Board of directors

40th District

Representative

Andrade

Board Designee:
Pedro Cevallos-Candau
President and CEO, PECECA Business Consultants

2nd District

Senator

Aquino

Board Designee:
Marta Cerda
CEO, ASI Healthcare

85th District

Representative

Avelar

Board Designee:
Manuel "Manny" Rey
CEO, Craft Mechanical

22nd District

Senator

Castro

Board Designee:
Benjamin Bernal
Vice President, Associated
Equipment Distributors

44th District

Representative

Crespo

Board Designee:
Jennifer Crespo
President, Hispanic Lawyers
of Illinois (HLAI)

3rd District

Representative

Delgado

Board Designee:
Lisa Duarte Partner,
Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres

21st District

Representative

Gonzalez

Board Designee:
Rey Raigoza
Executive Director,
Urban Warriors

22nd District

Representative

Guerrero

Board Designee:
Lizbeth Ramirez
President, Zerimar Strategies

50th District

Representative

Barbara Hernandez

Board Designee:
Baldemar Lopez
President, Strategem Consulting

2nd District

Representative

Lisa Hernandez

Board Designee:
Daniel Arce
President, Tropical Optical

77th District

Representative

Norma Hernandez

Board Designee:
Jessica Fuentes
President, Fuentes Consulting

4th District

Representative

Jimenez

Board Designee:
Dr. Marisol Morales
Executive Director, Carnegie Elective Classifications

1st District

Senator

Loera-Cervantes

Board Designee:
Dolores Muñoz
Sr. Vice President, Loop Capital

1st District

Representative

Ortiz

Board Designee:
Yesenia Lopez
Assistant Secretary, Secretary of State

20th District

Senator

Toro

Board Designee:
Martin Cabrera
CEO, Cabrera Capital

25th District

Senator

Villa

Board Designee:
Pedro Cevallos-Candau
President and CEO, PECECA Business Consultants

11th District

Senator

Villanueva

Board Designee:
Alex Paterakos-FigueroaGov. Relations Director, SEIU

Co-chair

Senator Omar Aquino

2nd Senate District

Senator Aquino was born and raised in the Northwest Side of Chicago and is a proud Latino! His early memories of his parents as public workers inspired him to dedicate his career to public service. From his first role as a bilingual case manager to eventually becoming a legislative assistant in the House of Representatives to becoming a State Senator himself, Senator Aqunio has continued to grow his passion for serving his community.

Co-chair

Representative
Norma Hernandez, MUPP

IL. 77th House District

Representative Norma Hernandez was appointed as co-chair of the ILLCF in 2023 after becoming the first Latina ever to represent the 77th Illinois House district, which includes majority Latino suburbs such as Stone Park, Franklin Park, Bensenville, and her hometown of Melrose Park (among other suburbs).  Before joining the Foundation’s board, Hernandez worked in the field of urban planning and public policy, helping lead data analysis and reports that looked deeply at trends and issues affecting Latino communities in Illinois. She brings a wealth of policy knowledge, especially as ILLCF prepares to launch much of its public policy work in Raices.

    the ILLCF team

    OSWALDO ALVAREZ

    Executive Director

    Oswaldo Alvarez is the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation’s Executive Director and oversees all programs, operations, and organizational development. Oswaldo has nearly 20 years of experience, working across the sectors of nonprofit, government, and philanthropy – all the sectors designed to work with and for community. Before joining the ILLCF, Oswaldo was appointed by Governor Pritzker as the inaugural Census Director for the State of Illinois, helping the State achieve its highest self-response rate ever, ranking #1 among states with over 9 million people. A Chicago native and a fluent Spanish speaker, he earned his Master's in Social Policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor in Economics and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    ELIZABETH GUTIERREZ

    Chief of Staff

    ​Elizabeth Gutierrez, who is from the south suburbs of Chicago, graduated with a Masters in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Elizabeth's studies and research focused on community nutrition with a focus on public health and nutrition policy. Through her studies, dietetic internship, and volunteer-based extracurriculars, she found a passion for promoting health equity through establishing nutrition security within the various communities she interacted with. Liz is excited to continue to build her passion for policy and non-profit work while uplifting the Latino community within Illinois.

      KIMBERLY FAIR

      Policy Manager

      Kimberly is the Foundation’s Inaugural Policy Manager and will be overseeing the foundation’s policy matters and framework, Raíces. Prior to joining ILLCF, Kimberly worked on environmental policy. Kimberly brings a wealth of knowledge on community outreach and engagement and an unwavering passion for advocating for equitable policies to help communities of color.

      Executive Board

      Co-chair

      Senator Omar Aquino

      Co-Chair

      Representative
      Norma Hernandez

      Vice-Chair

      Marta Cerda, JD

      Board Treasurer

      Rey Raigoza

      Board Secretary

      Yesenia Lopez