In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) completed the Estuary Implementation Assessment. As a result, it recommended that the Estuary operate as an independent entity to maximize its funding and partnerships. In response, the executive director from 2000 to 2002, Agustín Carbó, and the then and current executive director of the Estuary, Brenda Torres Barreto, took steps to establish the San Juan Bay Estuary Conservation Corporation as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2005. Subsequently, the USEPA certified the Estuary as a corporation eligible to receive and manage Section 320 Clean Water Act funds on behalf of the Estuary.
The Corporation's primary role is to support government agencies, municipalities, private entities, and communities in fulfilling their respective responsibilities in land management, facilitating regional collaboration to advance shared goals and objectives to comply with the Clean Water Act.
The Corporation has a Board of Directors, made up of people who donate their time voluntarily, and it is the one that hires the Estuary staff.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors heads the Estuary's corporate structure and focuses on high-level strategy, oversight, and accountability for the Corporation. The Board oversees compliance, maintains financial records, and ensures the Corporation adheres to guidelines established by the USEPA and other applicable regulations set by funders or funding sources.
María de Lourdes Jiménez
PresidentCarl Soderberg
Vice PresidentRafael Velez
TreasurerCarlos J. Fernández Lugo
SecretaryFriedel Stubbe
Blas Fonalledas
Pedro A. Gelabert
Team
The Executive Director and Estuary staff support the Board of Directors in its functions. Staff facilitate the implementation of the Estuary Plan and prepare relevant documents, such as annual budgets and work plans, which are approved by the Board of Directors. Staff maintain a collaborative relationship with communities and organizations in the region to promote their participation and the Estuary's mission.
- Brenda Torres Barrero – Chief Executive Officer
- Jorge Bauzá Ortega – Scientific Director
- Maricela Perryman – Senior Program Manager
- Sahid Rosado Lausell – Manager of education and citizen science
- Sofia Burgos Caraballo – Project Officer under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
- Delia Jiménez – State Revolving Fund (SRF) Program Project Officer
- Cristina Ramírez Colón – Aquatic Waste Manager
- Pilar Gómez Lobo Santiago – Coordinator of integration and intersectoral relations
- Lourdes Pérez Medina – Resilient Infrastructure Manager
- Cathy Ortiz Gomez – Operations Officer
- María G. Reyes García – Grants and Compliance Manager
