Board Members

Rosemary Bombela-Tobias Board Chair

A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Ms. Bombela-Tobias began her career as a reporter and joined former Illinois Governor James Thompson’s staff in 1978, as Assistant Press Secretary to the Governor. Rosemary was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Human Rights by Governor Jim Edgar in 1991, making her the first Hispanic in Illinois history to serve as the Director in a cabinet level position.

She also co-authored the book “The Complete Job Search Guide for Latinos” published by Barron’s Educational Series.

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Carlos Tortolero Board Vice-Chair

Carlos Tortolero is President Emeritus and Founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) in Chicago, the first accredited Latino museum in the U.S. and the largest cultural organization based on the Mexican culture outside of Mexico. The Museum has a collection of over 21,000 pieces. He founded the museum in 1982 and the museum opened its doors in 1987. The Museum has been free since Day One. He retired as President at the end of 2023. From 1975-1987, Tortolero worked as a teacher, counselor, and administrator in the Chicago Public School System.

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Mony Ruiz-Velazco Board Secretary

Mony Ruiz-Velasco is a human rights advocate and the Deputy Director at Equality Illinois where she works to advance a more equitable Illinois for all LGBTQ+ communities. For more than two decades, Mony worked to combine organizing, advocacy, and legal efforts on behalf of immigrant rights and social justice.

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Enrique Lopez Treasurer

Enrique Lopez is principal of Lopez & Company, CPAs. Lopez & Company represents various businesses ranging in size from start-ups to mature businesses spanning various industry sectors both domestically and internationally.

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Antonio R. Guillen

Antonio also serves as the President of the Hispanic Bankers Association (HBA), and serves on several other Boards including Little Village Chamber of Commerce (LVCC), Eighteenth Street Development Corporation (ESDC), Latino Professionals for a Cause (LPC), Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA), and is a member of the Latino Advisory Council (LAC) for Catholic Charities.

Antonio is a Chicago native, married with 5 children; he joined Wintrust in July of 2010.

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Omar Diaz

Omar Diaz is a Managing Director of Balmoral Advisors who works with clients primarily in the Building Products, Chemicals and Materials, and Industrials industries. Omar has more than 30 years of investment banking, management consulting and project engineering experience. Omar’s clients have ranged from emerging growth to large, publicly traded enterprises. His transaction experience includes M&A advisory, corporate divestitures and carve-outs, take-over defense advisory, fairness opinion mandates, capital raising, and financial restructuring transactions on both the debtor and creditor sides.

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Melissa Flores

Melissa Flores-Born and raised in Chicago and the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Melissa Flores has dedicated her career to advocate for equity and improve the educational and economic outcomes of children and families, especially within Chicago's Latino and immigrant communities.

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Jose Melendez

Jose Melendez is the president of Melendez Insurance Group (MIG). He has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry and has been helping businesses of all sizes with their risk management needs with an emphasis on long-term relationship building as well as excellent customer service. MIG prides itself on procuring the best insurance coverage using innovative risk management solutions at the most competitive price.

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Ydalmi V. Noriega

Ydalmi V. Noriega serves as Vice President of Programs and Engagement at the Poetry Foundation, leading the team responsible for public programming, the Foundation's library, and organizational partnerships in Chicago, the US, and internationally. Ydalmi created or co-created programs including the Summer Poetry Teachers Institute, the Incubator for Community-Engaged Poets, the Chicago Poetry Block Party, and Webby-honoree VS Podcast.

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Doris Salomón

Doris Salomón is Vice President of Programs and Initiatives at Chicago United, a corporate membership organization whose mission is to achieve parity of economic opportunity for people of color in business. Her primary responsibility is to enhance the membership experience through the development and execution of programs and initiatives. She also oversees the Corporate Inclusion Institute, a nine-month talent development program that drives business performance through inclusion.

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Roche Schulfer

Roche Edward Schulfer (former Goodman Theatre Executive Director/CEO) started working in the Goodman Theatre box office and became executive director in 1980. Since that time, he has overseen more than 400 productions including more than 200 premieres. He initiated the Goodman’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, which celebrated 45 years as Chicago’s leading holiday arts tradition in 2022. In partnership with Artistic Director Robert Falls, Mr. Schulfer led the establishment of quality, diversity and community engagement as the core values of Goodman Theatre.

During their tenure, the Goodman has received numerous awards for excellence, including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater, recognition by Time magazine as the “Best Regional Theatre” in the U.S., the Pulitzer Prize for Lynn Nottage’s Ruined and many Jeff Awards for outstanding achievement in Chicago area theater. Schulfer has negotiated the presentation of numerous Goodman Theatre productions to national and international venues.

He coordinated the 12-year process to relocate the Goodman to the Theatre District in 2000. To mark his 40th anniversary with the Goodman, his name was added to the theater’s “Walk of Stars.” Schulfer was a founder and twice chair of the League of Chicago Theatres, the trade association of more than 200 Chicago area theaters and producers. He has been privileged to serve in leadership roles with Arts Alliance Illinois (the statewide advocacy coalition); Theatre Communications Group (the national service organization for more than 500 not-for-profit theaters); the Performing Arts Alliance (the national advocacy consortium of more than 18,000 organizations and individuals); the League of Resident Theatres

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Jorge Valdivia Executive Director

Jorge Valdivia has over twenty-five years of experience in arts and media management. His work is centered in diversity and equity through social practice, public engagement, and advocacy in the arts. He has won awards and been recognized for his strong contributions to both the Latino/a/e and LGBTQ communities. Most recently, Valdivia served as the Director of Performing Arts Director for the National Museum of Mexican Art where he led the Museum in presenting a year-round calendar of events focusing on performing arts, literature, and film. There he also curated the Sor Juana Arts Festival, a multidisciplinary arts festival that he successfully expanded into seven cities.

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