
Carlos Curbelo
Former Representative, Florida's 26th Congressional District
Carlos Curbelo was born in Miami, Florida in 1980, to political refugees who fled tyranny and oppression in Cuba. He was educated in the public school system and then at Belen Jesuit. From there he became a student at the University of Miami where he obtained a Bachelor’s in Business Administration while majoring in Political Science. He later returned to UM for a Masters in Public Administration. In 2014, Carlos was elected to represent his community in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Education and Workforce Committee, the Small Business Committee, and the powerful Committee on Ways and Means where he co-authored the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 – comprehensive tax reform legislation that delivered historic tax relief, drove investment to challenged communities, and made American businesses more competitive. While in Congress Curbelo also led on climate policy, immigration reform, and gun safety. He co-founded and co-chaired the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, served in a leadership role in the Problem Solvers Caucus, and led the Brazil Caucus to strengthen the bilateral relationship with Latin-America’s leading economy. In 2017, Curbelo was honored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation with the New Frontier Award for his work promoting bipartisan cooperation on environmental policy. In 2018 he filed the landmark Market Choice Act, ambitious legislation that would invest nearly a trillion dollars in American infrastructure while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by pricing carbon. Also in 2018, he led a discharge petition initiative that forced the U.S. House to debate and consider comprehensive immigration reform legislation – including a path to citizenship for Dreamers – for the first time in a decade. He was ranked the fourth most bipartisan Member of the House where he represented South Florida until returning to the private sector in 2019.
The Salata Institute
The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action, including high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so. Faculty interested in the Climate Research Clusters program should note an upcoming deadline for concepts on April 1, 2024.