HTI Alumni
Efraín Velázquez II
President, Inter-American Adventist Theological Seminary
Field of Study: Church History
Efraín comes from the countryside of Puerto Rico, born in 1973. A Newyorican mother and a “Jibaro” father led him on the footsteps of Jesus. They taught him by example high work ethics, honesty and passion for Jesus and others. Efraín finished a BA in Theology at Antillean Adventist University and after a couple of years in ministry, left to pursue for an MDiv degree at Andrews University, MI. After finishing the program in 1999, he applied to the PhD in Near Eastern Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible offered at Andrews. He returned to Puerto Rico in 2004 to teach at Antillean Adventist University and became the Director of the Department of Theology and Music a little after turning 30 years old. In 2008 he was asked to be the Academic Dean of the Inter-American Adventist Theological Seminary and became president of the Seminary by 2015. He loves preaching, working with young people and teaching. The sight of the eyes of listeners opened wide with knowledge and filled with tears with the beauty of the Gospel. His major source of strength, after God, has been his faithful wife Mariella. His major challenge is to lead their four children to Jesus.