JULIO "J.R." CANALES

Trustee, Managing Director

J.R. Canales serves as HLP's Managing Director. A Puerto Rico native, Canales is a pilot and simulator instructor on the Airbus A320 for Delta Air Lines. Canales kicked off the Humanitarian Lift Project as a small operation unofficially called the "Boriqua Airlift" when he began flying supplies to and around Puerto Rico in his light twin-engine Cessna 310 personal aircraft. From that operation, Canales and his wife Aubry, started from the ground-up establishing contacts on the island and the mainland setting up the initial platform for the distribution network. Later Canales called upon friends and colleagues to come together to support and grow the operation and the Humanitarian Lift Project was born. In his role as Managing Director, Canales is responsible for HLP's overall strategy and coordination of all operational efforts.