Juan Figueroa, born in Ciales, Puerto Rico, is a lifelong public interest advocate with a successful background in law, policy, and civil rights at the national, state, and local levels. His extensive legal career includes assignments as staff attorney for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities; Assistant Attorney General for the state of Connecticut; President and General Counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (now Latino Justice, PRLDEF) in New York City; and Of Counsel to the Law Offices of David N. Feliu in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Juan served as State Representative for Hartford’s Third Assembly District and in 2010 became the first Latino in Connecticut to run for Governor. He was President of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, served as Chief of Staff to Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, and until recently served as President and CEO of the Jefferson Foundation in Missouri. Currently, he is a consultant to the Missouri Foundation for Health in St Louis.

With a tireless dedication to public service, Juan brings a valuable perspective as a policymaker across DEIA work, with a specialization in strategy and leadership.

Juan holds honorary degrees from CUNY Law School in New York and Charter Oak College in Connecticut. He received his Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University in California and his Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in St Paul Minnesota.

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