Home Wisconsin Sí Se Puede 2021: Wisconsin’s 36 Most Influential Latino Leaders, Part 5

Sí Se Puede 2021: Wisconsin’s 36 Most Influential Latino Leaders, Part 5

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This is the fifth of a five-part series. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 is here and Part 4 is here.

Tammy Rivera is executive director of the Southside Organizing Center in Milwaukee. For more than 25 years she has provided strategic and operational leadership across several communities and organizations including: United Community Center, SER Jobs for Progress, Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, United Cerebral Palsy of SEW, Girls Scouts of Milwaukee Area, Voces de la Frontera, and more. In 2008, she opened a consulting firm named Xecutiva to provide executive level consulting and services to organizations and professionals. She has also taught preschool, alternative education, adult basic education, and undergraduate and graduate courses. She holds a certificate in organizing; a certificate in Bible studies; graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Community Education; has a Master’s degree in Administrative Leadership where she was on fellows; and has entered the final stages of her Ph. D. in Adult and Continuing Education, with a minor in higher education, and a certificate in Teaching and Learning (focused on online learning) where she also has been a continuous fellow. Her dissertation research is focused on Latina leadership. 

Cristhabel Martinez is executive director of Dreamers of Wisconsin, an organization founded to support undocumented students at the University of Wisconsin that has recently expanded its reach statewide. Cristhabel expects to earn a master’s degree in social work next year after earning a bachelor’s degree in social work this year with certificates in criminal justice, education policy and global health. She has been an AVID tutor with the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County and volunteered as a children’s advocate with DAIS, intake volunteer at Dodge County Jail and Circle of Support volunteer with JustDane.

Dulce Maria Danel is the Associate Manager of Community Engagement at Madison College. Previously, she served as the Lead Student Recruitment and Community Outreach Coordinator. Before Madison College, Dulce served as the Admissions Communications and Marketing Coordinator and New Student Seminar Instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. A Texas native, Dulce is a first generation college student who received her master’s in Communication from the University of Texas-Pan American. Before starting her career in education, she worked in the basketball industry with NCAA D1 and NBA G-League teams. She also serves on the Board of Governors for the Goodman Community Center on Madison’s east side.

Barbara Cerda is Southeastern Wisconsin Cooperative Organizer at Citizen Action Wisconsin. She was born and raised on the south side and attended Milwaukee Public Schools. Barbara is a proud Alverno College Alumna and obtained her B.A. in Community Leadership and Development in December 2017. Most recently, she obtained a Non-Profit Board Leadership Certificate through the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County’s Project LEAD (Leadership, Effectiveness, and Diversity) Program. Barbara serves on the Board of Directors for Civitas Law Group, Inc. and is an Exhibit Curator/Lead Coordinator for the Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation, Inc./Mexican Fiesta. She is the founder of La Revo Books and Barby The Book Fairy, a program that focuses on providing empowering and culturally relevant literature to families in the Milwaukee community, particularly in ZIP codes 53215 and 53204.

Darryl Morin is President & CEO of Advanced Wireless, Inc. serving customers in 14 countries.  In addition to his professional efforts, Mr. Morin serves as president and board chair of Forward Latino, sits on the Board of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Milwaukee Jewish Museum, as Board Secretary of Employ Milwaukee and as Vice Chair of the Board at the Hmong American Peace Academy, our nation’s largest Hmong-focused educational institution. For his many philanthropic efforts Mr. Morin was named Hispanic Man of the Year by UMOS, named a “Friend of Education” by the State of Wisconsin, named to the United Way of Greater Milwaukee’s “Philanthropic Five,” and more.  Darryl is a charter member of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Justice for Immigrants Committee and founding member of the Latino-Jewish Alliance.  He also served as LULAC National VP-Midwest and was responsible for all advocacy and service programs for the 12-state region. Mr. Morin is a graduate of the University of North Texas and is a proud husband and father to two sons. 

Hedi Lamarr Rudd is director of the Badger Rock Community Center and director of South Madison programs at Rooted, as well as a well-known community photographer, capturing the stories of communities of color through her lens. In 2001, she joined former Mayor Sue Bauman’s staff as the Study Circle on Race Relation’s Coordinator, a program recommended by the task force. Hedi served two terms on the City of Madison Equal Opportunities Commission and was a staff member of the City of Madison Affirmative Action Department, prior to the creation of the Office of Civil Rights. After living in Las Vegas for 6 years, where she worked at Nevada Cancer Institute in various Executive Administrative positions, she returned to Madison and community organizing. Hedi is the 2019 recipient of Forward Community Investments Nan Cheney March for Justice Award.

Pastor Pedro Ruiz Jr. is pastor of Iglesia Restauración Y Vida in Madison, and a Community Development Block Grant Program Specialist for Dane County. He helped launch the County’s Immigration Assistance Office in 2017 and later that year was one of the Madison area’s church leaders to lead relief efforts for hurricane survivors in Texas and Florida.

Who’d we miss? Email your suggestions for next year’s list to [email protected]!