Sí Se Puede: Wisconsin’s 34 Most Powerful Latinos, Part 3

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    This is the third of a five-part series. Part 1 is available here, and part 2 is available here.

    Marta Bianchini owns Cubanitas, one of Milwaukee’s most beloved ethnic restaurants. The first Cuban restaurant in Wisconsin opened downtown all the way back in 2003, adding a second location in Oak Creek in 2017. A third spot, in Brookfield, is set to open next spring. Along with her chef husband Marc, Marta also owns Indulge Wine Bar and both Cuban and Italian catering operations. They’re also the driving force behind the annual Cuban Day Festival, which takes place every spring. She earned the 2015 Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee. Born in Cuba, she came to the US as an infant and grew up in New Jersey with parents who were also entrepreneurs. 

    Yvonne Brodsky is a Global Leadership Development & Early Talent Program Leader at GE Healthcare, focused on recruiting and developing diverse talent. A native of Peru, she also serves on the board of directors of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and YWCA of Southeastern in Wisconsin, and was the executive director of the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee.

     

    Norma Gallegos Valles is a morning show co-host at Madison’s La Movida Spanish radio station and workforce manager at Centro Hispano. She has helped provide education and training through the Latino Academy of Workforce Development, which serves underrepresented Dane County families and helps guide people into positions where they will make family-sustaining wages and develop career pathways for future generations. Gallegos Valles got her bachelor’s degree at UW Madison and her Associates Degree at Madison College.

    Milly Gonzalez is the Domestic Violence Program Coordinator for HELP of Door County. She began working with HELP as a volunteer and later as an interpreter with the Visitation & Exchange program. In September 2016, Gonzales joined HELP’s staff as a domestic violence advocate. In 2017, she assumed her current role new role as the Domestic Violence Program Coordinator. Gonzalez initiated several community support groups for survivors of domestic violence, including working with Operation Fresh Start in the Door County Jail. She also serves as the Northeast Wisconsin Regional Director for the Wisconsin Women’s March and was chosen as one of 12 Wisconsin women to participate in End Abuse Wisconsin “We Lead Academy,” an elite educational program of End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin. In June 2018, Gonzales was awarded the Anne Kok Social Justice Award, honoring the late executive director of HELP and recognizing her legacy. 

    Tammy Olivas is the Outreach Director of Hispanics for School Choice, a nonprofit that aims to support Hispanic families through education opportunities. She has been that outreach director for more than seven years and in her time, she has worked with other leaders in different Hispanic communities to bring down barriers to success and provide crucial information about education opportunities that help those communities. 

    Gerardo Licon is a historian and professor of Latin American Studies at UW-Eau Claire. He recently was featured in an episode of the Latino Media Collective where he talked about the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots and what they can teach us about anti-immigrant, anti-Latino sentiment in the US Today. He is also an advocate for Latinos in the Chippewa Valley. Off-campus he’s been a leader with the local nonprofit El Centro de Conexion de Chippewa Valley for nine years and advocated for the Dual Immersion Spanish-English Program with the Eau Claire Area School District. At UWEC he’s an advocate for Latino faculty, staff, and students.

    Rebeca Valcq was appointed earlier this year by Governor Tony Evers to a six-year term as Commissioner at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. Additionally, she was appointed to serve a 2-year term as Chair. Prior to the gubernatorial appointment, Valcq was a partner in Quarles & Brady’s Energy and Environmental Group where she focused her practice on regulatory, compliance and energy law. She was also regulatory counsel for Wisconsin Electric Power Company where she advised on all areas of regulatory law in multiple jurisdictions as well as compliance and legislative matters. Valcq has been recognized as one of the Business Journal’s “40 Under 40”, an award that recognizes the future community leaders of Southeastern Wisconsin.

    Part four coming tomorrow!