CURRICULUM VITAE

Deepak Lamba-Nieves
Center for a New Economy
San Juan, Puerto Rico
deepak@grupocne.org

EDUCATION

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

PhD in Urban and Regional Studies (Summer 2014)
Department of Urban Studies and Planning, International Development Group
Dissertation: “Empowering Cooperation: Dominican Hometown Associations
and the Politics of Transnational Community Development”
Committee Members: Diane E. Davis, Peggy Levitt, and Richard Locke

University of California- Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Masters in City and Regional Planning (MCP), (December 2002)
Department of City and Regional Planning, Regional Planning and Development
Concentration
Thesis Topic: High-Technology Policy, Institutions and Economic Development in Puerto
Rico
Thesis Committee: AnnaLee Saxenian, Manuel Castells and Richard Walker

University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras Campus, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Bachelors in Arts (Economics), (May 1998)
GPA: 3.96 / 4.0 (Summa Cum Laude)
Honor Student and Dean's List

Colegio San José, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico

High School Diploma, (May 1994)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

University of Puerto Rico- Río Piedras Campus, Graduate School of Planning

Adjunct Faculty
History and Theory of Planning (Fall 2018, 2019, Spring 2020)
Local Economic Development in Theory and Practice (Fall 2017)

Brown University, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

Faculty Advisor
Policy in Action Consultancy (Spring 2016)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Sloan
School of Management

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Introduction to International Development Planning (Fall 2009, Fall 2010)

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 Methods: Thesis Preparation for International Development Group (Spring 2010)
Practicum: Linking Urban and National Development Goals in Puerto Rico (Fall 2011)
Puerto Rico Lab: Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Economic Development (Fall 2012)

Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, School of Architecture

Instructor (January 2006- May 2008)

Capstone Research 1
City Lab (Puerto Rico in Orlando)
Urbanism 1

University of Puerto Rico- Río Piedras Campus, Department of Geography

Instructor (January 2004- May 2005)

Elements of Geography
Introduction to Planning
Development Geography

EMPLOYMENT

Center for a New Economy, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Research Director & Churchill G. Carey Jr. Chair in Economic Development Research
(January 2013- to present)

Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Postdoctoral Fellow in International and Public Affairs (September 2014- June 2016)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning

Research Assistant
Research Assistant for Professor Diane E. Davis (Spring 2009)
Puerto Rico Economic Project at MIT (Spring 2011- Fall 2012)

Harvard University, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs

Project Manager (Spring 2010- Fall 2012)
Transnational Studies Initiative

Center for the New Economy, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Non-Resident Senior Fellow (September 2008- December 2012)

Center for the New Economy, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Research Director (September 2002- August 2008)

Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California, Berkeley

HUD Community Development Fellow, (September 2000- May 2002)

Placements:
PolicyLink, Oakland, CA
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, San Francisco, CA
Bay Area School of Enterprise, Alameda, CA

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San Juan Neighborhood Housing Services Corporation, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Projects Developer, (September 1999- June 2000)

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation-Puerto Rico Field Office, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Community Development Intern, (August 1998- September 1999)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Peer Reviewed Journals

“Housing Damages and Aid Following Hurricane María: An Analysis of FEMA Individual
Assistance Data” (with Raúl Santiago Bartolomei) Population and Environment, Under Review.

“Hometown Associations and the Micro Politics of Transnational Community Development.”

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44, no. 5 (2018): 754-772.

"Rethinking the Migration-Development Nexus from the Perspective of Time." (with Peggy
Levitt) Migration Letters 10, no. 1 (2013): 11-22.

“Social Remittances Revisited.” (with Peggy Levitt) Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
37, no.1 (2011): 1-22.
(Reprinted in Migration and Development ed. Oliver Bakewell, International Library of Studies
on Migration. Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar. 2012.)

Book Chapters

"Hometown Associations and Transnational Community Development" In eds. Ram Cnaan &
Carl Milofsky, Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations 2nd Ed.
Switzerland: Springer International. 2018: 355-369.

"Bringing Culture Back In: Opportunities and Challenges for the Migration Development Nexus"
(with Peggy Levitt) In eds. Joseph Stiglitz, Managing Migration: Maximizing Development and
Well-being in Sending and Receiving Nations. New York: Columbia University Press. 2013: 67-
92.

