Carmen Yulín Cruz
Former Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto was mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2020, and came to national prominence in 2017 as an outspoken advocate to ensure federal support to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Her vision of public service is one of governing not for the people, but with the people.
Yulín, as she prefers to be called, holds degrees from Boston University and Carnegie Mellon University and has worked in the private and public sectors; including at the U.S. Treasury Department, in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, and on the Board of Directors for Annie’s List. She has held fellowships at Mount Holyoke College; the University of Chicago; and the Center for Public Leadership and Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School. She has received awards from numerous humanitarian organizations, including the Martin Luther King Center and the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. In 2018, Time magazine named her one of its 100 Most Influential People.
Yulín is the author of EL PODER ESTÁ EN LA CALLE, on how alliances can change the political landscape and produce results for citizens. She is a consultant and speaker on climate change, crisis management, female leadership and empowerment, community engagement, and resilience planning. She founded EN PUERTO RICO SE PUEDE in 2023 to help communities organize and innovate in these areas.
Of all her titles and accomplishments, the one she is proudest of is being a mother to her 33-year-old daughter Marina Paul Cruz.