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Chicago, Illinois. January 7th 2019 – Casa Central announces its 2020 Emerging Leaders Auxiliary Board (ELAB) Executive Officers and new cohort members. The ELAB Executive Officers were elected by their ELAB peers to serve a one-year term beginning in January of 2020. The Executive Officers are:
-ELAB Chairperson: Erika Chavez, Director of Marketing & Communications at the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago
-ELAB Vice Chairperson: Dora Cornelio, Assistant State’s Attorney at Cook County’s State’s Attorney’s Office
-ELAB Secretary: Daisy Ayllon, Attorney at Levin & Perconti,
-ELAB Engagement Officer: Christopher Naranjo, Advancement & Foundation Manager at City Colleges of Chicago
Additionally, Casa Central selected the following eight new members to serve as part of its 2020 ELAB Cohort: Karina Alvarez, Jacob Custer, Vanessa Farias, Brittany Gross, Nancy Guerrero, Luis Polanco, Carla Robles and Yoly Valencia.
“At Casa Central we are thrilled to welcome these eight talented young professionals and commend the members who have accepted the challenge to lead the Emerging Leaders Auxiliary Board in its second year.” said Martin R. Castro, President and CEO of Casa Central.
For the past year, ELAB members have worked closely with Casa Central’s Board of Directors and executive staff to design fundraising activities and recruitment strategies to engage young professionals with Casa Central’s mission. Casa Central provides professional development activities to help ELAB members build the skill-sets needed to serve as directors on non-profit governing boards.
New ELAB member biographies:
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Karina Alvarez, Research Associate at Euromonitor. In her role, she leverages her Spanish language fluency by commissioning research on packaged food in Northern Latin America. As a proud 1.5 generation Latina, issues of equity, particularly in regards to children and education, are near and dear to her heart.
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Jacob Custer, Communications & Change Management Associate at Willis Towers Watson. Jacob helps both public and private companies manage change internally. Previously, Jacob worked for accounting firm BDO USA, LLP, on their Internal Communications team where he led an internal video news series. Jacob is very excited to join ELAB and play a bigger role in supporting Casa Central.
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Vanessa Farias, Internship Coordinator at Loyola University of Chicago, School of Social Work. Vanessa is a social worker with over ten years of experience managing different programs and teams supporting adolescents, young adults and graduate students. Vanessa’s interest in Casa Central stems from a passion for advocating for her fellow Latino/a/x community and supporting initiatives that empower Latinos and other underrepresented populations.
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Brittany Goss, Diversity & Inclusion Employee Referral Recruiter at LinkedIn. Brittany’s passion to serve and transform lives in the community led her to ELAB. She began her career in the education sector and taught English as a Second Language for 6 years, while volunteering for the community. Brittany is a diversity recruitment and project management professional across various industries.
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Nancy Guerrero, Project Coordinator at IlliniCare Health. Nancy is an advocate to her Latino community in getting the proper medical services, education, and resources for a better life. Nancy has a background working in Government Administration, Nonprofit Organizations, and the Healthcare Industry.
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Luis Polanco, Ethics & Compliance Specialist at Reyes Holdings, LLC. Luis has been working in compliance since 2013, traveling to various countries in the Americas to conduct compliance audits. Luis is a Chicago-Kent Law School graduate. In 2020, Luis will be the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Deputy Corporate Counsel, where he will co-lead events geared towards in-house legal professionals.
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Carla Robles, Assistant Vice President of Marketing at Ziegler, a privately held investment bank, capital markets and proprietary investments firm. In her role, Ms. Robles partners with the executive senior leadership team and CEO to create strategic marketing initiatives that acquire new customers, deepen engagement of existing customers, and create brand awareness increasing overall company profitability.
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Yoly Valencia, Portfolio Planning Manager at BMO Harris Bank. Yoly is a Portfolio Planning Manager accountable for space planning, project validation, and overall strategic planning across the BMO Office Portfolio within Corporate Real Estate in the US. She joined BMO in 2002 as a Trust Administrator and since then she has played various roles at BMO. Yoly has always been very active with BMO's Latino Alliance, previously serving as a volunteer, Treasurer, and later as Vice-Chair.
Continuing Members:
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Jessica Avitia, Analyst at Accenture
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Daisy Ayllon, Attorney at Levin & Perconti, ELAB Secretary
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Erika Chavez, Director of Marketing & Communications at the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, ELAB Chairperson
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Dora Cornelio, Assistant State’s Attorney at Cook County’s State’s Attorney’s Office, ELAB Vice Chairperson
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Yahaira G. Corona, Diversity & Inclusion Project Manager at Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
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David Escontrias, Director of Operations, Latino Markets at Combined Insurance
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Abram Garcia, Program Manager at Central States SER
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Charles Herrig, Strategic Sourcing Manager at Zentis North America
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Daniel Marcano, Technical Headhunter & Business Development Manager at Talent Solvers
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Christopher Naranjo, Advancement & Foundation Manager at City Colleges of Chicago, ELAB Engagement Officer
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Luis Narvaez, Program Director at Chicago Public Schools
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Pablo Ramirez, Retail Relationship Banker at BMO Harris Bank
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Nicholas Ramos, Caseworker at Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth
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Juan Rangel, Creative Producer at Family Bridges
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Irene Robles, Global Treasury Corporate Analyst at Mars, Inc