Fernando brings an extensive and diverse experience and knowledge in the development of community capacity and resilience programs. Advisor and consultant in project areas based on history, geography and social and environmental sciences applied to place-based community development, education, and interpretation planning and training. Senior project designer and manager of research, planning, design, development and training on natural and cultural heritage resources of community tourism, interpretation, environmental education projects.
His island-wide community work seeks the development of alternatives to overcome socioeconomic, cultural and environmental challenges throughout diverse strategies of participatory research, formal and informal education, community leadership support and capacity building.
Over the past 25 years, Fernando worked with well-recognized institutions directing and managing natural and cultural heritage resources, conservation programs in Puerto Rico, including founding and working as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Institute for Sciences for Conservation during the last 12 years. He also taught, trained and coached about heritage resources, interpretation programming and practice to amateurs, professional interpreters, and to youth and nontraditional audiences in several urban and rural communities across the Island.
Fernando has a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in Sociology and Anthropology, and a Master Degree in Environmental Studies from Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.