The Aspen Institute

Jorge Jimenez is a Senior Research Manager at the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program. Jorge leads work on the procurement economy for the Latino Business and Entrepreneurship Initiative, aiming to both diversity the public procurement space and scale Latino businesses in order to generate wealth for urban Latino communities and help correct decades of economic inequity.

Originally from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Jorge joins the Aspen Institute with ten years of professional experience. He has worked in fields as diverse as the arts, education, politics, and urban planning in the private and nonprofit sectors in the US and in East Asia.

Prior to joining Latinos and Society, Jorge worked in urban planning consulting, where he led and co-led nationwide projects tackling equitable transportation access (New Jersey), stakeholder engagement for economic development (Connecticut), and agreement facilitation for public-nonprofit collaboration. Adding to his long-standing focus on economic development through equitable urban policy, he also worked as part of a team helping the New York City Housing Authority conduct an innovative cost-benefit analysis of the health and social benefits of public green areas. Jorge also worked at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, a leading think tank on the Earth sciences, where he designed and conducted a regression analysis of sustainability education inequalities in New York City Schools.

Before obtaining a Master’s degree, Jorge gained experience in community outreach and stakeholder management by working as an Organizer in the Latino community of Central Florida, playing a particular role in registering underrepresented communities and helping increase political awareness in migrant communities.

Jorge holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Central Florida.

When not working to uplift the Latino community, Jorge is an avid drummer, urban explorer, cyclist, and traveler. Jorge speaks English and Spanish, and enjoys telling people he speaks some French and Korean.