Gamaliel of Metro Chicago (GMC), a partnership alliance between the Southwest Cluster (Pilsen Neighbors Community Council and Midway area schools) POWER Cluster, the University Round Table Cluster and the South Suburban Cluster (South Suburban Action Conference). GMC continues to play a major role in the work and initiatives to bridge relationships between the African American, White and Latino communities. With GMC’s proven capacity to ‘win’ issues at the local and city-wide levels — through Core Team and organizational Issue Task force actions, leaders also are at the forefront in leading campaigns around seemingly intractable problems that require a regional approach if any change is to occur. Issues such as civil rights of immigrants, universal health care, equitable funding of public education, employment, inclusionary housing, recreation, revenue sharing, urban sprawl, public safety and economic development continue to be major priorities for GMC leaders. GMC was founded in 2008.
OUR STORY
Gamaliel of Metro Chicago (GMC), a partnership alliance between the Southwest Cluster (Pilsen Neighbors Community Council and Midway area schools) POWER Cluster, the University Round Table Cluster and the South Suburban Cluster (South Suburban Action Conference). GMC continues to play a major role in the work and initiatives to bridge relationships between the African American, White and Latino communities. With GMC’s proven capacity to ‘win’ issues at the local and city-wide levels — through Core Team and organizational Issue Task force actions, leaders also are at the forefront in leading campaigns around seemingly intractable problems that require a regional approach if any change is to occur. Issues such as civil rights of immigrants, universal health care, equitable funding of public education, employment, inclusionary housing, recreation, revenue sharing, urban sprawl, public safety and economic development continue to be major priorities for GMC leaders. GMC was founded in 2008.
A WORD FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Leader, Supporter and Ally
Thomas Aquinas once said “He (She) is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.”
Gamaliel of Metro Chicago call upon community leaders to build a stronger multi-racial, multi-cultural organization working on issues such as: Jobs Development, Education Equity, Immigration Reform, Restorative Justice, Heath care and Public Safety.
GMC membership is comprised of cluster organizations representing more than 50 churches and local organizations from the inner city and expands into the South Suburbs. The cluster organizations include Pilsen Neighbors Community Council, South Suburban Action Conference, Pastors Organized With Equity and Respect, and the University Round Table.
Gamaliel of Metro Chicago is grass roots community organization that develops community people to become powerful leaders through leadership development strategies in the public arena to work towards solutions for their issues they care about and to fight for positive systematic change.
We invite you to join us in becoming a leader, a supporter or an ally in the fight of injustices our communities are faced with on a daily basis.
Juan Soto
Executive Director
OUR NETWORK
OUR TEAM
Ana Padilla
Manager of Operations
Ana was born in Jalisco, Mexico and grew up on the near-north side of Chicago since the age of eight. Ana attended Harold Washington College where she obtained an Associates degree in Art with a concentration in Latin American/Latino Studies and a basics certification in Geographical Information Systems. She is currently seeking her Bachelor’s degree in Latin American/Latino Studies. Ana joined Gamaliel of Metro Chicago at Pilsen Neighbors Community Council as a summer intern in 2008 and became a staff member in 2010. Ana has worked with the Fiesta del Sol vendors, ACT prep program and the Fiesta del Sol Scholarship Program. Currently, Ana is responsible for working with vendors and businesses and logistics for Fiesta del Sol. In her free time, Ana enjoys running marathons.
Juan F. Soto
Executive Director
Juan F. Soto is the Executive Director of Gamaliel of Metro Chicago, Gamaliel of Illinois and Gamaliel Network’s Director of the Civil Rights for Immigrant Department. Juan is also a senior trainer for the Gamaliel Network and mentors and trains organizers at the local and national level. He oversees Fiesta del Sol, the largest four day Mexican cultural event that draws in over 1.3 million people annually. Fiesta Del Sol is the largest, free family orientated, non-alcohol and tobacco-free festival in the U.S. Fiesta has been an economic engine that has supported the creation of entrepreneurship for many small business owners.
Edgar E. Lopez
Media & Communications Coordinator
Edgar Lopez grew up in the south side neighborhood, “Back of the Yards”. He is a first-generation U.S. citizen and his parents both migrated from Mexico. The struggles his parents faced as undocumented workers have influenced his path to working in the community. He currently is a student at Columbia College Chicago and is studying Business and Arts Management with a concentration in Creative Fields. He is one of the leaders of Fuerza del Sol – Justice Task Force at PNCC.
Carla Rios
Executive Assistant
Carla Rios grew up in the Pilsen community. She is a mother of two girls and the legal guardian of her sister Lety who is mentally challenged. Carla’s experience with the injustices that her sister faced led to her to want to create change for others that share the same experiences. She is one of the founders of SAME (Special Abilities Mobilizing Equity) which is a task force within Pilsen Neighbors that focuses on organizing parents and family members with family/friends with special abilities to create equity and change.
Juana Medina
Community Organizer
Juana Medina grew up in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and immigrated to the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago at the age of fifteen. She is mother to a young lady that is Hard-of-Hearing and has Ataxia Cerebral Palsy. The struggles her daughter faces within the special education system have influenced Juana to work in the community. She’s currently a student at Richard J. Daley College where she’s pursuing a degree in Accounting and Education. Juana Medina is a community organizer at PNCC and Gamaliel of Metro Chicago.
Rev. David Bigsby
Board President
Pastor Bigsby served as President of the South Suburban Action Conference, ( until 2009) which is actively pursuing and involved in social, civic, and educational parity in the south suburbs, including such issues as the Third Airport in Peotone. More recently, he was elected Vice President of African American Leadership Commission, (AALC) a national organization dedicated to development of clergy in social justice advocacy. In July 2009, Pastor Bigsby was elected President of Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus (GNCC), and was installed in December at ILA in St. Louis, MO.
HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
OUR RECENT PHOTOS
