President & CEO Column
Dear Institute Friends,
This past quarter, the Institute of the Americas’ (IOA) work connected various pressing regional challenges with practical opportunities for cooperation. Across our energy, environment, and economic competitiveness programs, we brought people together to examine policy choices, share solutions, and build relationships throughout the Americas.
In July our Energy Program convened a forum in Santiago to examine Chile’s energy outlook during President José Antonio Kast’s first 100 days in office. We also organized a Geopolitics of Energy and Climate Change Workshop in Guyana in late August, continuing our conversations about the forces shaping the region’s energy future.
In our Environment Program, we issued a Sustainability Technologies and Policy Solutions Assessment intended to help municipalities across Latin America and the Caribbean evaluate practical approaches to sustainability. We also convened a forum in Mexico City focused on the prospect of Mexico’s possible ratification of MARPOL Annex VI related to shipborne air emissions in Mexico.
Our Economic Competitiveness Program announced the CaliBaja North American Leadership Academy and began recruiting its inaugural 2026–2027 cohort of Fellows. The Academy will bring emerging leaders from both sides of the border together to learn, build relationships, and address shared challenges. We also published an issue paper on Argentina’s critical minerals, examining the country’s opportunities and the challenges it must navigate to realize them.
We are also pleased to welcome Chris Nyce into his new role directing the Institute’s Economic Competitiveness Program. Chris previously served as an IOA Diplomatic Fellow, and I look forward to the perspective and energy he will bring to this expanding area of our work.
October will give us several opportunities to continue these conversations. We hope you will join us for the Tijuana River Watershed Solutions Forum in Tijuana on October 1; the CaliBaja Business Summit at the Institute in La Jolla on October 6; the fourth annual Un Día por los Mares in Mexico City on October 7–8; the La Jolla Energy Conference on October 13–15; and the third annual Sustainable Maritime Shipping & Ports Forum in La Paz, Baja California Sur, on October 29–30.
Thank you for your continued engagement with the Institute. Our work depends on the people and organizations willing to share their expertise, challenge assumptions, and collaborate across borders.
We hope to see many of you at our upcoming programs.
Thank you for your on-going interest and support of the Institute of the Americas.
Richard Kiy
President & CEO
Institute of the Americas