Sylvia Puente

SYLVIA PUENTE, FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO, LATINO POLICY FORUM

Sylvia Puente is a pioneering public policy expert, civic and Latino community leader. She has extensive knowledge of social issues, diverse communities, government, and governance. She has an extensive network of policy, advocacy, and community leaders. Her expertise, perspective and opinion are frequently cited in the media. She is a trusted coalition builder and mediator, always seeing and advancing a win-win when conflicts arise. She is a visionary, identifying and articulating emergent opportunities and needs on the growth, demographics, and social issues impacting the Latino community.

As a lifelong Chicagoan, Puente led the Latino Policy Forum from 2009 to 2024, a nonprofit organization that works for equity, justice, and economic prosperity on behalf of Latinos in Chicago and Illinois.

Under her leadership the organization converted research and data into understanding of the Latino community and developed strategies and public policy solutions that are actionable. Significant public policy victories led to increased state investment for college scholarships ($3m), funding to train bilingual teachers ($4m), housing and rental assistance for those adversely impacted by COVID (nearly $500m). She also developed an innovative leadership program that trains Black and Latino community leaders on public policy and fosters trust and collaboration for social impact.

During a 16-year tenure at the Forum, Puente cultivated a start-up to a $4 million-dollar public policy organization which became a central voice on Latino issues positively impacting the lives of thousands.

Puente holds education expertise in early education and Latino college access and completion. Governor JB Pritzker selected her to serve on his transition team as part of the Educational Success Committee. Previous Illinois governors appointed her to the Illinois Early Learning Council, and the Illinois Education Funding Advisory Board. She is also a board director of education organizations: Advance Illinois and the Chicago Education Alliance.

Puente was appointed to the Restore, Reinvest, Renew Board, which allocates cannabis tax revenue to organizations for community and youth investment, and the State Housing Task Force which develops an affordable housing plan for Illinois.

Puente has been cited on Latino issues in the media 100’s of times. Op-eds include:
• Migrant Crisis tests the soul – and service infrastructure – of Chicago, Crain’s, 2023
• Latinos are making economic gains in Chicago Suburbs and deserve more political power, with Danial Cooper, Sun-Times, 2023
Recent publications of the Latino Policy Forum include:
• Latinos in the Suburbs: Challenges and Opportunities
• A ‘Great Resignation’ Not due to Latinos: Latinos Still Working the Essential Jobs and Earning too Little
• Latino Invisibility in the Pandemic. commentary in the American Journal of Ethics
Presentations include:
• Plenary panel, Perspectives on Intersectional Identity in Policy: When Women Lead Education Conference, 2024
• Closing the Latino wealth gap: Examining regional differences in Latino communities, Brookings Institution, 2023
• Eye on the Election: Chicago’s Mayor, Political commentary on CBS news, 2023
• 2023 Leighton Lecture on Ethics and Leadership, UIUC Gies College of Business, 2023
• The Socioeconomic consequences of Covid-19 for Latino families, Brookings Institution, 2022

Puente has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago and holds honorary doctorate degrees from Roosevelt University and Governor’s State University. She has been named one of the most influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic Business Magazine. Among her many awards, she is a recipient of the Ohtli award, Mexico’s highest honor awarded to an individual of Mexican descent. She has also been named a “Who’s Who” in Chicago by Crains business magazine.

Puente began her lifelong commitment to justice and equity when her mother took her to her first picket line in support of the United Farm Workers when she was 13 years old.

Rev March 2026