Board Member

Ambassador Gabriel Guerra-Mondragón was appointed by President Barack Obama in September 2011 to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón presently heads an international consulting firm, based in New York, to advise U.S. companies that want to do business in Latin America and the Caribbean, and vice versa. In addition, Guerra and Associates advises foreign governments on which U.S. firms they should link with in order to advance mutual interests. Government clients include Mexico, Peru, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Catalonia in Spain.

Previously, Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón was United States Ambassador to Chile from 1994 until 1998. He has enjoyed a varied career in diplomacy, business, politics and law.

As U.S. Ambassador to Chile, Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón presided over the best ever historical relationship between the United States and Chile. He actively pursued and solidified continuing excellent relations between the two countries. Of special interest was the Ambassador's persistent advocacy of a comprehensive free trade agreement with Chile.  Assistance to the U.S. American community was a major aspect of his work. He received the highest commendation for his management of the Embassy in Santiago.

Prior to his position, Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón was President of TKC International, Inc., an international government relations firm in Washington, D.C. His domestic and international clients included the governments of Aruba, Azerbaijan, Catalonia, Japan, Mexico, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and major international companies such as Bunge y Born and France Telecom.

Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón, prior to his private sector work, was a U.S. foreign service officer at the U.S. State Department from 1976 to 1986. During these years, he served as staff assistant to the U.S. Secretary of State, Desk Officer for Colombia, Desk Officer for Nicaragua, and Executive Director to the U.S. National Commission to UNESCO. He was also Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and, afterward, Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

In 1984, Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón was assigned on a detail from the U.S. State Department to the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) as Program Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for two years. During this time, he traveled extensively throughout the region meeting with all the principal democratic political leaders.

Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón also served as a staff attorney for the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 1969 to 1972. From 1973 to 1975 he was Deputy Administrator of the Office for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C.

Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón was appointed by President Bill Clinton as a Commissioner of the American Battle Monuments Commission in Washington, D.C. President Clinton also appointed him as a Member of the official U.S. Delegation to the Presidential Inaugurations of the Presidents of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (1993); Colombia, Andres Pastrana (1998); Venezuela, Hugo Chavez (1999); and Chile, Ricardo Lagos (2000).

Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations; Member of the Puerto Rican Bar Association; Member of the Council of American Ambassadors; Member of the Foreign Policy Association; Member of the Inter-American Foundation; former Chairman and still Member of the LatinoJustice Board for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDF); Member of the Board of El Museo del Barrio, New York, New York; and Member of the Board of the Limon Dance Foundation.

Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 4, 1942.  He attended Fordham University, the school of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Puerto Rico Law School.

Ambassador Guerra-Mondragón is married to Alicia Rodriguez