Who is GRB?

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During the summer of 2017, GRB was entrusted with the honor of serving the Puerto Rican people as the first Chief Innovation Officer of the Government of Puerto Rico and direct advisor to the Governor. She was eager to make an impact in the life of citizens through innovative public policy and solutions. 

Three months after joining civil service, category-5 Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico. In the wake of an unparalleled disaster, innovation and the effective management of government technology were more relevant than ever. However, the Puerto Rican government was under the oversight of a federally appointed board to deal with the debt crisis. Furthermore, when things were getting back on track during 2019, Puerto Rico witnessed political and social unrest that resulted in an unforeseen government transition in the middle of the term. In 2020, Puerto Rico also experienced the strongest earthquake in a century and, like the rest of the world, the COVID 19 pandemic.  

Pressing fiscal issues, complex emergency management and disaster recovery processes, and political pressure represented conflicting priorities. The unprecedented obstacles created conflicts and tensions that were counterproductive. Innovation was not well-understood or recognized as a key government priority. GRB had to be the leading voice and advocate for government innovation. She had to start by establishing, for the first time, the innovation and technology strategic vision and action plan for the Government of Puerto Rico. 

GRB's persistence led to the establishment of the new government agency known as the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service (PRITS). She believed that with the legal authority to execute, with the right people and by promoting an unconventional culture in the government setting, PRITS was to become a game changer. Previous attempts to create a specialized innovation and technology government organization had not prospered. Lack of leadership and political pressures had obstructed related efforts in the previous decade. 

However, GRB knew that the prevailing circumstances were more complex than ever; the road ahead was going to be arduous. As the first Executive Director of the PRITS, she quickly became a resourceful problem-solver, finding quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. The office was created without any assigned budget or employees. GRB effectively anticipated situations, adapted to new circumstances, and solved complex issues in a constructive manner. She became resilient to adversity, recovering quickly from multiple setbacks, managing power struggles, and remaining optimistic and focused on goals and performance. Managing risks, being decisive, and avoiding pitfalls became part of the daily routine. 

GRB built important alliances and managed well-structured collaboration efforts between diverse and interdisciplinary teams. She sought support and consensus across boundaries to turn the established vision into action. Most importantly, she attracted a group of highly committed public servants to join her in this journey. GRB led, inspired and developed her team with genuineness, respect and sensibility while fostering a culture of inclusion, empowerment and accountability. She encouraged creativity and constant learning. 

In the middle of complex external circumstances, she created a safe and comfortable environment encouraging all team members to contribute, and to challenge the traditional approaches they knew in the government setting. Under rapidly changing conditions, GRB constantly prioritized efforts and aligned them with the mission and long-term strategy. She also emphasized tangible value creation and high-quality results at every iteration of all our product development projects. 

GRB enabled the team to transform key citizen services that many doubted could be changed. Together, they challenged the status quo and faced great resistance. Even though there were fierce detractors along the way, that did not deviate GRB's attention from the important matters and the team maintained their enthusiasm and commitment throughout tough times.

First and foremost, GRB reminded the team the ultimate goal:

everything they did had to be in the best interest of the citizens of Puerto Rico. 

With great pride, the team delivered never before seen results at the central government level with innovative citizen solutions. 

Today, PRITS represents a significant advancement in the history of technology and innovation in Government of Puerto Rico. These topics are now central in the transformational journey of the government’s operation and citizens services.