It’s been three years since Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, and the islands are still struggling to recover. Accusations of mismanagement have tarnished the island’s recovery efforts, and called into question the local government’s ability to manage federal disaster and recovery funding efficiently and effectively.

In an effort to home in on core challenges and identify effective solutions, Oxfam is bringing together distinguished voices from Puerto Rico to talk about disaster preparedness, recovery and resiliency on the islands.  They will present the challenges faced during these three years  and put forth proposals for solutions.

Join us for a panel of local civil society leaders who will share how this robust community has worked to respond effectively to the ongoing challenges of recovery, and in so doing illustrate the possibilities for transparency and accountability in Maria’s long term recovery and rebuilding efforts. 

The line-up includes leading lights in Puerto Rico civil society:
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    María E. Meléndez, also known as Mayita, is the current mayor of the city of Ponce. In 2008, she became the first woman elected mayor in Ponce’s history.
    Juana Santiago, Community Liason for Unidos por la Comunidad Arenas de Guánica, a community organization working to empower its residents, promote recovery and build resiliency.
    Beatriz Grau, CoC Disaster Response and Recovery Coordinator of Coordinadora Moriviví and President of Compás, L3C., has more than 10 years of experience with federal funding to support affordable housing.
    Cecilio Ortiz, Professor at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez,  Hubert H. Humphrey Distinguished Visiting Professor in Macalester College, and co-Founder of National Institute of Energy and Island Sustainability and the RISE Network.

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This Puerto Rico Big Table listserve is intended to facilitate collaboration and information sharing among a wide range of stakeholders working to advance federal policies that benefit the people of Puerto Rico in a post-Maria world and create opportunities to organize stakeholders to do PR policy advocacy in a more collaborative, efficient, and effective manner. Any questions email Laura Esquivel at lesquivel@hispanicfederation.org