TODAY: President and Secretary Clinton to Host Third CGI Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In its first meeting in Puerto Rico, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network will bring together leaders from government, business, and civil society to discuss ongoing hurricane recovery needs facing Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda including food security, access to health care, small business support, renewable energy, and sustainable tourism.

Featured participants will include President Bill Clinton, founder and board chair of the Clinton Foundation; Secretary Hillary Clinton; Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Barbados; Governor Ricardo Rosselló, Puerto Rico; Governor Albert Bryan, U.S. Virgin Islands; Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico; Carmen Yulín Cruz, mayor of San Juan; María Meléndez Altieri, mayor of Ponce; Jesús “Gardy” Colón Berlingeri, mayor of Orocovis; Carmen Maldonado, mayor of Morovis; Julia Nazario, mayor of Loíza; Ernesto Irizarry Salvá, mayor of Utuado; Lornna Soto, mayor of Canóvanas; Nelson Torres Yordán, mayor of Guayanilla; Patricia Scottland, Secretary General, The Commonwealth of Nations; Francine Baron, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth of Dominica; Carolyn Miles, president, Save the Children; José Andrés, chef and founder, World Central Kitchen; Richard Carrion, executive chairman, Banco Popular; Kenneth Cole, chairman and founder, Kenneth Cole Productions; MC González Noguera, SVP, Public Affairs, The Estée Lauder Companies; Natalie Molina Niño, author and CEO, Brava Investments; Denis O’Brien, executive chairman, Digicel;  Mark Okerstrom, CEO, Expedia Group; Sean Penn, founder, CORE; Eric Smith, CEO, Swiss Re Americas; Paula Vlamings, CEO, Tourism Cares; Grace Yoon, CMO & COO Strategy, Rockefeller Capital Management; among others.

New York, NY – From January 29-30, 2019, President and Secretary Clinton will convene the third meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery today at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Action Network brings together leaders in government, business, and civil society to develop strategies and solutions to address hurricane recovery needs facing the region, while laying the foundation for a more resilient future.

At the meeting, participants will discuss the current recovery efforts in the region, progress to date, ongoing challenges, and Commitments to Action announced at the Action Network’s August meeting in Miami last year. Commitments to Action are specific and measurable projects that address critical issues such as food security, access to health care, small business support, sustainable tourism, and renewable energy. New commitments will also be announced, focused on continuing recovery and building resilience in the region. Since its launch, CGI Action Network members have finalized over 18 commitments.

President and Secretary Clinton will moderate three plenary sessions focused on sustaining momentum for building resiliency in the region, creating opportunities for and empowering youth, and strengthening the future of the Caribbean economy.

The Action Network, along with Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), follows the success of CGI and its Commitment to Action model. Over the years, CGI and its successors have brought together leaders from across sectors to improve the lives of more than 430 million people in 180 countries worldwide.

The Clinton Foundation is grateful for the generous support of lead partners IBM and InterEnergy as well as sponsors: Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association, Banco Popular, First Bank, Grupo Ferré Rangel, and Swiss Re.

Program highlights at the Action Network will include:

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Opening Plenary: “From Recovery to Resiliency: Sustaining Momentum in 2019 and Beyond,” Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón will give opening remarks; President Clinton will join Patricia Scottland, Secretary General, The Commonwealth of Nations; Minister Francine Baron, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Commonwealth of Dominica; Mark Okerstrom, CEO of Expedia Group; and José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen to discuss challenges to disaster recovery and resiliency over a year out from the hurricanes while highlighting the best approaches to sustain momentum in the region.

• January 29, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. AST
• CAMERA PRE-SET: 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. AST
• PRESS ARRIVAL: 1:00 p.m. AST

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Morning Plenary:  “Supporting Tomorrow’s Leaders: Creating Opportunities for Youth,” a plenary session moderated by Secretary Hillary Clinton, featuring Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz; Carolyn Miles, CEO of Save the Children; and Angel Diaz, vice president of developer technology, open source & advocacy at IBM, will highlight successful strategies for supporting youth in the Caribbean region – such as expanding mental health services and creating apprenticeship and job training programs – and celebrate the vibrancy and dynamism of youth as shepherds of a new, resilient, and prosperous Caribbean identity.

• January 30, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. AST
• CAMERA PRE-SET: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. AST
• PRESS ARRIVAL: 7:00 a.m. AST

Closing Plenary: “Fortifying the Future of the Caribbean Economy,” Governor Ricardo Rosselló will give opening remarks; President Clinton will join Prime Minister Mia Mottley; Governor Albert Bryan; Richard Carrion, executive chairman of Banco Popular, along with others, to discuss the future of the Caribbean economy, drawing on their insights as business leaders, entrepreneurs, job creators, and heads of governments, while pointing out the strategies and approaches that Action Network members can take to help realize this forward-looking economic vision.

• January 30, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. AST
• CAMERA PRE-SET: 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. AST
• PRESS ARRIVAL: 2:00 p.m. AST

Social Media

During the course of the CGI Action Network Meeting, we encourage you to take advantage of these social media opportunities:

• Use the official hashtag #IdeasIntoAction
• Follow @ClintonFdn (link is external) on Twitter for meeting news and highlights
• See meeting updates on the Clinton Foundation Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ClintonFoundation/ (link is external)   

Photos Available for Use
For photos and permission to use in published materials, please send requests to press@clintonfoundation.org

Interview Requests
Please send all interview requests to press@clintonfoundation.org.

Facebook Live
Watch and share live webcasts of the meeting: live.clintonfoundation.org (link is external).

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About the Clinton Foundation

Building on a lifetime of public service, President Clinton established the Clinton Foundation on the simple belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, everyone has a responsibility to act, and we all do better when we work together. For nearly two decades, those values have energized the work of the Foundation in overcoming complex challenges and improving the lives of people across the United States and around the world.

As an operating foundation, we work on issues directly or with strategic partners from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service. Our programs are designed to make a real difference today while serving as proven models for tomorrow. The goal of every effort is to use available resources to get better results faster – at the lowest possible cost.

We firmly believe that when diverse groups of people bring resources together in the spirit of true cooperation, transformative ideas will emerge to drive life-changing action.