Angel Edgardo "Gary" Rodríguez Miranda (born January 9, 1977) is a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

from 2009 thru 2017.

Early years and studies

Angel Edgardo Rodríguez was born on January 9, 1977, in Toa Alta to former mayor of Toa Alta Angel "Buzo" Rodríguez and Marisol Miranda. He began his elementary studies at the Lutheran College in Bayamón, and continued at the American Military Academy in

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city and municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, east of Bayamón, south of Cataño and San Juan Bay, and north of Aguas Buenas, Guaynabo is spread over 9 barrio ...

. During his time at school, Rodríguez excelled in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, competing in regional, state, and international tournaments. Rodríguez then moved to the United States and completed high school in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In 1994, Rodríguez enrolled at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he obtained a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Business Management, with a major in International Business and Accounting. During his time in college, he was a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. In 1996, he was part of an

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

with Jansen Pharmaceuticals, a division of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

, working as an auditor and accountant in their factories in Puerto Rico and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. After six weeks, they awarded him the Johnson & Johnson Lightning Strike Award. Rodríguez was admitted at Fels Institute of Government of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 2000, where he received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Government Administration.

Professional career

In 1998, Rodríguez worked at the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Philadelphia, first as an educational officer, and then as a Regional Deputy Director and Director. He also served as member of the Young Executive Committee in Philadelphia.

Political career

Rodríguez began his political career in the United States, when he served as part of the Board of Directors of an Inscription Program for Voters of the

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

, which includes the states of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, and

. During that time, he also presided the Philadelphia Council of the

League of United Latin American Citizens The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the largest and oldest Hispanic and Latin-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was established on February 17, 1929, in Corpus Christi, Texas, largely by Hispanic and ...

. After moving back to Puerto Rico, Rodríguez decided to run for the

with the New Progressive Party (PNP), representing District 9 (Toa Alta and Bayamón). He was elected at the 2008 general election. He then became President of the Commission of Youth Affairs, as well as member of the Commissions of Family, Infrastructure, Transportation, Sports and Recreation, Natural Resources, and North Region. Rodríguez was re-elected at the 2012 general election.

References

External links

Angel Rodríguez Miranda
on the House of Representatives website
Angel Rodríguez Miranda Profile
on ''

El Nuevo Día ''El Nuevo Día'' (English: ''The New Day'') is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Puerto Rico. It is considered mainstream and the territory's newspaper of record. It was founded in 1909 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and today it is a subsi ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Gary Living people 1977 births Drexel University alumni Fels Institute of Government alumni New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico People from Toa Alta, Puerto Rico Political commentators University of Pennsylvania alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico