Appointed DOH Commissioner in December 2023, Lissette Castañeda brings more than 20 years of experience in affordable housing development, housing services, and nonprofit leadership. She is leading efforts to streamline Chicago’s affordable housing development process and expand homeownership opportunities in historically disinvested communities.

Before joining DOH, Castañeda served as Executive Director of LUCHA, overseeing its affordable housing portfolio and strategic plan implementation. She also held leadership roles at the Center for Changing Lives, focusing on economic opportunity and neighborhood revitalization across Chicago.

Castañeda has served on several housing and community development boards, including the Chicago Housing Trust, Illinois Housing Council, and Chicago Rehab Network. She believes stable, affordable housing is essential to community safety, economic growth, and long-term well-being.

Doug (he/him) has dedicated more than 25 years to advancing social justice, with a primary focus on ensuring everyone has access to affordable, decent housing. Prior to his time at CCH, Doug worked at established Chicago institutions such as Forefront, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Heartland Alliance, and the Law Center for Better Housing.

Doug currently serves on the Illinois Partners for Human Service board, is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and was a 2019 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. He is a graduate of both Grinnell College and the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Monica Gordon serves as the Cook County Clerk, becoming the youngest woman and just the third African American to hold the position when she was sworn into office in December 2024. As Clerk, she oversees one of the nation’s largest consolidated Clerk’s offices, managing vital records, suburban elections, land records, property tax systems, and official Cook County Board records.

Prior to her election as Clerk, Gordon represented the 5th District on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, where she championed equity-focused initiatives, healthcare access, violence prevention, and community investment throughout Chicago’s Southland communities.

A longtime public servant and advocate for stronger communities, Gordon has also served as Executive Director of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, Government Affairs Director for Chicago State University, and Chair of the Prairie State Community College Board. Her leadership and dedication to public service continue to shape policies that improve opportunities and quality of life for Cook County residents.

Graciela Guzmán (she/her/ella) serves as the state senator for District 20 and as an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union. Before becoming state senator, she served as chief of staff for Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas and political director for her and Senator Omar Aquino.

Her passion for health care, community, and helping others is derived from her family’s early experiences immigrating to the United States from El Salvador to escape the Salvadoran Civil War. She graduated from Grinnell College in 2011 with a degree in anthropology and serves on their Board of Trustees.

Graciela has organized policy campaigns around health care, child welfare, economic justice and immigration. As campaign director for the Healthy Illinois campaign, Graciela secured a key victory by making Illinois the first state in the nation to expand health care to low-income adults age 55 and older regardless of their immigration status. At the height of the pandemic, she helped form the Belmont Cragin Mutual Aid and Northwest Mutual Aid hub to serve families in Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, Belmont Gardens, Logan Square, Irving Park, and Portage Park.

Stacy Davis Gates has served as President of the Chicago Teachers Union since 2022 and was re-elected to a second term in 2025. She was also recently selected to serve as President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, one of the largest unions in Illinois.

An internationally recognized labor and racial justice leader, Davis Gates is known for advancing “common good unionism,” helping secure an elected school board in Chicago, supporting the election of Mayor Brandon Johnson, and advocating for over $1 billion in investments for Chicago schools, parks, and libraries.

A former high school social studies teacher, she became active in union organizing after school closures impacted her community. As CTU’s former Political and Legislative Director, she helped lead successful campaigns for school board reform, charter accountability, restored bargaining rights for educators, and increased equity-based funding for Chicago Public Schools.

Davis Gates also played a major leadership role in CTU’s historic 2019 strike, helping secure transformative contract gains focused on smaller class sizes, educator pay, green schools, LGBTQIA+ protections, sanctuary schools, and Black history education.