As President of Casa Central, Mrs. Alvarez’s leadership has cultivated a strong growth period for the agency, whose programs and resources have tripled in her more than fifteen years as President, to address the growing and changing needs of Chicago’s Hispanic community. Today, Casa Central is the largest Hispanic social service agency in the Midwest and reaches approximately 20,000 individuals a year through comprehensive services that target children, youth, families, the homeless, and the elderly. Mrs. Alvarez also serves on the Board of Directors for North Park University and the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation.

Mrs. Alvarez has been widely recognized for her leadership and dedication to the agency and community. In May of 2002, she was among seven Chicagoans who garnered the highly coveted and prestigious NBC Jefferson Award; later that year, she received St. Augustine College’s El Puente Award for Community Leadership. In April of 2003, Mrs. Alvarez appeared in Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the national publication’s 80 Elite Hispanic Women, one of only four women selected for this honor from the nonprofit sector. In September of 2003, she received both the Vaseline Intensive Care Community Service Award at the 2003 Tesoro Awards and the Illinois State Treasurer’s Excellence in Community Leadership Award. Most recently, Mrs. Alvarez was listed as one of Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Women in June of 2004, and received an award at the Near North Health Service Corporation’s Favorite Illinoisans Gala in September of 2005.

The People of Casa Central
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