Carmen Velásquez is an impressive leader, a tireless campaigner, and a committed advocate of health care policy, Carmen Velásquez has changed community health care for the Latino, predominantly Mexican, working-poor, uninsured, and immigrant community. As a former community activist, social worker, bilingual education specialist and founder of a not-for-profit community health center, Alivio Medical Center, Ms. Velásquez has spent most of her life advocating for universal health care, comprehensive immigration reform, and for workforce development. 

Ms. Velásquez was appointed to the Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board of Directors in 2012 and completed a four-year term. Velásquez was notably appointed to the Board of Advisors of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and has received numerous awards for leadership, vision, passion, community organizing and overall outstanding service and dedication to the community. In 2016, Ms. Velásquez received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Mujeres Latinas en Accion. 

Most recently, Ms. Velásquez founded the Healthy Illinois Campaign whose mission is to make quality, affordable health care accessible to all people in Illinois, including the undocumented community. In 2020, the Healthy Illinois Campaign made history when they passed legislation to establish healthcare coverage for low-income Illinois seniors ages 65+, regardless of immigration status.  

Sarah Taylor is a first- generation Panamanian American, Founder and Executive Director of Yo Soy Ella, Inc. In 2012, Sarah applied her wealth of public service and personal lived experiences to form the non-profit organization, Yo Soy Ella, which translates to "I Am Her/She." YSE is a multi-generational support system that provides marginalized groups, Domestic Violence victims, and women with Mental Health challenges with counseling services and self-enrichment programs. Because health is comprehensive and trauma is layered with complexities, YSE is co-led with a diverse experienced team of women, with deep compassion and urgency to assist women improve their quality of life. 

Taina “Tai” Ramírez is a visual artist specializing in music, singing and dancing, Tai has been working with the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center for nearly 5 years. The longest-standing Latinx cultural center in Chicago, Segundo Belvis inspired Taina to learn more about her Latina identity. She’s currently a senior at Walter Payton College Prep and hopes to become a teacher one day.  

Originally from Ecuador, Jaime Fidel Castillo opened his Ecuadorian restaurant, La Peña, in Portage Park in 2001. In 2020, Fidel’s business was awarded a grant through the Small Business Improvement with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. He is a proud father of three and married to Maria Castillo. 

Samara Hernandez is the Founding Partner of an institutionally-backed pre-seed stage fund, Chingona Ventures, focusing on investing in tech and tech-enabled companies across the U.S. Before this, she was an investor at MATH Venture Partners; led new investment review, diligence, and execution. Before VC, she worked at Goldman Sachs, continually ranked top 5 in selling financial products, providing market insights, advising on portfolio construction, and consulting business practices. Her career started in the Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodity (FICC) group and led multiple tech-enhancing projects across global exchanges. Actively involved in the Chicago tech community and passionate about helping underrepresented groups get STEM education, VC, and entrepreneurship. Co-founded Latinx Founders Collective to bring together Latinx founders, investors, and community leaders to entrepreneurs.