"Hometown Associations" In ed. Immanuel Ness, Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration.

New York: Wiley. 2013 [www.migrationencyclopedia.com]

"Escalas de las comunidades imaginarias: de lo local a lo transnacional y viceversa" En eds.

Felipe de Alba y Frederic Lesemann, Informalidad e incertidumbre: ¿cómo estudiamos la
informalización en las metrópolis? México: UNAM. 2012: 149-162.

“Economía de Puerto Rico” in Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico. ed. Pedro San Miguel. Madrid:
Editorial Océano, 2007: 1040-1051.

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Academic Journals

“La ciudad fortuñista y la lógica de la hiper planificación / The Fortuñista City and the Logic of
Hyperplanning” Polimorfo: ArqPoli Journal. Vol. 2 (2010): 86-89.

“Un verano en Orlando: Reflexiones sobre un viaje/ A Summer in Orlando: Reflections on a

Voyage” Polimorfo: ArqPoli Journal. Vol. 1 (2009): 26-31.

“Lecciones del Mall” Filos. Num. 3 (2007). 127-135.

“Restoring Growth in Puerto Rico: The Economic and Policy Challenges” (with Miguel A. Soto-
Class) Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy. vol. 19 (2006-2007): 93-99.

Policy Papers

“Urban Informality: International Trends and Policies to Address Land tenure and Informal
Settlements” Center for a New Economy (White Paper) 2019. (with Oscar Sosa López and Raúl
Santiago Bartolomei)

“Transforming the Recovery into Locally-led Growth: Federal Contracting in the Post-Disaster
Period” Center for a New Economy (Policy Paper) 2018. (with Raúl Santiago Bartolomei)

“Devising a Growth Strategy for Puerto Rico”. Center for a New Economy (Policy Paper) 2016.
(with José Anotnio Ocampo & Sergio Marxuach)

“There is Another Way: A Fiscal Responsibility Law for Puerto Rico”. Center for a New
Economy (Policy Paper) 2016. (with Sergio Marxuach)

“The Earned Income Tax Credit: What it Is, How it Works, and its Effects on Working Families”.
Center for a New Economy (Policy Brief). 2014. (with Sergio Marxuach)

“Los/las trabajadores/as pobres en Puerto Rico: La situación y las posibles soluciones”. Center
for the New Economy (Policy Brief). 2007. (with Sergio Marxuach)

“Recdomendaciones para atender la dfiícil situación fiscal de Puerto Rico”. Center for the New
Economy (Policy Brief). 2006.

“Getting Serious about Biotech: Challenges and Opportunities for Puerto Rico”. Center for the
New Economy (Policy Brief). 2005.

“Silicon Reef: Puerto Rico’s Path to the Digital Economy”. Center for the New Economy
(Position Paper). 2003.

Magazines & Online Publications

“Building grid solidarity in Puerto Rico” (with Jonas Nahm) The Hill. October 22, 2018
[https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/412471-building-grid-solidarity-in-
puerto-rico]

“Puerto Rico’s austerity trap” The Hill. June 19, 2017

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[http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/338465-puerto-ricos-austerity-trap]

“Athens on the Caribbean: Puerto Rico’s Own Financial Crisis” (with Andrew Schrank) Foreign
Affairs. July 6, 2015 [https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/puerto-rico/2015-07-06/athens-
caribbean]

“Tensiones y distancias sociales: tres visitas fugaces” Entorno. Num. 21. Vol 2. 2012: 65-71.

“El mago, el urbanista y el político: Entrevista con Enrique Peñalosa” Entorno. Num. 3. Jul
2006: 12-13.

“Entrepreneurial Academia: Joining Forces to Promote Economic Growth. Caribbean Business,

2005 Annual Special Edition: 44-45.

“Carving a New Competitive Advantage: Beyond Tax Incentives” Caribbean Business, 2003
Annual Special Edition: 34-37.

Selected Newspaper Columns & Op-eds

“Descifrar el riesgo en tiempos de coronavirus” Periódico el Nuevo Día. Apr. 26 2020.

