From The Star Staff
On Sunday, Governor Jenniffer González Colón made her sixth round of appointments, designating Josué Rivera as the new secretary for the Department of Agriculture.
This appointment finalizes the constitutional Cabinet that will assist the governor throughout this four-year term. Other appointees include: Eduardo Soria, an attorney and certified public accountant, taking the role as executive director of the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience, known as COR3; Dr. Regino Colón as the administrator of the Medical Services Administration; Enid Ortiz Rodríguez as the executive director of the State Insurance Fund Corp.; Wilma Ortiz Rivera leading the Families and Children Administration within the Family Department; Judge María del Mar Mateu Meléndez overseeing the Child Support Administration; and attorney Amy Vega Ojeda as the administrator of the Administration for the Care and Comprehensive Development of Children.
Rivera, chosen by the governor to lead the Agriculture Department, is an experienced public servant and federal policy expert. He held the position of director of the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands District Office for the U.S. Small Business Administration beginning in late January 2021, following his role as the state director of rural development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for Puerto Rico from April 2018 to January 2021.
While at USDA, he spearheaded the first Puerto Rico Rural Loan Investment Summit, facilitated Puerto Rico’s selection for a state pilot program concerning the Single-Family Home Repair initiative, and hosted significant roundtables in the telecommunications and public health sectors in partnership with federal and state entities. In his inaugural year, he garnered federal accolades for recovery efforts, utilizing his negotiating abilities to accomplish the largest restructuring of a public utility within the Rural Development portfolio, resulting in a transaction exceeding $400 million involving the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority.
Rivera also acted as an adviser to the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration on matters such as finance, small businesses, agriculture, telecommunications, interstate shipping, air cargo deregulation, employee retention credits, HUBZones, and federal tax reforms. Following Hurricane Maria, he collaborated closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to accelerate recovery initiatives.
Soria, appointed to lead COR3, has been actively involved with FEMA federal funding across various agencies and public corporations since 2017. He has extensive experience as a financial expert in construction contractor claims for two decades and is well-acquainted with this specialized industry.
Soria, a licensed lawyer since 2008 and a certified public accountant since 1996, possesses over 28 years of experience in both national and international accounting firms and established his own practice a decade ago. He has also worked with the Office of Management and Budget and acts as a consultant in areas such as government operations, federal funding, forensic accounting, and business valuations.
He holds expert certifications in fraud investigation, internal controls, and business valuation, having worked with various federal funds throughout his career.
