Friday, October 9, 2020
Good Afternoon colleagues,
As many of you know, National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th through October 15th, and although we aren't able to celebrate the month in our offices across the state like we normally do, we wanted to highlight the importance of this celebration this year and every year.
National Hispanic Heritage Month traditionally honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans by celebrating heritage rooted in all Latin American countries. During this month and throughout the year, we celebrate the history, heritage, and accomplishments of Hispanic and Latino Americans of past and present.
This year, IDHS Assistant Secretary of Operations Dulce Quintero worked with Alex Bautista, Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Human Rights, Rodrigo Carrillo, the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Planning at the Illinois Housing Development Authority, and Juana Ballesteros, Manager of Community Public Health Outreach at the Illinois Department of Public Health, to put together a video on what this month means to them.
Dulce is the proud daughter of Mexican migrant farmworkers. Most recently, Dulce served as Director of Health Center Operations at Erie Family Health Center in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. The centerpieces of her efforts are a deep commitment to high-quality human services, the eradication of systemic homelessness, and creating platforms to raise awareness around mental health and trauma.
Dulce received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Davis and in 2009, she was selected and completed a non-profit leadership academy with The Center for Leadership. Dulce chose to work for the Illinois government so that she could be an agent of change and lead with integrity and courage as her fundamental values. Dulce was also recently featured on the Illinois Department of Central Management Services LinkedIn page.
Click here to watch the video
I would like to thank Dulce and everyone for sharing your insights to what this important month means. Additionally, I would also like to thank all of our Hispanic and Latino staff members who help IDHS serve our most vulnerable residents across Illinois.
Sincerely,
Grace
Grace B. Hou
Secretary, IDHS
