Brenda Delgado Als believes that Art is LIFE!
She was born in PR, where both her parents were teachers and taught her the value of investing in education, including her violin and piano classes since age of 6. Her father was a violinist and musician of 10+ instruments, laying a strong foundation for the love of music. Even though she received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Loyola University Chicago, and a Masters degree in Health Policy from University of Illinois, she advocates for sustainability of all art forms as a critical piece of an engaged, educated society.
As a believer in actively calling for change where Black and Brown children do not receive their fair share of public resources, she serves on her children’s schools’ Local School Councils. Continuing this equity battle, she serves as a board member of Raise Your Hand for Public Education, an advocacy group that empowers parents to demand a well-resourced public education for every child.
Her 3 children have enjoyed SRBCC’s programming elevating and celebrating Afro-Latino culture for over 7 years, especially her daughter Nati who finds pure joy in her ongoing study of bomba.
Edoardo Ortiz was born in San Juan, raised in Bayamón and moved to Chicago in 2017 to pursue graduate studies at the University of Chicago. A graduate from the Master of Public Policy Program at the Harris School of Public Policy, Edoardo is the Legislative Manager for Senator Christina Pacione-Zayas.
With experience in both the private and public spheres, Edoardo, through his studies and community work, seeks to bridge the gap between community needs and evidence-based policy initiatives. He is currently working on publishing Puerto Rico focused research and helping bring young Puerto Ricans together through his work in the leadership of the National Puerto Rican Student Coalition.
James Ramos is currently the Deputy City Treasurer for the Office of the Treasurer of Chicago. Prior to that, he was the Chief-of-Staff for the 21 st Ward. He was previously the Associate Director of Community and Government Relations for the City Colleges of Chicago. He served as a Spokesperson for Cook County – the second largest county in the U.S. He also served as a Training Officer for Chicago Police Department where he developed and directed interactive community and police training programs, implemented neighborhood training projects and helped create nationally recognized crime reduction training programs that focused on diversity and community policing.
He is also founder of the American Training Institute of Diversity. He is on the Board of Directors for BUILD, Inc., an at-risk youth agency and is on the Board of Trustees for IDeaL Education Foundation. He is a member of the Black Perspectives Committee of the Chicago International Film Festival and serves as a board of directors for the Frankie Knuckles Foundation. In addition, James is on the Board of Directors for the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center and is currently the President of the Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity Inc. Iota Delta Lambda Chapter.
James has a true love for the Arts playing the violin as a child and later percussion for a variety of genres such as Salsa, Latin Jazz, R&B, Neo-Soul, House, Rock, and other African and Afro-Latino music. James grew up in the northwest side community of Humboldt Park. He lived in Puerto Rico where he finished high school. He returned to Chicago and became the first member of his family to graduate from college. He went on to Northwestern University and received a Master’s in Communications and as a full scholarship recipient; he received a MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.