“Puerto Rico como laboratorio socioeconómico” Periódico el Nuevo Día. Aug. 12 2018.

“De resiliencia a resistencia” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jul. 29 2018.

“La promesa sin cumplir” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Aug. 27 2017.

“Las trampas de la austeridad” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jun. 4 2017

“Procesos y aprendizaje en tiempos de crisis” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Apr. 9 2017

“La junta enseña sus cartas” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jan. 29 2017.

“Una ruta inusual hacia el crecimiento” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Dec. 4 2016.

“La revelación de lo impagable” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Oct. 25 2015.

“Las claves políticas para resolver la crisis” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Aug. 9 2015.

“Cambiando la conversación sobre la pobreza” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Apr. 26 2015.

“Una mirada profunda a la complejidad migratoria” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jan. 18
2015.

“Aprendizaje, desarrollo y capacidades locales” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jan. 5

2013.

“Ni público ni privado: co-producido” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Oct. 31 2103.

“Una tradición tributaria fatídica” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jun. 16 2013.

“La ceguera del mito migratorio” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Apr. 7 2013.

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“Una conversación tierra adentro” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Aug. 19 2012.

“El reto transnacional” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jun. 3 2012.

“Estación llamando a tierra” El Vocero. Oct. 11 2011.

“Desastres urbanos y buenas intenciones de planificación” El Vocero. Jul. 1 2011.

“Gracias a la guagua aérea” Revista Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Aug. 29 2010.

“Retos de la biotecnología cubana: ¿Una nueva revolución?” Diálogo. Sep-Oct 2007: 9.

“El paisaje neoliberal: notas para un debate.” Revista Domingo- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jun. 10
2007.

“Modelos para erradicar la pobreza.” Diálogo. Apr-May 2007:11.

“El precio de una ‘inflación inflada’” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Feb. 11 2007.

“Desigualdad económica y pobreza: Reenfocando el debate.” Diálogo. Mar.-Apr. 2007: 4.

“Revolución cubana en la biotecnología”, Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Nov. 26 2006.

“Apuntes en torno al quehacer económico del país y la Universidad de Puerto Rico.” Diálogo.
Ago-Sept 2005: 6-7.

“El reto biotecnológico.” Negocios- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jul. 10 2005.

Book Reviews

Review of “The Stickup Kids: Race, Drugs, Violence and the American Dream” by Randol
Contreras. Planning Perspectives 30. No. 1 (2015): 172-174.

Review of “The New Puerto Rico? Identity, Hybridity and Transnationalism within the Puerto
Rican Diaspora in Orlando, Florida” by Luis Sánchez. CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto
Rican Studies 22, no. 1 (2010): 309-311.

Review of “Desalambrar: origines de los rescates de terreno” by Liliana Cotto Morales.

Diálogo. Mar-Apr 2007: 29.

Review of “El Callejón del Sapo: teoría y gestión del cooperativismo ” by Francisco Cátala.
Letras- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jan. 22 2006: 10.

Review of “Freakonomics” by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Diálogo. Oct-Nov 2005: 33.

Review of “Puerto Rico: Negotiating Development and Change” by James Dietz. Revista
Domingo- Periódico el Nuevo Día. Jan. 30 2005: 15.

Review of “The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the
Tropics” by William Easterly. Merk2s de Puerto Rico. Nov. 2004.

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BOARD APPOINTMENTS

Advisory Board Member

ENLACE Project at the Martín Peña Channel, San Juan, PR
(2005- to present)
Board Member
La Calle Loíza (Neighborhood-based NGO), San Juan, PR
(April 2018- to present)
Board Member
The University of Puerto Rico Press
(March 2015- July 2016)

HONORS AND AWARDS

MIT Community Innovators Lab Dissertation Grant (2011)

MIT Center for International Studies Summer Study Grant (2010)

Harold Horowitz (1951) Student Research Fund- Awardee (2009)

Emerson Travel Grant

Department of Urban Studies and Planning- MIT (2008)

Lloyd and Nadine Rodwin Travel Award

Department of Urban Studies and Planning- MIT (2008)

Ford Predoctoral Fellowship- Alternate (2008)

