Ortiz, Fernando

Fernando Ortiz, Jr. was born in Havana, Cuba. In 1978, he moved to the Dominican Republic to pursue the study of medicine, receiving an M.D. degree from the Colegio de Estudios Tecnico (CETEC) University School of Medicine, Santo Dominigo, Dominican Republic. In 2005, Ortiz was pursuing a Masters of Arts (M.A.) degree at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Mr. Ortiz has been involved in the ownership and management of several family small business ventures including exporting, retail, and marketing.

In Syracuse, he owned a marketing firm until 1991 when he joined the City of Syracuse Economic Development Zone administration in the capacity of business, minority and women-owned business development specialist. Mr. Ortiz is a graduate of Leadership Greater Syracuse (1993) and volunteers in many community activities. As of 2005, he had served on the Board of Directors of the Spanish Action League continuously since 1991. As president of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Action League, he lead the re-organization of the agency, and helped lead the development and implementation of the agency's strategic plan.