Q: How did you get started in Urban Planning?

A: A college project is what piqued my interest in urban planning. I was required to attend a festival in downtown Joliet; it was underwhelming and I noticed there was no community connection since almost no one from Joliet was in the festival. I remember thinking “Why can’t we have something nice? Why can’t we look like Naperville or cute towns that put their resources into beautifying their downtown?” I recognized then that morale grows when residents have pride in their neighborhoods and it sparked my interest in work focused on creating community.

After conversations about the profession with Alfredo Melesio, the then Planner for the City of Joliet, he recommended an internship with Will County to find out if it was a fit for me. I really enjoyed interning with the Will County Land Use Department. I then started the Master’s Program at UIC and worked two years in a research assistantship with World Business Chicago while I was in school. Once I completed my graduate degree and through the support of the networks I had built through WBC and UIC, I was hired with the City of Evanston where I stayed for five years. 

Q: What experience did you gain in your earlier roles?

A: With Will County, I learned about systems and tools economic developers use, and gained an understanding of collaboration between the private and public sectors. With the City of Evanston, I started as an Economic Development Specialist where my focus was on capacity building in the business districts, infrastructure improvements, district beautification, grant management and more. My work eventually led to the creation of two special service areas, placing 50-75 new planters throughout multiple business districts, new bike racks, over 100 district banners, and façade improvements in historically disinvested areas.

I was most recently the Assistant to the City Manager. I believe I succeeded in that role because I took a generalist approach, but kept the urban planning mindset. Planners are a hybrid of administrators, engineers, architects, and more, which allows projects to keep moving forward. I also established good working relationships across departments through many initiatives including language access guidelines and multidisciplinary public art projects.

Q: What does your role with World Business Chicago encompass and what do you find most challenging?

A: When I returned to WBC, this time not as an intern/research assistant; I started as the Director of Community Impact for seven months and then had an opportunity to move to Business Development & Foreign Direct Investment team to oversee the manufacturing sector, which is one of the core sectors for WBC. My role is centered around big-picture initiatives focused on connecting the different dots and players in the manufacturing ecosystem to help lead the industry to the future. There is still a big disconnect between industry and educational institutions – this type of disconnect is what I am trying to address, to be more intentional in building community.

A challenge for me is building trust within the community because a lot of damage has been done through planning efforts in the past. Fortunately, times are changing and planners have started to reconcile our role in communities through actions that demonstrate we’re here for the community. 

Q: How has WP+D fit into your professional growth?

A: My WP+D involvement started in grad school, but after graduation I drifted away for a little while. I reengaged a few years back and participated in the Mentorship Program and I absolutely loved it. I was matched with Tina Fassett Smith; she gave me such good advice and I gained a lot from that experience. I also joined the group because I love to support any groups that support women in any kind of industry and field. I think supporting each other is critical because every single one of us can benefit from a network in our professional lives. Lifting each other up and sharing resources is critical to the success of women in the workplace, and for the creation of healthy communities. 

The WP+D programming is constant but not overwhelming; there’s always something to do, always a way to engage with Planning & Development professionals and it’s a great place for women to network and learn. 

Q: What career accomplishments are you most proud of at this point?

A: One opportunity I had with the City of Evanston was to work on language access guidelines, which was laying the groundwork for what will hopefully become a policy. Language accessibility really makes a difference in a lot of peoples’ lives. Looking through full government websites can be confusing to the average person and then adding a language barrier layer can be exhausting and very detrimental not only for an individual, but for a community as a whole. If a municipality receives federal resources, they are obligated to make reasonable accommodations for for individuals not fluent in English or non-verbal. 

Q: How did you come to dance with Ballet Folklorico de Chicago?

A: I was born in Mexico, and in school it was common for the teachers to make us perform Mexican folkloric dances for holidays like Mother’s Day or Teacher’s Day. I didn’t love it or hate it but instead dancing was just always present in my life. A few years ago I started to feel disconnected from my community and disconnected from myself. Starting Mexican folkloric dancing on my own terms gave me a reason to get out of the house during the pandemic and to participate and learn more about my culture, and preserve my cultural traditions for the next generation. I really love being a part of Ballet Folklorico de Chicago, and being part of a renewed movement of promoting cultural pride.

Unfortunately, the experience for a lot of immigrants has been that of assimilation, but by “assimilation” what is meant is forgetting where you come from and your culture. I think that’s really sad because this country has been built by immigrants. I believe you can embrace mainstream US culture but that doesn’t mean you have to lose who you are or lose your culture. To me, that’s really, really important. That’s been my journey with Ballet Folklorico; it started as a way to improve my mental health and reconnect with my roots, but it’s become my mission in life to be a culture keeper and keep spreading it to communities that don’t get access to that. To me it’s about paying it forward and that’s how the circle keeps moving.

Q: What advice would you share with other women professionals? 

A: Network and seek out mentors! Networking does not have to be an event with hundreds of people, you can do targeted networking through LinkedIn or leveraging your current relationships to get introductions to other professionals. As for mentors, this does not have to necessarily be a formal arrangement, but identify those people in your life that you can go to for advice and form your “board of directors”. As the oldest daughter of immigrants with limited formal education, networking, and mentorships have been critical, because as a young person you don’t know what you don’t know, and having guidance from an experienced person in the professional setting is an invaluable asset. 

Finally, I would encourage all to seriously think about becoming AICP certified. It can make a difference in the professional setting, and it definitely keeps planners accountable, committed, and engaged in the profession and connected with each other.