As a Puerto Rican born and raised in Puerto Rico, living on the island for 28 consecutive years and then living in the United States for 31 years, I am an example of someone facing the challenges of living in a country foreign to me for all intents and purposes. In that process, I have endured the prejudices that come with the social adaptation to a different cultural and social environment, as well as facing the normal challenges of any migrant. Living in areas of high Puerto Rican concentration and having visited many states within the United States, I have first-hand experience on how we are perceived by people of other national and ethnic backgrounds as well as the perception of Puerto Ricans who have lived only in PR or only in the US. With 32 years of professional experience in Public Administration and Non Profit development, with emphasis on Public Policy, I have had the unique opportunity to study in depth, issues such as housing discrimination, health access, migration, educational inequities, civil rights, political participation and many others that have been the foundational experience of Puerto Ricans living in the US. As a result, I have developed a new sensitivity towards the importance of keeping and preserving the history and contributions of our people in the Diaspora and how they have impacted the American life in just about every dimension of US culture. The contributions are enormous in fields such as sports, sciences, commerce, the arts and education, to mention just a few. Developing a National Puerto Rican Diaspora Museum and Cultural Center, will allow for the preservation of such a rich history for generations to come. It is our hope that it would provide a space where Puerto Ricans can feel proud of those contributions as well as a place for others to learn how we, as Puerto Ricans, have contributed to the United States and, indeed, the world.

Fernando Betancourt
Board Member

Fernando Betancourt was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where he studied Political Science and Law at the School of Social Science and Law Faculties at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus.He moved to New Haven, Connecticut in 1987, where he served as Executive Director of the LULAC National and Educational Service Center and later served as Program Director at Crossroads Inc., until 1991. That year he was appointed Deputy Human Resources Administrator for the City of New Haven, supervising the Health, Welfare, Elderly and Children and Families Departments and managing a $27 million dollar budget. In 1994, Fernando was appointed as the first Ryan White Title I Program Director in Connecticut. On September 22, 1995, he was named the first Executive Director of the State Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission where he served in the CT. General Assembly for fourteen years, developing and advocating for public policies affecting the Latino and Puerto Rican populations of the State. After a short stint working in the insurance industry, Fernando was appointed on April 1, 2012  as  Executive Director of the San Juan Center Inc., a not-for-profit social service organization serving the Greater Hartford Area, where he is currently employed.

Fernando was the first Chairperson of the NPRDM and served with distinction for six years.