Dr. Rogelio Garcia-Contreras is a Teaching Faculty leading social innovation initiatives at the Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Venture Innovation Department of the Walton College of Business of the University of Arkansas. He holds a doctorate degree from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.
His teaching experience includes public and private institutions of higher education in Mexico, China, Spain, and the United States. Before arriving to the University of Arkansas, he was an Associate Professor at the Center for International Studies of the University of
St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, where he founded and directed the Micro-Credit initiative and the Social Entrepreneurship Program.
Outside Academia Garcia-Contreras has extensive experience, working as a consultant, researcher, and a political and public policy analyst in both the private and public sectors of Mexico and the United States.
Garcia-Contreras has collaborated with a variety of foundations, organizations and institutions of higher education in the design and implementation of comprehensive development initiatives in places like Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Haiti, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Turkey, Pakistan, Spain, and the United States.
In 2015, Garcia-Contreras served as a consultant during a development and gender equality summit organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He was part of the Holy See Dicasterio’s Banking for the Poor Conference Series, and he served for three years as a member of a UNESCO Steering Committee on the sustainability of peace.
Garcia-Contreras is a member of the Cathedra UNESCO and a visiting scholar at the Master of Social Economy at Universidad Abat Oliba in Barcelona. And a visiting professor at the Master of Microfinance and Impact Investment at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Also in collaboration with Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, he was part of a task force sponsored by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to promote entrepreneurship at the Saharawi Refugee Camps in Northern Africa.
He has served as a board member of several social impact organizations, including the University of Fondwa USA, Partners for Better Housing, Restore Humanity, Magdalene Serenity House, Serve2Perform, Entrepreneurship for All, CACHE NWA, RefleXion Music Series, LatinX on the Rise, the Blossom Foundation, and the Sindji Project. He is an advisor to Sustainable Start Up Co. in Madrid and a consultant for ARCORES International.
Along with Dr. Laurence Hare, Garcia-Contreras hosts Points of Departure, a podcast produced in collaboration with KUAF 91.3 FM, the Northwest Arkansas affiliate of National Public Radio.