Connecting businesses to opportunity Building a better tomorrow

Age: 36

Title: Director

Organization: Illinois Latino Small Business Partnership

Pedro Guerra serves as director of the Illinois Latino Small Business Partnership. For over 10 years he has committed his professional career to work in the business, education, and nonprofit world.

He’s worked as a business advisor in the financial industry and in the educational industry as an instructor focusing on career pathways. Guerra is a founding member of the Business Technology Educational Center, an organization that provides edu- cational programming in Chicago public schools to help underserved communities. As an activist, Guerra is a founding member of Rise and Organize. He also serves on the Berwyn Township 708 Community Mental Health Board. In addition, he’s on the local school council at Curie High School. Guerra will transfer his experience in the business and education fields by doing a deep dive into clients’ needs to find solutions that best serve them.

In his free time, Guerra enjoys playing sports, attending live sporting events, and watching movies.

Cristina Flores Henderson Setting an example in construction

Age: 32

Title: Assistant Project Manager

Organization: Walsh Group

Cristina Flores Henderson is an assistant project manager with The Walsh Group, one of the largest and most established builders in North America, better known as Walsh Construction in Chi- cagoland. Henderson started her career with Walsh in 2011 as an intern while studying at Marquette University for a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering and management.

As the proud daughter of two immigrant parents, oldest of five children, and the first in her family to have an opportunity to attend college, she knew exactly what she wanted in life: pursue a bachelor’s degree to pave the way for her younger siblings, and set the example for the rest of her family and fellow Latinas and Latinos.

Henderson was happy and proud when she received an offer from Walsh

Construction for a full-time position as a project engineer in June 2014. Since then, Henderson has worked in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs on multiple construction projects ranging from a school renovation worth $2 million to a renovation at the Chicago Tribune Tower worth $314 million.

Age: 31

Title: Senior Project Manager

Organization: Cullen

Construction Management

Anthony “Tony” Guzman is a child of immigrants and a first-generation college graduate. Guzman was raised in Cicero, Illinois, and went to Morton East High School. He attended Northwestern University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Guzman began his career at a large, international general contracting firm in Chicago and worked on residential high rises, schools, and historical renovations. In addition to project management work, he participated in the company’s rotation program focused on preconstruction and estimat- ing. He then moved to a developer and general contracting firm where he gained skills in retail and commercial construction. Currently Guzman is a senior project manager at Cullen Construction Management and has had the opportunity to work on an extensive array of projects including high rises, senior living and educational facilities, student housing, transit-oriented developments, tenant improvements, and commercial standalone buildings. Guzman provides day-to-day leadership and support on projects that have received local and state funding from groups such as the Chicago Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.