Departmental Doctoral Financial Award

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

HUD Community Development Fellowship

University of California-Berkeley

Graduate Opportunity Program Scholarship Recipient

University of California-Berkeley (Academic Year 2000-2001)

Harry S. Truman Scholar - Puerto Rico (1998)

University of Puerto Rico-Social Sciences College Dean's Award (Economics)

Awarded to the highest ranked economics student in the graduating class of 1998

Honor Student, University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras Campus (August 1995 - May 1998)

Honors Scholarship, University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras Campus

(August 1995 - May 1996; August 1997 - May 1998)

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Appearance in “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges” (1998)

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES PAPERS

“Furthering the Discussions on the Migration-Development Nexus: Dominican HTAs and Their
Development
Impacts” presented at the APPAM International Conference: Migration a World in Motion,
University of Maastricht,
Netherlands. (February 2010).
←
“Escalas de las comunidades imaginarias: de lo local a lo transnacional y viceversa” (“Scaling
ImaginedCommunities:
From Local to Transnational and Back”) presented at the RECIM (Continental Network of
Comparative Research on Informality in Metropolises) Seminar, Mexico City, Mexico (January
2010).

DOMESTIC CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOP PAPERS

“Civic Reverberations and Puerto Rico’s Post Disaster Reconstruction”

American Sociological Association Annual Conference
New York, NY (August 2019)

“Towards a More Equitable Redevelopment for Post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico”

Roundtable Panel, American Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference
Buffalo, NY (October 2018)

“Winds of Change: Reflections on the Possibilities for Socioeconomic Transformations in Post-

Disaster Puerto Rico”
American Sociological Association Annual Conference
Philadelphia, PA (August 2018)

“Stretching and Strengthening Community Development through Transnational Cooperation

and Empowered Exchanges: Diasporic Networks and Hometown Associations in the
Dominican Republic”
Latin American Studies Association Conference
San Juan, PR (May 2015)

“Empowering Cooperation: Dominican Hometown Associations and the Politics of

Transnational Community Development”
American Sociological Association Sociology of Development Section Conference, Brown
University
Providence, RI (October 2014)

“Debating the Migration Development Nexus: Dominican Hometown Associations and the
Politics of Transnational Community Development”
American Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference
Philadelphia, PA (October 2014)

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“Diasporas and Home Country Politics: False Promise or Opportunity?”
Roundtable Panel, Latin American Studies Association Conference
Chicago, IL (May 2014)

“Migration, Development and Local Transformations: The Transnational Practices of

Dominican Hometown Associations”
PhD Workshop, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Cambridge, MA (November 2012)

“Migration, Development and Local Transformations: The Transnational Practices of

Dominican Hometown Associations”
American Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference
Cincinnati, OH (November 2012)

“Dominican Hometown Associations: Transnational Ties, State-Society Dynamics and

Opportunities for Development”
American Sociological Association Annual Conference (Regular Session)
Las Vegas, NV (August 2011)

“Dominican Hometown Associations and their Development Impacts”

Transnational Studies Initiative
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (November 2010).
←
“Dominican Hometown Associations and their Development Impacts”
Migration and Immigrant Incorporation Workshop
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (October 2010).
←
← “Collective Social Remittances Revisited”
← National Immigrant Integration Conference
← Boston, MA (September 2010)

INVITED TALKS

“Resiliency in Practice: Confronting Climate Disaster in Puerto Rico and New York”
Panel Speaker
New York University, Urban Democracy Lab
New York, NY (April 2019)

“Puerto Rico’s Long Road to Disaster Recovery”

Guest Speaker
Harvard Winter Institute
Río Piedras, PR (January 2019)

“Puerto Rico’s Long Road Towards Disaster Recovery”

Guest Speaker
Brown University, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Providence, RI (November 2018)

“Promising Austerity & Disciplining Disaster: Post Hurricane Puerto Rico, US Interventionism,
and a Perfect Storm for Experimentation”
Guest Speaker
London School of Economics, Geography and Environment
London, England (November 2018)
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“Puerto Rico’s Economy and Post Disaster Context”
Prologue to the Franzen Lecture
Architectural League
New York, NY (September 2018)

