D. in Coastal Engineering, demonstrating her comprehensive understanding of the field.

Dr. Thomas H. Douthat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences in the College of Coastal and Environmental Sciences at Louisiana State University (LSU). His research focuses on how place-based systems adapt to social, economic, and environmental change through the lenses of law, planning and policy, and economic geography. His work has involved diverse issues ranging from coffee to transportation, and spans rural and urban areas. He approaches problems through the prism of my experience in the fields of environmental planning and governance, spatial analysis, and law, and seeks to create practical solutions for a more equitable and resilient society. Dr. Douthat earned a B.A. in Economics from Guilford College in 2003, a juris doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 2008, and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the School of City and Regional Planning at the School of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2017.

Jaime Villeta García is a Doctoral student in administrative and property law at the University of Barcelona. Previously, master’s degree in urban planning from University of Puerto Rico. Juris Doctor from the School of Law, Interamerican University. Recent panelist in Study Space 2014 program in Rio de Janeiro, “Creating resilient cities: disaster preparedness, climate change adaptation and public health response”. Completed first session of master’s in European public law in Greece. Serves in the Puerto Rico Climate Change Committee.

Dr. Érika Fontánez Torres is a Professor at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. She teaches courses on Property Law and General Theory of Law, as well as electives and seminars on property, law, and political theory. Since January 2023, she has been a Resident Scholar at the Center for Social Research at the UPR. She also teaches and collaborates academically in other faculties at the Río Piedras Campus, such as the collaborative program between the University of Puerto Rico and the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, attached to the School of General Studies, and the Master’s Degree in Cultural Management at the School of Humanities, the Academy Project in Service to the Community coordinated at the School of Education, among others. For more than a decade, she has conducted socio-legal and applied theoretical research and has published on topics of legal theory, property, housing, gender, theories of democracy, and socio-environmental conflicts. She holds a Ph.D. in Political-Legal Philosophy, an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), both from the University of Puerto Rico.

Francisco V. Aquino Serrano, Esq. is a licensed attorney with a bachelor’s in social sciences from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), concentrating in political science and geography, and a JD from UPR’s School of Law. He completed all PsyD coursework at Carlos Albizu University, San Juan, gaining academic training in behavioral science. As a circular economy advisor, he provided guidance on policies promoting sustainability. Currently serves as Policy and Legislation Manager at the Puerto Rico Innovation & Technology Service (PRITS) Caribbean Center for Rising Seas.

Luis J. Torres-Asencio is an Assistant Professor at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law, where he teaches courses on Constitutional Law, Legal Research and Writing, and directs the Access to Information Clinic. He holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from Harvard University (2009), a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law (2005), and a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Political Science from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, San Germán Campus (2001).

Federico Cintrón Moscoso is an anthropologist, educator, and social justice activist. He currently directs the El Puente–Enlace Latino de Acción Climática program, dedicated to education and the promotion of actions in defense of the environment. He also offers research and social science courses at the University of Puerto Rico. He earned a PhD in Applied Anthropology in 2010 from the University of South Florida and an MA in Anthropology from the University of Southampton in 1999.

El Puente Puerto Rico is a non-profit organization that promotes environmental leadership, fostering the values ​​of peace, equity, and justice.

Lia Sophia Di Fiore Tavárez Cortés has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, and a juris doctor from the Interamerican University School of Law. She was recently admitted to practice law in Puerto Rico. Lia has experience as a program officer at the non-profit organization Centro de Periodismo Investigativo. She focuses on technology and environmental law, with the goal of promoting climate resilience and sustainable development frameworks in Puerto Rico and beyond.

Mariam Valladares-Castellanos is a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Louisiana State University (LSU). Her work focuses on understanding the impacts of land use regulation on ecosystem services, particularly water quality and sustainability. With experience leading projects on the relationship between socioeconomic development, productive activities and environmental impacts, Mariam has valuable experience in both environmental science and policy. This interdisciplinary background supports her work in integrating ecological and social considerations into development and conservation strategies.

Elga Vanessa Uriarte, JD, is the Co-Executive Director of Amigues del Mar. She is a feminist, social researcher, cultural manager, lawyer, community organizer and environmental activist.

Amigxs del MAR is an environmentally and socially conscious organization committed to defending the integrity and dignity of both Puerto Ricans and the ecosystem. We propose a radical transformation in the forms of social organization, which involves the integration of claims and promotes the convergence of ideas from a practice of intersection that combats the different oppressions that affect us. As a social action-based organization, we believe in and encourage cooperation with community-based and citizen-run organizations. Our current project focuses on community support, political education, environmental justice, environmental public policy monitoring, direct action and advocacy work. We also create educational content that is relevant and transgressive, adapted to colloquial language, to make the relationship between political-economic decisions and environmental degradation and exploitation more accessible to a diversity of sectors.

Gabriela Vélez is a geographer (University of Puerto Rico, 2020), with a master’s degree in Women’s, Gender and Citizenship Studies from the University of Barcelona (2023). Currently, she is Co-Executive Director of Amigues del Mar.

Amigxs del MAR is an environmentally and socially conscious organization committed to defending the integrity and dignity of both Puerto Ricans and the ecosystem. We propose a radical transformation in the forms of social organization, which involves the integration of claims and promotes the convergence of ideas from a practice of intersection that combats the different oppressions that affect us. As a social action-based organization, we believe in and encourage cooperation with community-based and citizen-run organizations. Our current project focuses on community support, political education, environmental justice, environmental public policy monitoring, direct action and advocacy work. We also create educational content that is relevant and transgressive, adapted to colloquial language, to make the relationship between political-economic decisions and environmental degradation and exploitation more accessible to a diversity of sectors.

Verónica González Rodríguez is a lawyer and university professor. Her work focuses on environmental, community and human rights issues. She completed her undergraduate degree in environmental sciences at the University of Puerto Rico and holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from the same institution (2008). She holds a Master’s degree in International Law from the American University Washington College of Law (2012). She directs the environmental section of the Legal Assistance Clinic of the Interamerican University School of Law, where she also teaches courses on environmental law and environmental justice, among others. In addition, she is a part-time faculty member at the Graduate School of Planning of the University of Puerto Rico where she has taught the course Legal Order of Planning.