In Wake Of Hurricane Maria, Georgia Tech Bolsters Puerto Rico's Entrepreneurs

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Jamily Aly Pons (right), a university student from Puerto Rico, does research in Georgia Tech's Economic Development Lab, for which Monica Novoa (left) is program manager. / GPB

It’s been seven months since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Blackouts continue. Utility crews on the island are still in emergency restoration mode.

As recovery continues on the island, Georgia Tech’s Economic Development Lab (EDL) has opened free office space in Atlanta’s Tech Square to entrepreneurs and researchers from Puerto Rico. It's an expansion of a program Georgia Tech has had in place since 2012.

Jamily Ali Pons, a biomedical student from Puerto Rico's Inter-American University, is one researcher continuing her work in the EDL.

On Second Thought host Adam Ragusea speaks with Jamily Aly Pons, a university student from Puerto Rico, and Monic Novoa, program manager for the Economic Development Lab at Georgia Tech.

Pons and Monica Novoa, a program manager for EDL, joined us in the studio to talk about the local initiative and Pons's hope to eventually finish her degree and her research in Puerto Rico.