Justin Vélez-Hagan is the founder and executive director of The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, Inc., an economic policy researcher at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and former adjunct professor of economics within the University System of Maryland. His work has been featured in numerous national publications, including: Forbes, Fox News Latino, Politico, The Hill, Politic365, NBCLatino, and The Huffington Post, as well as newspapers and various academic publications around the country. He has also been a guest on Fox Business Network, Voice of America, Al Jazeera America, HuffPost Live, and Fusion.

Vélez-Hagan is the Advisory Chair for Future Leaders in Policy (FLIP) and serves on the boards of several national organizations such as the National Military Family Association’s Technology Advisory Board, The Latino Coalition’s National Advisory Board, and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council‘s Telecommunications and Internet Policy Task Force.

He recently co-authored Politic365′s Blueprint for Universal Economic Inclusion and is the author of the forthcoming book The Common Sense behind Basic Economics (Lexington Books, 2015).

Vélez-Hagan received his MBA from Arizona State University and is pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. He is also a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.