This is the fifth of a five-part series. Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here and Part Four is here.
This week we highlight some of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Latino leaders. Previous lists of the state’s most influential Black, Latino, Native American and Asian American leaders are published at Madison365.org/MostInfluential.
John Schlueter
John Schlueter is director of the Dane County Department of Human Services, a post Dane County Executive Melissa Agard appointed him to in April 2025. He previously served as area director for the Social Security Administration in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, overseeing more than 500 employees in 30 offices that handle retirement, disability, survivor and supplemental income benefits and Medicare enrollment. He began his career as a juvenile court social worker for Dane County. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Natalia Navarro-Albaladejo
Dr. Natalia Navarro-Albaladejo is chief growth and operating officer at One City Schools, the Madison-based public charter school network, where she also serves as a school developer. She took on those roles in January 2025 after serving from 2021 to 2023 as founding director of teaching and learning at One City Preparatory Academy, where she led the school’s instructional program. She taught Spanish language and Hispanic culture in the Sun Prairie Area School District, worked as a bilingual resource educator for the Madison Metropolitan School District, and taught foreign language at Madison Country Day School from 2012 to 2020. Before moving into K-12 education, she taught Hispanic literature, Spanish language and film as a senior lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was previously a visiting assistant professor at Bucknell University and at Tulane University, where she also coordinated the language program. She earned a doctoral degree in Hispanic and Latin American languages at Penn State University.
Hilario Deleon
Hilario Deleon is chair of the Republican Party of Milwaukee County. Raised on Milwaukee’s South Side, he became involved in politics after losing his job washing dishes at a bar during the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteering with the local party and then working as a field organizer for Donald Trump’s campaign. He served as the county party’s vice chair before becoming chair, and drew national attention as a Gen Z party leader when the 2024 Republican National Convention came to Milwaukee.
Dr. Cristina Figueroa-Soto
Cristina Figueroa-Soto is director of operations at the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office. A forensic anthropologist, she previously worked with the Waukesha County Medical Examiner’s Office, where her analysis helped identify remains found along the Lake Michigan shoreline as those of a man missing since 2011, a case that drew attention to the challenges of identifying Latino remains in the United States. She is a native of Puerto Rico.
Michael González
Michael González is an assistant principal at Madison East High School, a role he took on a year ago after many years in educational leadership around Wisconsin. He previously was principal of Bessie Allen Middle School in North Fond du Lac, where he also served as director of English language learners and summer school coordinator for six years, and principal of Gordon Olson Middle School in Mauston. He began his career as a social studies teacher at La Follette High School in Madison and has worked in multiple Wisconsin school districts for more than 25 years. González received the 2022 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Principal Leadership Award and was named the 2015 Wisconsin Association of School Councils Junior and Middle School Administrator of the Year. He has a master’s degree in educational policy studies from UW-Madison.
Who’d we miss? Email nominations for next year’s list to [email protected]!
