6-10 years

- Recipient of the national Cannabis Business Awards in 2015 for the advocacy efforts that led to the legalization and responsible regulation of medical cannabis in Puerto Rico.

- Secured the approval of a bill in the Puerto Rico Senate and House of Representatives with language providing a 120-day timeline for interconnecting solar systems, with the possibility of appealing to the PREC if parties fail to reach an agreement, further providing that any charge on Net Metering will be strictly scrutinized by the PREC and must not affect the development of renewable energy projects. Our efforts also protected our clients from high charges, cross-subsidies, and alterations to the Net Metering credit formula by removing legislative language adverse to our client's interests.

- Developed the strategic planning, operational structure, and finally served as the Program Managers for the Puerto Rico State Health Innovation Program (PR-SIM) as part of a cooperative agreement between the Puerto Rico Department of Health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Innovation Center of Medicaid Services to design a state-led health innovation plan, supported by broad stakeholder input and engagement to accelerate health care delivery system transformation in Puerto Rico. The final deliverable of this effort was the Puerto Rico State Health Care Innovation Plan 2017-2020.

- Represented the Puerto Rico 9-1-1 Governing Board (PR911) in negotiations with the Puerto Rico Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that resulted in the approval of a funding mechanism used to allocate funds to PR911. As a result of our efforts and the interpretation of applicable law, we managed to pursue the OMB to allocate $7 million dollars for PR911 without altering the funding formula established by Law. These funds were utilized to capitalize and improve the Call Centers that PR911 operates around the island.

- Developed the strategic planning and operational structure to serve as Program Managers of the Puerto Rico Background Check Program for the Puerto Rico Department of Health, which is backed by our clients technologies in the medical field and the CMS National Background Check Program (NBCP). The NBCP is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in consultation with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and its purpose is to identify efficient, effective, and economical procedures for conducting background checks to Long Term Care Providers.

- Represented private clients before the Public Housing Admiration of Puerto Rico to successfully negotiate the extension of $3 million+ annual agreements to administer several public housing projects in San Juan.

- Successfully obtained a grant in the amount of $75,000 from the Joint Commission on Legislative Grants for operational expenses of an educational foundation and managed to pursue the Department of Labor of Puerto Rico to grant said foundation $480,000 for payroll expenses.

- Conducted negotiations and strategic planning on behalf of an NGO that led to $300,000+ in private donations to supply medical equipment to Hospitals in Haiti, as well as serving as program coordinators and being in charge of raising capital for operations.

Edgardo Vazquez-Rivera is the Managing Member of Essentium. He is a leader in government relations, regulatory compliance and business operations strategies in Puerto Rico and the United States.

He began his career at a very early age, working for companies such as Banco Santander, American Express, and AT&T. Mr. Vazquez served as acting Deputy Advisor and Administrator of the Federal Affairs Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico. Mr. Vazquez served as Advisor to President Barack Obamas 2008 Democratic Primary Campaign in Puerto Rico and was Director of Operations of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico. Mr. Vazquez large scale operational experience also includes his tenure as Deputy Administrator for Operations of the General Services Administration of Puerto Rico, time in which he concurrently served as Chief Fleet Management Officer (CFMO) for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

His most recent private sector experience before joining Essentium was to serve as Coordinator for the Puerto Rico Projects of Yale New Haven Health System - Center for Health Solutions (YNHH-CHS), a nationally recognized healthcare-consulting firm affiliated to Yale University.

He holds a Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology (B.A.) and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Puerto Rico.