“Resilience and the Economy”

Panel Speaker
University of Puerto Rico, Graduate School of Planning (May 2018)

“Displaced by Disaster”
Panel Speaker
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA (November 2017)

“Review of PLERUS Journal XXV”

Guest Speaker
University of Puerto Rico, Graduate School of Planning
Río Piedras, PR (December 2016)

“Comentarios en torno a la Ley PROMESA” (Comments on the PROMESA Law)

Panel Speaker: Primer Foro Contra PROMESA (First Forum Against PROMESA)
University of Puerto Rico
Río Piedras, PR (September 2016)

“Perspectives and Proposals: Puerto Rico’s Economic Crisis”

Invited Speaker
Chicana/o Studies Department, California State University – Northridge
Los Angeles, CA (April 2016)

Closing Remarks: “Puerto Rico Needs to Change the Conversation on Poverty”

Roundtable: Voces de la Pobreza en Puerto Rico (The Voices of Poverty in Puerto Rico)
Department of Family Affairs, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico (December 2014)

“Roundtable Discussion on Social Remittances”

Social Remittances in Social Theory and Practice
Project TRANSFORMIG at Humboldt University
Berlin, Germany (September 2014)

“Overcoming the D’s of Diaspora Engagement”

Roundtable Discussion: Global Diaspora Forum
Washington, DC (May 2013)

“Migración, desarrollo y transformaciones locales” (Migration, development and local

transformations)
Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (February 2013)

“Transnational Communities and Social Remittances: The Case of the Dominican Republic”
Panel Activity: Social and Knowledge Remittances and Development
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Miami Dade College, Miami, FL (December 2012)

"Social Remittances and Development Logics: Social Trans(actions) from Boston to Baní,

and from Baní to Boston”
Panel Activity: Just Passing Through? Mediating Scales and Landscapes of Migration in the
Dominican Republic. MIT, Cambridge, MA (April 2011).

“Furthering the Discussions on the Migration-Development Nexus:  A Closer Look at 

Dominican Hometown Associations and Their Development Impacts”
← Planners Network Graduate Research Salon
← Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (April 2010)
←
← “A Fresh Perspective: The Status of Asset Poor Communities”
← National Council of La Raza Conference: Building Weath in a Troubled Economy
← Washington, DC (June 2008)

“El paisaje neoliberal: notas para un debate.” (The Neoliberal Landscape: Notes for a Debate)
Panel Activity: El paisaje neoliberal: la economía del territorio (The Neoliberal Landscape: The
Economy of the Territory)
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR (March 2007)
←
“The Economy of Puerto Rico: Restoring Growth”
ASPIRA Conference: Hacia un Puerto Rico Digital (Towards a Digital Puerto Rico)
San Juan, PR (September 2006)
←
“Lecciones del mall.” (Lessons from the Mall)
Panel Activity: Arcadas de las estaciones 20-21: Visiones de los centros comerciales en
Puerto Rico,
University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR (November 2005)
←

“Commentary“
Panel Activity: Decorar es gobernar: la agenda oculta del proyecto de Arte Público
(Decorating is Governing: The Hidden Agenda of the Public Art Project)
University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR (August 2005)

SELECTED MEDIA APPEARANCES

“Zwei Jahre nach dem Wirbelsturm «Maria» schwankt Puerto Rico zwischen Trauma und
Hoffnung” by Marc Neumann
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, September 23, 2019

“Roofless homes, scattered debris. Why has Puerto Rico’s hurricane recovery been so slow?”
by Jim Wyss
The Miami Herald, September 20, 2019

“Puerto Rico is in Dorian’s bull’s-eye: Three things to know as island braces for the storm” by
Nicole Acevedo
NBC News, August 28, 2019

“Trump administration to place new restrictions on billions in aid for Puerto Rico amid island’s
political crisis” by Jeff Stein and Josh Dawsey

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The Washington Post, August 5, 2019

“After Gov. Rossello’s Resignation, Political Turmoil In Puerto Rico Continues” by David Welna
NPR, July 27, 2019

“Protestors in Puerto Rico Hope Governor’s Resignation Is The First of Many Changes” by
David Welna
NPR, July 25, 2019

“Puerto Ricans Concerned That $20 Billion Recovery Plan Is ‘Not for The People’” by Adrian
Florido
NPR, January 28, 2019

“Puerto Rico’s Other Storm” Code Switch Podcast

NPR, September 19, 2018

“A year after Hurricane María, Puerto Ricans rebuild amid setbacks” by Nicole Acevedo
NBC News, September 18, 2018

“Choosing to stay in Puerto Rico, seeking economic and social renaissance” by Luisita López
Torregrosa
NBC News, February 17, 2018.

