Jorge Silva Puras

He was appointed to that position by President Barack Obama, and served the Administration from May 2010 until January 2013, when he joined the Hostos faculty. As SBA Regional Administrator, Mr. Silva Puras publicly advocated in favor of small businesses in multiple public forums, such as SAP's SME Summit in New York City, and the New York Senate Unidad Latina conference. He was also interviewed on several television, radio and newsprint media outlets on topics of small business growth and entrepreneurship.

Silva Puras has served in several senior government positions at the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including Chief of Staff to former Governor of Puerto Rico Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. from June 2006 until December 2008. Previous to his appointment as Chief of Staff, he served as Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce, and as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO).

As part of his responsibilities as Puerto Rico's Chief of Staff, he led the efforts that resulted in the Governor's Economic Development Plan (EDP), announced in the Fall of 2006, which focused on 6 economic development strategies, including infrastructure investments via public private partnerships (PPPs).

Silva Puras is a 1988 graduate of Yale University, received a Juris Doctor with Honors from the University of Puerto Rico, and an MBA in International Management from the University of Texas at Austin and the Copenhagen Business School.

Jorge Silva Puras (born August 23, 1966 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) served as the 5th Chief of Staff to the Governor of Puerto Rico, and is currently Head of Sagrado Global, the School of Professional Studies at Sagrado Corazón University.