Rogelio Figueroa García (born September 13, 1963 in

Naguabo, Puerto Rico Naguabo (, ) is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the east coast of the island bordered by the Vieques Passage, north of Humacao; south of Río Grande and Ceiba; and east of Las Piedras. Naguabo is spread over 8 barrios and N ...

) is a Puerto Rican engineer and politician. He is the president and co-founder of the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico (PPR) party, and served as their gubernatorial candidate for the 2008 general elections. He was also the gubernatorial candidate for the 2012 general elections.

Early life and studies

Rogelio Figueroa García was born on the Municipal Hospital of

and raised near by in the community of Parcelas Aguas Claras in

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...

. He is the youngest of nine children of farmer Sotero Figueroa Pomales and housewife Juanita García Noble. Figueroa began his studies in Ceiba, and continued in Naguabo. He attended the Rafael Rocca High School in that town, graduating in 1981. In 1986 he graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a Bachelor of

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

at the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a Public university, public land-grant university in Mayagüez ...

. In 1988 he obtained his Masters in Chemical Engineering from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Professional career

Figueroa has worked in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industry from 1988 to 1995. He has worked in the design and improvement of industrial systems and processes. He has also worked as an entrepreneur of industrial technical services, documentation and information systems for the pharmaceutical and biotechnologic industry. He is also an entrepreneur in the construction of

green building Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...

s, the development of alternatives of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

and the handling of solid waste for the production of energy. Figueroa has worked with community organizations as an adviser in environmental issues, and has worked in projects as the dredging of Carraízo and the Route 66, among others.

Political career

Figueroa founded the

Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party The Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (, PPR) was a Puerto Rican political party. Founded in 2003, it was certified for the first time by the State Electoral Commission in May 2007. History In April 2007, it submitted the signatures requi ...

(PPR). He participated in the 2004 general elections as a write-in gubernatorial candidate. In May 2007, the party was officially inscribed for the 2008 general elections. Figueroa received a total of 53,693 votes (2.77%), finishing third among the four gubernatorial candidates. Figueroa ran as a gubernatorial candidate for the 2012 general elections.

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Figueroa, Rogelio 1963 births Living people People from Naguabo, Puerto Rico Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party politicians Puerto Rican party leaders Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni