MLK Day of Solidarity: Building Bridges Across Black and Latine Communities

Luis is the son of Mexican immigrants, born and raised in Chicago’s Little Village, where he serves as founder and CEO of Latinos Progresando. Under Luis’ leadership, Latinos Progresando has extended its reach throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, to more than 80 cities in Illinois, 24 states in the US and more than 60 countries around the world.
Luis is an innovator in the nonprofit space, collaborating to build diverse coalitions across communities and across sectors: the place-based coalition called the Marshall Square Resource Network; the One Lawndale movement, which is developing a campus of community-focused capital projects in North and South Lawndale; and the Excellerator Fund, a multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative to increase investment in Black and Mexican leadership across the City of Chicago.
Luis is a member of the Board of Commissioners for the Chicago Housing Authority, and has contributed knowledge as a steering committee member of civic organizations like Chicago’s Racial Equity Rapid Response Team and We Rise Together at the Chicago Community Trust.
Luis serves as board member of the Millenium Park Foundation, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Lincoln Park Zoo, ACLU of Illinois, The Nature Conservancy Illinois, AMPT Chicago, and HHP Lift. Luis received the Mayor’s Medal of Honor in 2021, the Leaders for a New Chicago Award from the Field Foundation in 2019, the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award from the Chicago Bears in 2018.

With more than 30 years of business experience and a long track record of providing strategic oversight and tactical support as a board member of multiple non-profit organizations, Rodney Brown is an established, globally minded, yet locally focused change agent.
His background includes finance, commercial credit, commercial collections, business-to-business sales, business management, and procurement. He has extensive global business experience, having worked in China, Korea, Japan, Mexico, and Canada.
His most recent corporate experience includes more than 20 years in procurement where his last position was Director of Global Procurement for a multibillion-dollar company. He has been recognized for his strategic accomplishments in supplier management and building supply chain relationships.
Rodney served as a Co-Director of the Continuing Education and Professional Development (CEPD) division of the Joseph Business School for almost 10 years. Together with the support of a very committed, faithful, and talented staff, they have developed an effective suite of courses and workshops. The curriculum was designed to meet the needs of adult students seeking self-improvement by using business education and entrepreneurship as a tool to make a difference in their lives, families, and communities.
Currently, he serves as the Board Chair of Kids Above All. In this capacity he provides governance and developed an evidence-based program model designed to help young adults get into college. He is also a Co-Founder of the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council (NLCCC) where he serves as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Economic Development Committee. Rodney is the Executive Director of the North Lawndale Chamber of Commerce too.
His educational background includes Bachelor’s in Business Administration (major in Finance), and a Master’s in Business Administration. He resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife, loves theatre, dining, and traveling.