JUAN A. FIGUEROA

As its first president, Juan A. Figueroa has led Universal Health Care Foundation since 2003. During his tenure the Foundation has made a major impact on health care policy and reform in Connecticut. Under Mr. Figueroa, the Foundation has engaged a broad-based coalition of residents in a successful grassroots organizing campaign that won passage of two historic planning laws for SustiNet health reform in 2009 and 2011.

During Mr. Figueroa’s eight years as President, the Foundation has expanded partnerships and played a significant role in effectively bringing together business and labor, medical providers, clergy and members of the philanthropic community. The Foundation’s innovative grant-making, research and communications strategies have garnered national recognition including the Council on Foundations’ prestigious Wilmer Shields Award for public policy campaigns in 2009. The Hartford Business Journal, the region’s largest business publication, named Mr. Figueroa one of its “Health Care Heroes” for his contribution to the advancement of health care in Connecticut in 2007.

Mr. Figueroa brings a successful background in policy, law and civil rights to his position at the helm of the Foundation. He is a former Connecticut legislator and Assistant Attorney General, having also served as a staff attorney for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. In 2010, Mr. Figueroa took a leave of absence to run for Governor of Connecticut as a petitioning candidate in the Democratic Party primary. He was the first Latino ever to run for Governor in Connecticut and the first to use the petitioning process for the post.

Prior to coming to the Foundation, Mr. Figueroa was the president and general counsel of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York City. During the Clinton presidency, he worked with top advisers on affirmative action, judicial appointments and other issues relevant to Latinos.

A former op-ed columnist for the Hartford Courant, his views and opinions have appeared in print and broadcast. Mr. Figueroa’s national news roster includes The Today Show, Crossfire, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox and Telemundo. He serves on the boards of the Progresso Latino Fund, Latinos for National Health Insurance, Partnership for Strong Communities, and the Proteus Fund.

Mr. Figueroa received his Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University in California and his Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He received honorary doctorates from CUNY Law School in New York and Charter Oak College in Connecticut, and has taught at New York University Law School. Mr. Figueroa was born and raised in Ciales, Puerto Rico. He and his wife, Helene, reside in Meriden, Connecticut and have one daughter.