Pride Brunch 2023 Community Award Recipient
Julio Rodriguez
Julio has been involved for over thirty years in several community projects and or organizations. He is one of the co-founders and current Board President of the one of the oldest Latinx gay, Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer non-for-profit organization in Chicago and the Midwest, The Association of Latinas\os\x Motivating Action (ALMA). ALMA was created in 1989 and has been at the forefront of issues impacting the Latinx gay, Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community both locally and nationally. In 2000, ALMA was inducted into the Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Hall of Fame.
Julio has served on a number of other local, state and national boards such as the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the Mayor’s Advisory Council Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues, Anti-Violence Authority, the National AIDS Prevention Coalition and the National Latino Lesbian and Gay Organization (LLEGO) and the Chicago Color Triangle. He also served as one of the founding Board members of the Center on Halsted.
In 2013, he was appointed to the Board of the CORE center of Cook County Hospital, one of the largest community hospitals, serving people with HIV/AIDS. And in 2016, Julio was appointed to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations where he served for two terms. Julio is currently the Board Chair for La Casa Norte, the largest provider of homeless services to Latino families and youth in the City of Chicago.
He is a native of Chicago, Puerto Rican and has a degree in Business from DePaul University. He currently works for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, as the Deputy Director of the Office of Employment and Training. In 2001, he was inducted into International “Who’s Who” for Public Service. In 2003, he was the recipient of the Community Leader Award for Philanthropy from the Chicago Latinos in Philanthropy. And in 2004, he was inducted into the Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was inducted into the Latino “Who’s Who” for Community Leadership. In May of 2014, he was honored with a “Lifetime of Activism” award by the Astraea Foundation. In 2018, Julio was honored with a Lifetime Leadership award by the Cook County State Attorney’s Office for his work in the LGBTQ community. And in May of 2022, Julio was one of the recipients of the Center on Halsted’s “Human First” award.