Dr. Carmen S. Rivera-Medina received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Animal Science from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. Dr. Rivera-Medina then completed her doctoral studies in Food Science at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. Throughout her career Dr. Rivera-Medina has been committed to education. She began her career as a high school agriculture teacher in 1999 and has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Utuado Campus since 2015.
Her doctoral studies were focused on the development of novel strategies to extend the shelf-life of fresh truffles, Tuber aestivum and Tuber melanosporum, the most important species in Spain. As a teacher, she developed a new curriculum in Dairy Products for high school students of Vocational Education which was very well-received and impactful to her students. In 2013, she began a private enterprise for the development of novel dairy products. This endeavor resulted in the establishment of the company Hatillo Nova Lact Inc. where Dr. Rivera-Medina is a co-founder. In 2015 Hatillo Nova Lact started selling its dairy products under the brand name “de la Crema.” Dr. Rivera-Medina is responsible for all the research and development at the company. De la Crema offers a lineup of fresh and aged artisanal cheeses as well as Greek yogurts mixed in with tropical fruits.