STAFF
 | Sylvia Puente Executive Director Sylvia Puente has written extensively on issues important to the Latino community and has more than thirty publications to her credit. As a noted advocate, her depth of knowledge is regularly called upon to address local, state, and national conferences and meetings where she often serves as keynote speaker. She is particularly known for her ability to collaborate, build bridges, and promote understanding of diversity issues. She is one of only three experienced leaders chosen to become a 2009 Chicago Community Trust Fellow. Sylvia’s twenty-five year career serving the Latino community spans a wide range of experience at local, state, and national levels. She served as director of the Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives for the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies. While at the Institute, she was the driving force behind convening a regional dialogue on the impact of Latino growth in the Chicago Metropolitan area. Sylvia founded the Latino Leadership Council of the Chicago Foundation for Women, which has raised thousands of dollars to support organizations that provide services to women and girls. Along with many other civic organizations in which she is active, Sylvia serves as a board director of Advance Illinois, a public policy organization dedicated to improving education in the state. Sylvia began her master’s degree studies at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and received her M.A. in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
 | Berenice Alejo Policy Analyst Berenice Alejo has worked in the nonprofit sector creating and managing initiatives that strengthen communities for more than ten years. Her experience includes community development planning, project management, and capacity building in faith-based institutions. She has collaborated on several publications on the Latino community in the Chicago region and is the author of the 2008 Latino Landscape: a Metro Chicago Guide and Nonprofit Directory. Berenice serves on the Executive Committee of The Resurrection Project’s Board of Directors. She is a graduate of WilliamsCollege and is pursuing a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from the University of Notre Dame. |
Coming Soon | Isabel Anadon Policy Analyst Isabel Anadon has worked extensively within Chicago’s neighborhoods and with hundreds of community leaders and residents for over ten years. Her work has including community outreach with leadership development, community organizing and capacity building. Since 2005, her professional work has focused on building power within Chicago’s diverse immigrant community. Through this work she has assisted thousands of residents in basic English Language acquisition, attaining jobs, citizenship and in becoming active and vocal members on pressing community issues. Isabel is a small business owner. She received her B.A. in Anthropology and Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and her M.P.P. from the Harris School at the University of Chicago. |
 | Ruben D. Feliciano Housing Policy Analyst Rubén D. Feliciano was recently honored as a Distinguished Aspirante by ASPIRA Inc. of Illinois, a national Puerto Rican/Latino youth education initiative. He is a member of the Puerto Rican Agenda; a cadre of leaders developing a blueprint of progressive social changes in the Puerto Rican and Latino community and is also the co-founder of Boricua PRIDE, a gay and lesbian group whose purpose is to bring awareness of the important contributions made by Puerto Rican & Latino LGBTQ members to the Latino community in Chicago. Rubén moderated the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Education hearings and is completing a Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy with a concentration in Community Development from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has extensive experience in the area of affordable housing. |
 | Reyna P. Hernandez Research and Policy Associate Reyna Paz Hernandez has many years of experience working on issues impacting the Latino community. Much of her work has been with the growing Latino population in Lake County, IL. She was a parent facilitator at the Waukegan Parent Information and Support Center, helping develop linguistically and culturally appropriate parent engagement practices and provide resources and liaison services to families. She has been a member of various community boards and coalitions, including the Coalición Latinos Unidos de Lake County and the Lake CountyYWCA advisory board. Reyna holds an A.B. in Government from Harvard University and a J.D. from New York Law School. She is the lead author of the reports: Transforming Early Learning: Educational Equity for Young Latinos and Nuestro Hogar: Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis in the Latino Community. |
 | Mary Beth LeMay Office Manager Mary Beth LeMay has more than six years experience working with the Latino community in the areas of advocacy, community organizing, administration, and event planning. Prior to her work at the Latino Policy Forum, she was Events and Partnership Manager for the Enlaces America program, an initiative of Heartland Alliance. There she worked with policy advocates, non-profit organizations, and Latino immigrant-led organizations on transnational issues, immigration policy, and capacity building initiatives. She also was the principal logistics coordinator for the 2007 Migrant Summit in Michoacan Mexico. Mary Beth has a wide range of non-profit management and technical experience stemming from her work experiences and background in Business and Non Profit Management. She holds a Masters in Arts from the University of Chicago in Social Work administration and a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Michigan. She also is a Board member of the Chicago Fair Trade Organization. |
Coming Soon | Sara McElmurry Communications Coordinator Sara has spent the last decade years working, traveling, studying and volunteering in Latin America. Prior to joining the Latino Policy Form, Sara worked as a Research Professor at the Universidad Tecnológica de la Mixteca in Oaxaca, Mexico. She also spent a year teaching in rural Japan with the JET Program. Sara has coordinated marketing communications efforts for the American Heart Association and American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, focusing on outreach to Chicago’s Latino community. Before moving to the nonprofit sector, she served as an Account Executive at Concepto Public Relations, a Hispanic marketing boutique affiliated with Dome Communications. Sara holds an M.A. in Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University and a B.A. in Spanish and Communications from Bradley University. She recently published original research, "Elvira Arellano: Mother, Immigrant, Criminal," in the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science. |
 | Martin V. Torres Policy Analyst Martin V. Torres has policy experience at both the state and federal level. As a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Fellow, Martin served in the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Following his fellowship, he worked at the Alliance for Excellent Education; a D.C. based non-profit research and advocacy organization focused on secondary school reform. While earning his Master’s Degree, he worked at the Ounce of Prevention Fund on issues related to workforce development and kindergarten readiness. Martin holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and a M.P.P. from the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. |
 | Christine Tran Policy Analyst, Illinois Early Childhood Fellow Christine Tran has experience in working on education as well as anti-hunger and poverty issues. For four years, Christine taught middle and high school at the Christine holds B.A. degrees in English and Asian American Studies as well as a M.Ed. from the |
Staff
| Name | Title | Phone | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvia Puente | Executive Director | spuente@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-376-1766 x224 | |
| Berenice Alejo | Policy Analyst | balejo@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-376-1766 x226 | |
| Isabel Anadon | Policy Analyst | ianadon@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-376-1766 x230 | |
| Ruben D. Feliciano | Housing Policy Analyst and Outreach Coordinator | rfeliciano@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-376-1766 x225 | |
| Reyna P. Hernandez | Research and Policy Associate | rhernandez@latinopolicyforum.org | 312.376.1766 x221 | |
| Ernesto de La Torre | Consultant/Accountant | edelatorre@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-376-1766 x223 | |
| Mary Beth LeMay | Office Manager & Administrative Assistant | mlemay@latinopolicyforum.org | 312.376.1766 x223 | |
| Sara McElmurry | Communications Coordinator | smcelmurry@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-351-3890 (cell) | |
| Martin V. Torres | Policy Analyst | mtorres@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-376-1766 x222 | |
| Christine Tran | Policy Analyst, IL Early Childhood Fellow | ctran@latinopolicyforum.org | 312-376-1766 x227 | |
