Territorial Relations
The Committee on Territorial Relations offers policymakers a greater understanding of territorial government structure and governance by serving as a conduit to address opportunities in trade, economic development, and various social issues that affect the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The committee provides policymakers with an opportunity for information sharing, collaboration, and improved relations among states and territories in the CSG East region, and comprises members from all 18 jurisdictions.
 
      
      Carmelo J. Ríos Santiago
    
    Senator, Puerto Rico
          
          
            Carmelo
          
            J.
          
            Ríos
          
            Santiago,
          
            was
          
            born
          
            on
          
            May
          
            21,
          
            1973,
          
            in
          
            Santurce,
          
            Puerto
          
            Rico.
          
            He
          
            is
          
            the
          
            eldest
          
            son
          
            of
          
            Don
          
            Carmelo
          
            Ríos
          
            Nazario
          
            and
          
            Doña
          
            Lydia
          
            Santiago
          
            Estrella.
He
          
            graduated
          
            from
          
            Florida
          
            Air
          
            Academy
          
            in
          
            Melbourne,
          
            Florida,
          
            where
          
            he
          
            earned
          
        
          ...
          
            
              the
            
              rank
            
              of
            
              Lieutenant
            
              Colonel.
            
              He
            
              was
            
              selected
            
              as
            
              one
            
              of
            
              the
            
              top
            
              ten
            
              prospective
            
              players
            
              in
            
              the
            
              state
            
              of
            
              Florida.
            
              In
            
              1993
            
              he
            
              moved
            
              to
            
              Bethune
            
              Cookman
            
              College
            
              with
            
              a
            
              sports
            
              scholarship
            
              and
            
              managed
            
              to
            
              obtain
            
              a
            
              bachelor's
            
              degree
            
              in
            
              political
            
              science
            
              and
            
              economics.
            
              During
            
              his
            
              time
            
              at
            
              Bethune
            
              Cookman
            
              College,
            
              he
            
              was
            
              selected
            
              to
            
              the
            
              "All
            
              Star"
            
              Team
            
              of
            
              Division
            
              I
            
              of
            
              the
            
              NCAA
            
              in
            
              the
            
              "Mid
            
              Eastern
            
              Athletic
            
              Conference"
            
              in
            
              the
            
              discipline
            
              of
            
              "Baseball."
In
            
              1995,
            
              he
            
              joined
            
              the
            
              Law
            
              School
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Pontifical
            
              Catholic
            
              University
            
              where
            
              he
            
              is
            
              part
            
              of
            
              the
            
              "Student
            
              Bar
            
              Association",
            
              was
            
              a
            
              founding
            
              member
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Delta
            
              Theta
            
              Phi
            
              Fraternity
            
              of
            
              Law
            
              and
            
              President
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Student
            
              Council.
He
            
              obtained
            
              the
            
              degree
            
              of
            
              "Juris
            
              Doctor"
            
              in
            
              1998.
            
              He
            
              began
            
              his
            
              professional
            
              career
            
              as
            
              a
            
              legal
            
              advisor
            
              to
            
              the
            
              Office
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Commissioner
            
              of
            
              Municipal
            
              Affairs
            
              and
            
              then
            
              litigation
            
              director
            
              of
            
              the
            
              State
            
              Insurance
            
              Fund
            
              Corporation.
            
              In
            
              2001,
            
              he
            
              started
            
              his
            
              own
            
              law
            
              firm,
            
              specialized
            
              in
            
              Administrative,
            
              Civil
            
              and
            
              Criminal
            
              Law.
In
            
              1999,
            
              he
            
              aspires
            
              for
            
              the
            
              first
            
              time
            
              to
            
              a
            
              public
            
              seat
            
              as
            
              a
            
              candidate
            
              for
            
              the
            
              Municipal
            
              Legislature
            
              of
            
              Guaynabo,
            
              being
            
              elected
            
              as
            
              an
            
              alternate
            
              spokesperson
            
              for
            
              the
            
              parliamentary
            
              majority.
            
          
          
          
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      Milton E. Potter
    
    Senate President, Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands
          
          
            Senator
          
            Potter
          
            was
          
            born
          
            on
          
            the
          
            island
          
            of
          
            Tortola
          
            and
          
            is
          
            a
          
            proud
          
            product
          
            of
          
            the
          
            U.S.
          
            Virgin
          
            Islands
          
            Public
          
            School
          
            System
          
            from
          
            Head
          
            Start
          
            through
          
            the
          
            12th
          
            grade.
          
            He
          
            is
          
            a
          
            graduate
          
            of
          
            Florida
          
            A&M
          
            University
          
            where
          
            he
          
            obtained
          
        
          ...
          
