In July 2025, Elmer L. Román was assigned to perform the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment), leading the Department of the Navy’s programs in these areas. He also serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mission Integration (OUSD(R&E)), where he directs mission engineering, threat-informed analyses, and Department-wide technology and capability integration.

Previously, he served as Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Public Safety of Puerto Rico, and as Homeland Security Advisor to the Governor. He is a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps (1991–1997), the Navy Reserve as Engineering Duty Officer, and in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2009). His diplomatic service includes being Regional Director of the Office of Naval Research Global at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile (2005–2010).

Mr. Román is highly decorated, with awards including the U.S. Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal (2), the U.S. Navy Meritorious Service Medal (2), the Chilean Armed Forces Military Star, and recognitions from the U.S. Navy League, Department of State, and NASA. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (UPR-Mayagüez) and an M.S. in Systems Engineering (Virginia Tech).

Jesús E. (Nesty) Delgado, BSCE, MPM, Ph.D.
President, TEAM 1144, LLC & Partner at AblaTek, LLC
Director, Project Management & Transformational Leadership Institute® – UPR Mayagüez
Puerto Rico Ambassador, Global Council for Responsible AI

Nesty Delgado is a specialist in project and program management of critical infrastructure and in AI governance and implementation, with over 20 years of leading initiatives in Puerto Rico, the United States, Latin America, and Spain. He has supported cooperatives, municipalities, public agencies, and private companies in strategic planning, risk management, organizational resilience, business continuity, and responsible digital transformation, leading a project portfolio exceeding $700M.

He serves as Director of the PMTL Institute®, in partnership with the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where he promotes AI literacy, professional reskilling, and the development of results-driven leaders. He is also Ambassador of the Global Council for Responsible AI, integrating international frameworks and principles of responsible AI with a people-centered philosophy: AI with Emotional Intelligence (AI+EI).

He is the executive producer and co-host of TRANSFORMAcción®, broadcast every Saturday at 10:00AM on WKAQ 580 AM, where he translates complex AI trends into practical guides for sectors such as finance, higher education, agriculture, construction, health, SMEs, cooperatives, and government.

He holds a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from UPR-Mayagüez, a Master’s and Ph.D. in Project Management, as well as multiple professional certifications. A lifelong learner and mentor, his mission is to empower future-ready leaders: “Beyond Traditional Project Management: Empowering Transformational Future-Ready Leaders.”

Dr. Gary E. Machlis is University Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Clemson University. Before joining Clemson, he served as Science Advisor to the Director of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) during both terms of the Obama administration. Dr. Machlis earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. in human ecology from Yale University. He has authored numerous books and scientific papers on conservation, sustainability, disaster response, and the politics of science, including The Future of Conservation in America: A Chart for Rough Water published by the University of Chicago Press. His most recent book is Sustainability for the Forgotten (2024).

Dr. Machlis has worked in China on the giant panda, in the Galápagos Islands, as well as in Kenya, Cuba, and Eastern Europe. He serves on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Environmental Change and Society, and in 2010 was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is also a member of Ciencia Puerto Rico.

Dr. Jacob Lozada is a man of faith who values God, his family, his nation, and his friends.
Named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine and a Washington Decision Maker by National Journal, he served as Assistant Secretary for Veterans Affairs, Principal of the Council for Excellence in Government, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at The George Washington University. He also served as Member of the President’s Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health and Member of the Board of Directors of AARP.

Prior to serving the President of the U.S., he served in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of Colonel. After his retirement, he worked in the private sector as management consultant supporting clients in Latin America and Europe. He has received numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, LULAC’s Presidential Citation, and Distinguished Alumni honors from the U.S. Army Baylor Program and the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao.

He is the recipient of special proclamations from the Governor of Puerto Rico, the House of Representatives, the Senate of Puerto Rico, and the Mayor of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, in recognition of his public service. Jacob lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Clary, and remains close to his family and friends.

