Carlos Rios-Santiago joined Mott in 2018 as a program assistant and was promoted to associate program officer in 2019. He works across three Civil Society program areas: Strengthening Civic Space, Enhancing Community Philanthropy and Special Initiatives. As a student, he studied economics and public policy and has a keen interest in fiscal policy, data management and econometrics. He earned both a bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s in public policy from Michigan State University.

A native of Puerto Rico, Rios-Santiago has called Michigan home since he was 10 years old and is bilingual in English and Spanish. He enjoys cooking — especially stews and curry recipes from all over the world — and is a comic book fan.