            
              a
            
              master’s
            
              degree
            
              in
            
              School
            
              Psychology
            
              and
            
              a
            
              bachelor’s
            
              degree
            
              in
            
              Criminal
            
              Justice.
Milton
            
              and
            
              his
            
              seven
            
              siblings
            
              grew
            
              up
            
              in
            
              St.
            
              Thomas,
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands,
            
              and
            
              were
            
              raised
            
              with
            
              three
            
              basic
            
              tenets:
            
              Education
            
              is
            
              the
            
              Great
            
              Equalizer;
            
              Family
            
              is
            
              the
            
              Bedrock
            
              of
            
              any
            
              Community,
            
              and
            
              A
            
              Good
            
              Name
            
              is
            
              a
            
              Prized
            
              Possession
            
              that
            
              Should
            
              be
            
              Nurtured
            
              and
            
              Cherished.
            
              Despite
            
              struggling
            
              to
            
              make
            
              ends
            
              meet
            
              for
            
              their
            
              large
            
              family
            
              of
            
              10,
            
              his
            
              parents,
            
              Cecil,
            
              a
            
              Port
            
              Authority
            
              firefighter
            
              and
            
              Margaret
            
              a
            
              salesclerk,
            
              made
            
              service
            
              a
            
              way
            
              of
            
              life
            
              –
            
              taking
            
              in
            
              and
            
              raising
            
              several
            
              disadvantaged
            
              youngsters
            
              who
            
              remain
            
              family
            
              to
            
              this
            
              day.
            
              The
            
              tireless
            
              work
            
              ethic
            
              of
            
              his
            
              parents
            
              and
            
              their
            
              unwavering
            
              commitment
            
              to
            
              serving
            
              others
            
              led
            
              to
            
              Milton’s
            
              lifelong
            
              commitment
            
              to
            
              public
            
              service
            
              culminating
            
              in
            
              his
            
              recent
            
              decision
            
              to
            
              run
            
              for
            
              a
            
              seat
            
              in
            
              the
            
              34th
            
              Legislature.
Early
            
              in
            
              his
            
              career,
            
              Milton
            
              served
            
              as
            
              a
            
              School
            
              Psychologist
            
              and
            
              Counselor
            
              at
            
              Florida
            
              State
            
              University
            
              in
            
              Tallahassee
            
              Florida.
            
              He
            
              also
            
              served
            
              as
            
              Project
            
              Counselor
            
              for
            
              the
            
              Upward
            
              Bound
            
              Program
            
              at
            
              the
            
              University
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands
            
              where
            
              he
            
              served
            
              as
            
              an
            
              advisor,
            
              counselor,
            
              and
            
              role
            
              model
            
              to
            
              high
            
              school
            
              youth.
            
              In
            
              the
            
              late
            
              1990s,
            
              he
            
              made
            
              a
            
              career
            
              shift
            
              to
            
              the
            
              field
            
              of
            
              Human
            
              Resource
            
              Management
            
              and
            
              rose
            
              to
            
              the
            
              pinnacle
            
              of
            
              the
            
              HR
            
              field,
            
              heading
            
              significant
            
              Human
            
              Resources
            
              Divisions
            
              in
            
              the
            
              territory,
            
              to
            
              include
            
              HR
            
              Director
            
              for
            
              the
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands
            
              Port
            
              Authority
            
              and
            
              Director
            
              of
            
              Personnel
            
              for
            
              the
            
              Government
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands.
            
              He
            
              is
            
              a
            
              Senior
            
              Certified
            
              Professional
            
              with
            
              both
            
              the
            
              Society
            
              for
            
              Human
            
              Resources
            
              Management
            
              and
            
              the
            
              International
            
              Public
            
              Management
            
              Association.
            
              His
            
              calm
            
              and
            
              fair
            
              nature
            
              supports
            
              his
            
              success
            
              as
            
              a
            
              trained
            
              arbitrator
            
              &
            
              mediator.
During
            
              his
            
              five-year
            
              tenure
            
              at
            
              the
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands
            
              Port
            
              Authority
            
              as
            
              Director
            
              of
            
              Human
            
              Resources,
            
              Milton
            
              was
            
              responsible
            
              for
            
              recruiting
            
              qualified
            
              candidates
            
              for
            
              employment
            
              and
            
              managing
            
              the
            
              Authority’s
            
              human
            
              capital.
            
              He
            
              was
            
              charged
            
              with
            
              interpreting
            
              and
            
              implementing
            
              all
            
              internal,
            
              local,
            
              and
            
              federal
            
              employment
            
              laws
            
              and
            
              policies.
            
