2024 Eloise S. Cofer Lecturer
Carmen Yulín Cruz, 2024 Eloise S. Cofer Lecturer
When Hurricane Maria devastated San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2017, Carmen Yulín Cruz was on the front lines as the city’s 2.3 million residents responded to the devastation which rippled beyond physical destruction to financial, political and humanitarian suffering.
“In San Juan, we learned that our communities and our civil society was eager, able, and efficient at aiding our people when the crisis happened,” Cruz says. “People in the communities were knowledgeable about the needs and the solutions in a tangible, targeted way that government agencies could not provide.”
Cruz, who was mayor of San Juan for eight years, now works with universities and nongovernmental organizations to advocate for crisis response on a community level. On January 18, she spoke at NC State University for the 2024 Eloise S. Cofer Family Living Lecture Series. Anchored around themes of community engagement and leadership, her lecture will emphasize how local actions lead to global impacts.
“It’s now my life’s devotion to ensure our communities are the ones who have the principal voices on how their problems are looked at, addressed and dealt with,” Cruz says.
2024 Lecture Series Recording
Watch the recording of the 2024 Eloise S. Cofer Family Living Lecture Series to learn more about Carmen Yulín Cruz and learn about her themes of community engagement and leadership.
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