Rafael Carbonell became the Taubman Center executive director in August 2017, where he works to advance its mission to support public sector leaders in improving the governance of states, counties, and cities. His work at Harvard Kennedy School has included designing and leading a yearlong Economic Development Seminar and rural trek for students, co-creating and teaching a state and local economic development course, helping to launch and run an Autonomous Vehicles Policy Initiative to assist cities in developing policy recommendations for AVs, and expanding experiential learning opportunities for students, such as Transition Term, which supports newly elected governors, county executives, and mayors as they transition from campaigning to governing.
Rafael is a passionate mentor, advisor, and connector for students looking to be the next generation of public servants in state and local government. In May 2019, and again in 2022, he received the “Sue Williamson Spirit Award,” which the student body awards to the staff member who most positively contributes to their HKS experience.
Rafael previously led the City of Boston’s Office of Business Development for seven years under two mayors. While there, he oversaw an $11M annual budget for the City’s business technical assistance programs and millions more in federal ARRA stimulus funds, implemented a new small business innovation initiative, and led the development of the City’s first-ever small business strategic plan, which was publicly unveiled by Mayor Marty Walsh in 2016.
Prior to that, Rafael was executive vice president in launching and running Thrive (now MadREP), the first regional economic development enterprise for the eight-county Madison, Wisconsin region. Rafael also previously served as director of regional economic development for the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, and as director of marketing and business development for Livra.com, a technology startup he helped launch in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is now one of Latin America’s largest online market research platforms.
Rafael received his B.S. from Boston College, and proudly grew up in a small business household in Vermont while often visiting his Cuban-American family in Miami. He and his wife, who is from Argentina, live in Cambridge with their two incredible bilingual, biliteral, and bicultural children.