Dr. Franklin Carrero-Martínez is an internationally recognized science diplomat and a strategic leader working at the intersection of science, innovation, and global engagement. With a career spanning government, academia, and the nonprofit sector, he brings over two decades of experience advancing mission-driven programs that address humanity’s most urgent challenges—from global sustainability and development to scientific freedom and equity.

He currently serves in a senior leadership role at the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where he directs high-impact initiatives across sustainability, artificial intelligence, international science cooperation, and institutional strategy. Prior to this, Dr. Carrero-Martínez held diplomatic and scientific roles at the U.S. Department of State and the National Science Foundation.

A trained neuroscientist, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has held faculty and visiting positions at the University of Puerto Rico, Duke University, MIT, and the Japanese Institute of Genetics.

Dr. Carrero-Martínez is also a trusted advisor to international science-policy bodies, a keynote speaker at global forums, and a convener of cross-sectoral partnerships that translate evidence into impact.

Dr. Luz Cumba Garcia is an immunologist, policy advisor, and science communicator committed to equity, international collaboration, and public engagement in science and policy. She most recently served as an Advisor for Sustainability at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, supporting the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in developing sustainable health policies and strengthening health systems in low- and middle-income countries.

She is an alumna of the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, through which she contributed to U.S.-Mexico health cooperation at the State Department and supported Arab-Israeli scientific collaboration at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program. She also served as Policy Advisor at Lewis-Burke Associates, advising leading U.S. biomedical institutions on federal policy and international affairs. Her regional science diplomacy experience includes a fellowship with the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI).

She is the founder of SciPolicy Global Strategies LLC, which provides strategic advisory, capacity building, and communications services to help institutions navigate the intersection of science, policy, and communication.

Dr. Cumba Garcia is a founding member of the Science Diplomacy Network in Latin America and the Caribbean (DiploCientifica), a member of the Global Young Academy, and the recipient of the 2020 Science Defender Award from the Union of Concerned Scientists for her Spanish-language science communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from Mayo Clinic, an M.S. in Immunology from the University of Granada (Spain), and a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Dr. Edwin Barea-Rodriguez is a neuroscientist who focuses on STEM education and student development. As Biology department chair for eight years, he transformed Introductory Biology I and II courses and developed two non-major Biology courses. He directed UTSA’s MARC, RISE, and IMSD programs. He co-chaired the post-secondary working group for My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio, focusing on removing systemic barriers to education and career success for young men of color.

Dr. Barea-Rodriguez served on the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Diversity, which advised on strategies to increase underrepresented individuals in biomedical research and reduce award disparities. In 2012, he was selected as a Founding Fellow for the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE), recognizing his commitment to enhancing undergraduate STEM education. He received the Richard S. Howe Excellence in Service to Undergraduate Students Award in 2006 and 2017. In 2014, he was named Sloan Mentor of the Year by the Southern Regional Education Board. In 2020, he was among the 100 inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists in America. He is a Boricua from Moca.

Dr. Alexandra Colón-Rodríguez is a neuroscientist and leader in mentoring and workforce development, dedicated to shaping the next generation of scientific leaders. She earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Michigan State University and completed her postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis. Currently, she leads the largest postdoctoral program in the biotechnology industry at Genentech, where she has established innovative mentoring frameworks, professional development initiatives, and academic-industry pipelines that empower early-career scientists to reach their full potential.

She is also the founder of STEAM100X35, a nonprofit organization focused on amplifying the visibility of Puerto Rican women in STEM and empowering future generations of scientists through scholarships, webinars, and hands-on workshops.

Her leadership and commitment have been recognized, being named one of Telemundo’s Mujeres Imparables (Unstoppable Women), selected as a Roche Children’s Walk Global Ambassador, and distinguished for her trajectory in mentoring, diversity, and science education by institutions such as the Society for Neuroscience, SACNAS, the University of California, Davis, and the Puerto Rican House of Representatives.