Richard Kiy (ICF) is President & CEO of the International Community Foundation which he has been leading since the summer of 2001. Kiy has over 15 years of international experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining ICF, Kiy served as Senior Vice President for Business Development at PriceSmart, Inc., a leading emerging markets retailer with operations throughout Central America, the Caribbean and the Philippines. Before joining PriceSmart, Kiy served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Health & Safety at the U.S. Department of Energy and over the years has held several other senior level positions in the U.S. Government including Acting Environmental Attaché at the U.S. Embassy-Mexico. Kiy's other international experience includes business development related work in the areas of the environment and applied information technology solutions for Science Applications International Corporation in Mexico and Venezuela. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Kiy is also the co-author of a book entitled Environmental Management along North America's Borders. Recently he has contributed to studies on transnational Mexican immigration to the San Diego region as co-author and co-editor of the book The Ties That Bind Us: Mexican Migrants in San Diego County.

Julieta Mendez (ICF) is a graduate from the University of California San Diego’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) where she received a Masters in Pacific International Affairs. Mendez also received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Business Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) with a senior thesis focusing on Mexican democratization and the role of civil society. She currently serves as ICF’s Executive Coordinator providing managerial and programmatic assistance to ICF’s president. Prior to working with ICF, Mendez served as a consultant to various foundations and nonprofits in the San Diego area, including the San Diego Foundation and the Immigrant Museum for New Americans, among others. A California native of Oaxacan descent, Mendez is currently assisting ICF with its expanded Latino philanthropic outreach, primarily focused on transnational migrant communities.

Kenn Morris (CBA) has over 12 years of experience in US-Mexico business and political analysis, with a specialization in cross-border market research, the maquiladora industry, logistics and cargo, border infrastructure, and border-related policy issues. A native of California, Mr. Morris has lived on both sides of the US-Mexico border, reflected in his passion for the region, his insight into the competitive advantages of crossborder activities, and his understanding of the opportunities in Mexico and Latin America. He is active in the San Diego World Trade Center and the California Council for International Trade (CCIT), currently the appointed Chair for the San Diego World Trade Center’s Advocacy Committee. Mr. Morris has an MBA in International Business from San Diego State University, and studied under a scholarship as an International Fellow in the AGSIM (Thunderbird) -- Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara program in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He also holds a BA in Economics from San Diego State University.

Javier H. Valdés (Synergos) is currently the Special Projects Coordinator at the New York Immigration Coalition. Until August, 2005, Mr. Valdés was the Program Officer for Latin America, Strengthening Bridges Organization Program, at the Synergos Institute. He has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from New York University (NYU), along with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies and a Bachelors of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University. Prior to joining Synergos, Javier was a Research Associate for the Research Center for Leadership and Action. He has also served as a consultant for the Local Government Unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund where he conducted field research in Nicaragua and Yemen. Before coming to New York, Javier was the Director of Information Technology for the Federation of Municipalities of Central America (FEMICA). Javier was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, and worked with Banco Nacional de la Vivienda in the Dominican Republic in the design, presentation, and administration of urbanization projects.

Rafael Valdez Mingramm (Synergos) is a Consultant for Latin America, Strengthening Bridges Organization Program, at the Synergos Institute. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the “Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México” (ITAM). In the nonprofit sector, Rafael co-founded and chaired Fundación EDUCA Mexico, A.C., a nonprofit venture that has supported more than 30 organizations and benefited 16,000 low-income children, their families and communities. He has also worked at Casa de Moneda de Mexico (Mexican Mint) where he managed domestic and international sales, exporting 1.5 billion coins to foreign countries, and designed a benchmarking system that enables 48 National Mints to measure performance and identify best practices. As a Joint Japan-World Bank graduate scholar, Rafael participated in a research partnership between Columbia University and the World Bank on “The Role of Business in Sustainable Development”, publishing a paper entitled “Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships: a Complementary Strategy to Fulfill Global Commitments in Education”.