Today is a day that means a lot.

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico. 

The storm destroyed homes and infrastructure, and the collapse of the electrical grid left families without power, water, or medical care for months for many, a year or more for some. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost, not only in the storm itself, but in the long blackout that followed.

One year ago today, I launched Connect Puerto Rico on beehiiv.
(After some testing on Medium)

I started this newsletter to keep the spotlight on Puerto Rico, not as a story of crisis or recovery but to focus on building for the future.

This issue is a little different — a chance to reflect on why we’re here and where we’re going. Our regular monthly news roundup will be in your inbox soon.

Thank you for being part of our first year.

Journalist Eliván Martínez Mercado of the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) has published Los Estragos del Apagón. The book gathers testimonies from families of Hurricane María’s victims, exposing how most deaths came not from the storm itself, but from the longest blackout in Puerto Rico and U.S. history.

Martínez Mercado documents how government negligence and a fragile grid turned a natural disaster into a preventable human tragedy, and why the lessons of Maria matter for every community in the path of stronger, more frequent storms.

Connect Puerto Rico exists to track the people, policies, and projects shaping renewable energy development in Puerto Rico. We’re focused on three solutions to ongoing challenges:

Our goal is to inform policy, direct investment where it’s needed most. We want to bring changemakers together to accelerate renewable energy development in Puerto Rico. And we want to do so in a way that centers the knowledge and needs of Puerto Rican communities.

This month’s newsletter features an ad.

If you click on the ad for 1440 at the bottom of the newsletter, we get ~$1.30

This first year of Connect Puerto Rico was made possible by the people and organizations who believed in this work from the start. From mentors and peers in national and international cohorts, to partners who amplified our reporting, to readers like you. Every step forward has been a shared effort.

Here are some of the milestones that shaped our first year:

September 20, 2024 — I launched the newsletter! (It was messy, but I sent it anyway). At the same time I had been working on my first guest column, An Ongoing Power Struggle published by our friends at Important Not Important. That moment put Connect Puerto Rico in front of my first readers and started building this community.

November 11-15, 2024 — I participated in the Media Innovation and Leadership Academy (MILA) part of the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University. It was part business boot camp, part case study competition. That week helped me clarify CPR’s vision and gave us practical tools for growth.

January 29, 2025 —  We kicked off for the third round of the Local News Accelerator, a six-month cohort style program, with the Local News Initiative. The structure and coaching from this program sharpened our mission and created space to test strategies for growing our audience.

February 26, 2025 — C-PR was republished by our friends at the Latino Newsletter: Funding Cuts, Debt, and the Fight for Renewables. And their ongoing support continues to help grow this community. 

March, 13, 2025 — I was featured on Amy Boyle’s podcast, Speaking of Phenomenal: Beyond the Headlines: Jillian Melero on Solutions-Focused Reporting.

April 10, 2025 — C-PR was sponsored by the LNA to participate in the 6-week Going Solo workshop, with Project C. That experience connected us with peers across the country and strengthened our approach to revenue and sustainability.

May, 2025 — May 22, I completed Going Solo. May 23, Connect Puerto Rico received a $1000 professional development grant from the Tiny News Collective! funded by MacArthur. And May 28 I graduated from the LNA. Together, those steps marked a turning point — equipping us with new skills, validation, and seed funding to keep moving forward.

June 6, 2025 — We were invited to participate in the JR3, “Rethink, Recenter, Reimagine. Journalism in transition” What if news avoiders are right, and you don’t need journalism? That opportunity placed CPR inside an international and ongoing conversation about the future of news.

July 7, 2025 — Connect Puerto Rico received a $5000 immediate needs grant from the Tiny News Collective, funded by MacArthur! This vital support will help with our business and operations needs.

Aug. 22 — !!! We received some big news from the Listening Post Collective. (Read on to find out!)

Sept 3-5, 2025 —  the board of C-PR met up in St. Louis, MO to attend the Independent News Sustainability Summit, organized by LION Publishers. — I had these nifty pins made in advance. 

Year one laid the foundation. Now, we’re ready to take our next steps.

We’re starting our second year with exciting news: Connect Puerto Rico has received support from the Listening Post Collective to launch a new community listening project over the next few months.

This work will help bring more Puerto Rican voices into the conversation, deepen our audience insights, and guide our reporting toward the solutions people need most. It’s a major step forward — and we couldn’t have reached this point without your support.

As we launch this project, we’re looking for partners who share our vision. If you’re working on renewable energy, policy, or community engagement in Puerto Rico, let’s connect.

Reply to this email — I’d love to hear from you.

We’re gathering input on how people find, access, and use information about renewable energy and Puerto Rico. Your perspective will help us design content and services that close information gaps, elevate Puerto Rican expertise, and guide solutions where they’re needed most.

Start the survey now

(*If you’ve filled out past surveys, thank you! This one, built with Medill’s Local News Accelerator, launched in September and focuses on year two priorities.)

Know someone who cares about Puerto Rico’s energy development? Invite them to join this community. Our referral program makes it easy to connect colleagues, funders, and peers who want to be part of the conversation.

Hi, I’m Jillian. I’m a journalist, editor, and founder of Connect Puerto Rico.

I started thinking about what would become C-PR after reporting from Puerto Rico in 2019. While learning about Hurricane Maria recovery, I saw how rebuilding efforts to incorporate renewables, distribute energy, and build grid resilience lacked cross-sector coordination and the input of Puerto Ricans communities and experienced industry professionals.

This newsletter connects U.S. policy decisions to what’s happening on the ground because Puerto Rico shouldn’t just recover from disasters, it should lead in building for the future.