José Ramón Benítez

Executive Director

Leads Fundación Rimas since December 2022. Master in Sustainable Business & Innovation (EADA Barcelona) and Certified Sustainability Practitioner. Built the foundation's research-first, impact-measurement approach — as comfortable presenting data to funders as sitting with participants in Villalba.

Yamira Flores

Director of Programs

Directs all of the foundation's programs — La Academia across every campus, El Vagón, and the Boot Camps — coordinating facilitators and adapting curricula to each population, from correctional facilities to public schools. For Yamira, success isn't the number of campuses; it's whether a young person walks out with a clearer sense of what they're capable of.

Virginia Quiñones

Accountant

The foundation's accountant. Keeps the organization's finances — from day-to-day accounting to the Economic Grants Program disbursements, where every approved application passes through her books before reaching a young person.

Ángel E. Hildebrand-Díaz

Program Coordinator

Joined in 2025. A nine-year Boys & Girls Club participant at Las Margaritas, named Joven del Año and the first Puerto Rican to reach the national Youth of the Year final. Brings lived experience to every operational decision.

María Gabriela Velasco

Liaison Manager

Builds and maintains the foundation's partnerships with artists, athletes, and other entertainment-industry actors, supporting their community and philanthropic projects — the bridge between talent and the communities we serve.

Alexandra Urrutia

Facilitator

Psychologist (M.A., Universidad Interamericana; doctoral studies at Universidad Carlos Albizu) with years of nonprofit work alongside high school and university youth, including juvenile-corrections settings. Supervises La Academia across its campuses. Her guiding phrase: “Caminante, no hay camino” — the path is made by walking.

José Carlos Figueroa Barbosa

Facilitator

Better known as “Figue.” Holds a B.A. in Advertising and Marketing from the University of Puerto Rico and a master’s in Clinical Social Work, with certifications in mental health, addictions, and adolescent and young-adult care. Over 25 years working with youth — from faith-based communities to the highest-risk settings — a firm believer in second chances and in the arts, sports, and dialogue as paths to restoration. His motto: every story deserves to be told, but above all, heard.