| Date |
March 21st, 2016 |
| Time |
12:00pm – 1:30pm |
| Location |
American Security Project – 1100 New York Ave., 7th Floor, West Tower, Washington DC 20005 |
Puerto Rico, America’s largest Caribbean territory, has long been an important U.S. geopolitical outpost and now finds itself on the verge of catastrophe under the weight of massive debt and a costly, inefficient energy supply. The impacts have triggered a large-scale resettlement to the U.S. mainland where gridlock has turned the Island’s future into a political hot potato rather than an issue of long-term strategic importance for U.S. national security.
As Congress recommits itself to a resolution, understanding the issues plaguing Puerto Rico through the lens of energy security and risk management offers opportunities to reverse the current trends, gain political support and address the future of 3.3 million U.S. citizens on the island.
Join American Security Project on March 21st for a discussion on energy, economy, and security in Puerto Rico and how understanding the ongoing debt crisis through these lenses will strengthen our response.
Lunch refreshments will be served from 12:00pm – 12:30pm.
Please arrive by 12:00pm for registration.
The event will be begin promptly at 12:30pm.
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Speakers:
Hon. Luis Fortuño was Governor of Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2013. He is currently partner in Steptoe’s Washington office, where he is a member of the Corporate, Securities & Finance Group and the Government Affairs and Public Policy Group. The Governor is a former Chair of the Southern Governors Association, a former Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Puerto Rico, and former Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference.
He began his career in public service in 1993 in Gov. Pedro Rossello’s administration as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and President of Puerto Rico’s Hotel Development Corporation (HDC). He is a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and University of Virginia Law School.
Rep. Hernández Montañez, Chairman of the House Treasury Committee, represents House District 11 in the Puerto Rico House, is a member of 10 committees, and is the primary sponsor of 266 bills. First elected to office in 2009, Rep. Montañez is affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) of Puerto Rico, nationally, he is a Democrat.
Mr. Alejandro Brito is President of Brito Development Group (BDG), LLP. In the last twenty years, Mr. Brito has overseen the design, construction, development and management of over 1,500 luxury housing units in Puerto Rico.
Currently, BDG is developing three master planned communities in the city of Guaynabo, encompassing 1,000 residential units, 750,000 ft2 of retail, office and entertainment. Mr. Brito recently finished a two year term as President of the National Home Builders Association, Puerto Rico Chapter and in the Governor’s Advisory Council for the Construction Industry. As of March 2015, Mr. Brito also co-heads Denny’s Caribbean, the local franchisor for Denny’s Restaurants, with 13 stores and 1,200 employees.
Alejandro graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Economics and from Columbia University in New York with a Masters in Real Estate Development.
Moderator:
Mr. Dante Disparte is the founder and CEO of Risk Cooperative, a strategy, risk and capital management firm focusing on mid-market opportunities, market expansion and equity investments on a global scale. He is the co-author of the forthcoming book “Global Risk Agility and Decision Making” (Macmillan, Q2/2016).
Prior to forming Risk Cooperative, Mr. Disparte served as the Managing Director of Clements Worldwide, a leading insurance brokerage with customers in more 170 countries. Mr. Disparte is a specialist in strategy and risk reduction through the design and delivery of comprehensive risk solutions of worldwide scope. He is credited with designing the world’s first card-based life insurance program for the United Nations, a plan that has placed more than a half billion USD of risk with the markets in more than 150 countries. This innovation was heralded as one of the top product innovations of 2011 by the MENA Insurance Review. Mr. Disparte serves as the Chairman of the board of the Harvard Business School Club of Washington, D.C., and on Harvard Business School’s global alumni board. He is a founding member of the Business Council for American Security and an advisory member with the American Security Project.
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Additional Resources:
The Economics of Debt in Puerto Rico
Dante Disparte on Puerto Rico Default
Renewable Energy in Puerto Rico: A Way Forward
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ABOUT THE AMERICAN SECURITY PROJECT
The American Security Project is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges. For more information, visit www.americansecurityproject.org.
