Member since
1994
Lives in
San Juan, Puerto Rico
What she does
Cividanes-Lago is the executive director of Asociación de Colegios y Universidades Privadas de Puerto Rico, a private education association in San Juan. There, she works directly with the presidents of 14 local private nonprofit universities to promote the importance of higher education in Puerto Rico and lobby policymakers to support local and federal education projects. In addition, she consults to businesses and organizations that want to improve motivation and teamwork among staff and teaches courses in communication and delegation management at the Advanced School of Personnel Administration of Puerto Rico.
Her background
Cividanes-Lago grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and is trilingual: Spanish is her native language, but she grew up bilingual in English and studied French since age 12. Her language skills came in handy during her undergraduate years at Mount Holyoke, where she tutored students in French while on campus and in Spanish while studying abroad for a semester in Paris through a program at Wesleyan University. She went on to earn a master's degree in education at Harvard University and a doctorate in developmental psychology at the University of Oxford, where she taught and conducted research on mathematical reasoning in children.
No place like home
After 15 years studying and working away from home, Cividanes-Lago returned to Puerto Rico in 1994 to be closer to family and serve her community. Despite her packed schedule, Cividanes-Lago makes time to serve on several local personnel development and library boards. "I want to help address the challenges that face higher education, the private and public sectors in Puerto Rico and also make contributions to ensure significant quality of life improvements, as well as individual and organizational growth," she says.
A balanced life
Before her son, Iván, 12, was born, Cividanes-Lago played tennis and enjoyed collecting stamps and restoring antique furniture that had been passed down through her family. Nowadays, her priorities have changed. "My family's my hobby and my work is my life. But I don't see it as work, either," she says.
Having multiple jobs is challenging but offers her the flexibility to fit in the parenting responsibilities she doesn't want to miss, such as taking her son to his golf, tennis, sailing and guitar lessons. She says she would eventually like to carve out time to continue her research on mathematical reasoning, this time with Puerto Rican children. "I loved that chapter of my life, and I would love to engage once again in a very research-oriented environment."
— Eureka Foong