              As
            
              part
            
              of
            
              the
            
              executive
            
              team,
            
              Milton
            
              represented
            
              the
            
              Port
            
              Authority
            
              in
            
              employee
            
              grievances,
            
              led
            
              a
            
              major
            
              local
            
              and
            
              national
            
              search
            
              to
            
              fill
            
              the
            
              Executive
            
              Director
            
              vacancy,
            
              and
            
              negotiated
            
              all
            
              five
            
              collective
            
              bargaining
            
              agreements,
            
              serving
            
              as
            
              the
            
              Authority’s
            
              Chief
            
              Negotiator.
As
            
              Director
            
              of
            
              Personnel
            
              for
            
              the
            
              Government
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands,
            
              Milton
            
              managed
            
              a
            
              $43
            
              million
            
              departmental
            
              budget,
            
              a
            
              staff
            
              of
            
              42
            
              direct
            
              reports,
            
              and
            
              80
            
              agency
            
              personnel
            
              officers
            
              disbursed
            
              throughout
            
              government.
            
              He
            
              oversaw
            
              the
            
              design,
            
              administration,
            
              and
            
              implementation
            
              of
            
              recruitment,
            
              classification
            
              and
            
              placement
            
              initiatives,
            
              personnel
            
              rules
            
              and
            
              regulations,
            
              local
            
              and
            
              federal
            
              labor
            
              laws,
            
              and
            
              employee
            
              development
            
              for
            
              a
            
              workforce
            
              of
            
              over
            
              7,000
            
              employees
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands
            
              Government
            
              and
            
              over
            
              3,000
            
              retirees
            
              covered
            
              on
            
              the
            
              Government’s
            
              Health
            
              Insurance
            
              Plan.
He
            
              also
            
              oversaw
            
              the
            
              modernization
            
              of
            
              the
            
              recruitment
            
              process
            
              through
            
              the
            
              implementation
            
              of
            
              the
            
              NEOGOV
            
              applicant
            
              tracking
            
              system,
            
              which
            
              has
            
              been
            
              a
            
              game-changer
            
              in
            
              the
            
              manner
            
              in
            
              which
            
              government
            
              employees
            
              are
            
              recruited
            
              -
            
              reducing
            
              the
            
              GVI
            
              hiring
            
              time
            
              by
            
              an
            
              incredible
            
              60%
            
              and
            
              allowing
            
              for
            
              online
            
              applications.
            
              Additionally,
            
              the
            
              CIGNA
            
              health
            
              insurance
            
              fund
            
              grew
            
              from
            
              $300,000
            
              to
            
              $700,000
            
              under
            
              his
            
              leadership,
            
              more
            
              than
            
              doubling
            
              the
            
              available
            
              funds
            
              for
            
              the
            
              Government’s
            
              wellness
            
              program,
            
              GVI
            
              Health.
Dedicated
            
              to
            
              civic
            
              engagement,
            
              Milton
            
              volunteers
            
              as
            
              an
            
              elected
            
              member
            
              of
            
              the
            
              St.
            
              Thomas
            
              Federal
            
              Credit
            
              Union
            
              Board
            
              of
            
              Directors
            
              where
            
              he
            
              has
            
              served
            
              as
            
              past
            
              President
            
              and
            
              current
            
              Treasurer
            
              for
            
              this
            
              $70,000,000
            
              home-grown
            
              financial
            
              institution.
            
              Under
            
              his
            
              stewardship,
            
              for
            
              the
            
              first
            
              time
            
              in
            
              the
            
              organization’s
            
              68-year
            
              history,
            
              the
            
              St.
            
              Thomas
            
              Federal
            
              Credit
            
              Union
            
              was
            
              awarded
            
              the
            
              highly
            
              coveted
            
              Credit
            
              Union
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Year
            
              Award
            
              by
            
              the
            
              National
            
              Association
            
              of
            
              Credit
            
              Unions,
            
              in
            
              June
            
              2019.
            
              He
            
              is
            
              a
            
              member
            
              of
            
              the
            
              WADADA
            
              I
            
              YA
            
              Cultural
            
              Fraternity,
            
              has
            
              served
            
              as
            
              a
            
              counselor
            
              for
            
              the
            
              Family
            
              Resource
            
              Center,
            
              where
            
              he
            
              taught
            
              conflict
            
              resolution
            
              skills
            
              to
            
              men
            
              who
            
              were
            
              charged
            
              with
            
              domestic
            
              violence
            
              infractions.
            
              As
            
              a
            
              part-time
            
              instructor
            
              in
            
              the
            
              School
            
              of
            
              Education
            
              at
            
              the
            
              University
            
              of
            
              the
            
              Virgin
            
              Islands,
            
              he
            
              taught
            
              a
            
              number
            
              of
            
              courses
            
              in
            
              the
            
              graduate
            
              Guidance
            
              and
            
              Counseling
            
              program.
            
          
          
          
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              For more information on the Territorial Relations Committee, please contact:
Jacqueline Odanga-Kegode
Email: jodanga@csg.org
direct: 646-383-5755
 
  