Composed of leaders in science, engineering, entrepreneurship, and finance, five experts committed to the mission of Ciencia Puerto Rico have joined together to form the organization's new board of directors.

They are Jorge L. Colón, Angiemille Latorre, Kevin M. Alicea Torres, Nahir González and Cristina Grillasca, who will have a fiduciary role in protecting the mission and vision of our organization by providing strategic advice to ensure its continuity.

The new chairman of the board is Dr. Jorge L. Colón, who is a professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, from where he graduated. He received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Texas A&M University. His postdoctoral training included a position as a Research Associate at Texas A&M and a postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He also currently serves as Secretary of Division II of the International Union of Pure Chemistry and as treasurer of the Caribbean Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Colón is a member of the Puerto Rico College of Chemists and has been awarded honorary fellowships in AAAS, the United Kingdom Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Angiemille Latorre, who will serve as vice president of the board, is an entrepreneur and co-founder of SeriouslyCreative, a company that helps organizations solve complex problems through creative problem solving and design thinking. Prior to founding SeriouslyCreative, Latorre worked for many years in advertising, marketing, and communications, receiving awards from Communication Arts magazine and the Puerto Rico Association of Sales and Marketing Executives (SME). Other accolades include being listed on the 2013 Women to Watch by newspaper Caribbean Business, the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce's Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2013 and the cover of ÍNdice magazine in 2014. In addition, she has served on several advisory boards of foundations and non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico, focused on youth, social innovation, entrepreneurship, and education.

Dr. Kevin M. Alicea Torres, who will serve as secretary of the board, is an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus (UPRH). At UPRH, Alicea Torres leads the Advancing Cancer Immunology and Inclusive Science Communication Research Lab. He earned a bachelor's degree in microbiology at UPR-Humacao and completed his doctorate in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in cancer immunology research. He was director of education and associate director of programs funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Currently, he is president of the AAAS Caribbean Division and vice president of the first professional chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) in Puerto Rico. In 2020 he received the prestigious AAAS Mass Media Fellowship, becoming the first fellow to be sponsored to write for newspaper El Nuevo Día.

Nahir Gonzalez, who will serve as board treasurer, is a CPA and financial executive with more than 28 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. She currently serves as senior vice president of finance at Abarca Health. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and completed graduate studies toward an MBA at the University of Puerto Rico. Gonzalez began her career at Arthur Andersen LLP as an auditor, where she acquired a solid foundation in public accounting, auditing practices, and financial compliance. In addition, she is involved in the professional accounting community in Puerto Rico, having been a member of the Not-for-Profit Entities Committee and currently on the Healthcare Industry Committee of the Puerto Rico College of CPAs.

Finally, Cristina Grillasca, a regular board member, is director of management and supply chain at ETHICON/Johnson & Johnson and has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and the medical device sector. Grillasca is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus, where she studied chemical engineering. She is a results-oriented leader with solid knowledge in all stages of the supply chain: sourcing, planning, manufacturing and logistics. She has also worked in strategic partnerships, new product introduction and supplier relationship management, among others. She is recognized for her collaborative leadership style, her commitment to the professional development of her team and her ability to proactively drive change. As a proven leader, she inspires and motivates creative thinking, commitment and passion within her team, transforming ideas into real-world success stories.

We thank you all for accepting the challenge, supporting us and believing in the potential of CienciaPR and its community. Congratulations! We warmly welcome you to your new roles.