Angel Figueroa was born in a small sugar cane-producing town in the Eastern Coast of Puerto Rico. After graduating from high school, Figueroa wanted to make a difference by doing his part in making food available to the growing world population. With this in mind, he attended and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in Agronomy and Soils. He began his career with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, first as an agriculture teacher and later as the Landscape Division Director in the South Central Region. He later served four years of active duty in the U.S. Army as a Russian Linguist in the Military Intelligence section.
Figueroa began his career with USDA in New England in 1989 where he worked for the Farmers Home Administration for two years. In 1990 he was recruited by the then Soil Conservation Service as a Soil Conservationist and worked in two different field offices. He later went to serve as District Conservationist in Massachusetts and Ohio. In 1997 he was promoted to Area Conservationist and later as Assistant State Conservationist in North Dakota where he served for 3 years. In 2000 Figueroa was selected to serve as liaison with the US military as a planner for military lands all over the United States. This also included a short tour to South Korea.
In 2002 Angel Figueroa went to the National Headquarters in Washington, DC to work at the Animal Husbandry and Clean Water Division. From 2004 to 2010 he served as National TSP Coordinator, and since 2010 he serves as Conservation Initiatives Team Leader, both national leadership positions. In 2009 he was selected to serve as acting Associate Deputy Chief for Science and Technology, a leadership position he held for seven months. In 2010, Figueroa has been served as acting Director of the Caribbean Area, pending the selection of a new Director for 4 months. Angel lives in Central Maryland with his wife Ivette. Together they are the proud parents of two wonderful and beautiful daughters, Amy and Lynette.