“A bad deal for Puerto Rico” Editorial

The Boston Globe, March 5, 2017.

“University of Puerto Rico Struggles to Slash Budget by $300 Million” by Melissa Korn
The Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2017.

“Puerto Rico atraviesa la peor crisis de su última década” by Marianyfel Salazar

El Universal (Venezuela), May 14, 2016.

“Puerto Rico Keeps Getting the Shaft from Congress” by AJ Vicens

Mother Jones, December 17, 2015.

“Puerto Ricans flock north, away from battered economy” by Arian Campo-Flores
Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2014.

“Puerto Rico, with at least $70 billion in debt, confronts rising economic misery” by Michael
Fletcher
Washington Post, November 30, 2013.

“¿Quién responde por las deudas de Puerto Rico?” by Natalia Guerrero

BBC Mundo, October 23, 2013.

“Boricuas: ¿Por qué buscan el norte?” Interview with Xavier Serbiá

CNN en Español, October 7, 2013.

“Analysis: Puerto Rico’s population drops as economy wobbles” by Michael Connor

Reuters, September 10, 2013.

“Economic History of the Dominican Republic”

Economía ciudadana
Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico (WRTU 89.7 FM), aired October 13, 2011
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I have given numerous interviews to the Puerto Rican press on a range of topics related to
economic development, social policy and migration. My expert opinions have appeared in El
Nuevo Día, El Vocero, Caribbean Business, Claridad, NotiCel, and Sin comillas, amongst other
media outlets.

COMMITTEES AND SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION

Reviewer, Population and Environment

Reviewer, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Reviewer, Comparative Migration Studies
Reviewer, International Migration Review
Reviewer, International Migration
Reviewer, Emotion, Space and Society
Reviewer, Food and Foodways
Student Representative, Faculty Search Committee: Demographic Change, Migration, Race ,
DUSP- MIT (2012)
Student Representative, PhD Admissions Committee, DUSP- MIT (2010)
Student Representative, Curriculum Committee, DCRP-UC Berkeley (2002)
Co-President, Students of Color in Planning, DCRP-UC Berkeley (Fall 2000- Spring 2002)
Student Representative, MCP Admissions Committee, DCRP-UC Berkeley (2001)

TRAINING AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Training Institute (1998-2000)

Modules completed:
Affordable housing development
Grant proposal writing
Community planning

Mortgage Bankers School of Puerto Rico (1999)

Principles of Mortgage Banking

LANGUAGES

I am a native Spanish and English speaker.

MAJOR PROJECTS UNDERWAY

Bootstrapping Transnational Community Development: Dominican Hometown Associations and

their Boundless Pursuit of Projects. Book manuscript under production

CNE Growth Commission for Puerto Rico: Research and engaged practice effort led by the
Center for a New Economy aimed at identifying and advancing a series of development
strategies to restructure Puerto Rico’s outdated industrial policy. Individual donors in Puerto
Rico and the Open Societies Foundation are the project’s primary funders.

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Puerto Rico Self-Sufficiency Project: Pilot study that aims to incentivize low-income
households to engage in work activities and achieve self-sufficiency. The project will employ a
randomized-control-trial methodology to evaluate whether reforms to Puerto Rico’s Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), focused on providing earning supplements and job
coaching services, can simultaneously reduce poverty and encourage steady work in the
formal sector. (with Gustavo J. Bobonis, Frederico Finan and Marco González-Navarro). The
Government of Puerto Rico, two Puerto Rico-based non-profit entities ( Espacios Abiertos and
the Center for a New Economy) and MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab are funding
the project.

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