Artist Bio

José Marco-Paredes is the Vice President of Civic Engagement. He oversees the Forum’s advocacy and policy work in Housing and Immigration, as well as the Multicultural Leadership Academy, a leadership program that brings together African American and Latino leaders. José is responsible for maintaining, building, and strengthening strategic relationships with key stakeholders, such as city and state policy makers, coalitions, civic leaders, and funders. He convenes the Illinois Latino Agenda, the largest coalition of Latino leaders in Illinois and the Forum’s Acuerdo network, a coalition of up to 100 community-based organizations throughout the state. He is also responsible for the Welcome to Illinois coalition, a group of civic leaders that work to share information, better coordinate, and propose policy solutions to the new influx of asylum seekers.

As part of the Senior Leadership Team, José helps set and oversee the implementation of the organization’s vision, strategy, goals, and overall policy agenda. He is also responsible for maintaining and strengthening the culture and work ethics of the organization.

José received his Master’s in Corporate Communications from IE Business School and his bachelor’s in journalism from CEU University in Valencia, Spain where he served as a political radio reporter for a decade.