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Evelyn Diaz, President, Heartland Alliance
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Evelyn J. Diaz is the President of Heartland Alliance, one of the world’s leading human rights organizations. She leads the executive team, directing domestic and global strategy and operations. For more than two decades Evelyn has been a leader in the nonprofit and government sectors, starting as a direct practitioner, leading economic development initiatives, and serving as a public official. Under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Evelyn led the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services where she was responsible for administering programs in the areas of children, youth, homelessness, domestic violence, aging, workforce development, and human services.
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Patrice James, Founding Director, Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative
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Patrice James was selected as the Founding Director of the Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative in 2022 where she will build the IBAI from the ground-up and establish a plan of collective advocacy and policy solutions for the needs of Black communities throughout Illinois. Patrice previously served as Director of Community Justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law and was a founding attorney of Still She Rises, Tulsa, where she provided holistic legal representation to low-income women of color and advocated for shifting the narrative around women involved in the criminal justice system.
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MK Pritzker, First Lady of Illinois
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For over a decade, MK Pritzker served as a leader of the Pritzker Family Foundation, fostering solutions in the areas of early childhood development and women’s health. Through her work at the Foundation and in her role as First Lady, MK has remained dedicated to improving the lives of women and children affected by the justice system. MK previously worked in Washington D.C. on the staffs of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey. She has been married to Governor JB Pritzker for over 25 years and lives in Chicago with their two children.
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Raqueal Pullums, Reentry Program Manager, READI Chicago Heartland Alliance
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Raqueal Pullums is an innovative and charismatic leader who is committed to ensuring that individuals leaving the Illinois Department of Corrections are set up for successful reintegration. Raqueal is the Program Manager for READI Chicago’s reentry pilot called READI for Reentry. She devotes her efforts to leading a team who works with men who are at the highest risk for gun violence upon returning to Chicago. Her work at READI for Reentry has led her to understand how important the family connections are when creating and executing successful reentry plans. With this knowledge, she is strenghtening the family engagement component of her program and connecting families to resources and employment to create a more stable environment for individuals returning home from prison and the household.
Raqueal received her Master of Social Work (MSW) with a concentration in Leadership and Development degree from Loyola University of Chicago. Over the last 10 years, Raqueal has worked with several vulnerable populations which includes disadvantaged youth, adults experiencing homelessness, substance abuse, justice system involvement, and gun violence victims or perpertrators. Raqueal has always been dedicated to helping to change the life trajectory of individuals who many write off or disregard.
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