Jesús “Chuy” García currently serves as Commissioner for the 7th District on the Cook County Board.

His early
commitment to equity led him to work as a paralegal and community organizer in the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods of Chicago. In 1986, Chuy was elected Alderman to the Chicago City Council from 22nd Ward. In 1992, he ran for the Illinois State Senate and became the first Mexican- American elected.

After serving two terms, Chuy left the Senate to start Enlace Chicago (formerly LVCDC)
and grew the organization from 1 employee (himself) to 27 full-time employees, 120 part-time workers, and an annual budget of $2.9 million.

In 2010, Chuy returned to public office by successfully running for Cook County Commissioner. Chuy was re-elected to a second term in 2014. In 2015, he decided to run for Mayor of Chicago four months before the election and forced the first ever run- off election in that contest.

He holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Rubinstein, a graduate from The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, completed his residency in Internal Medicine at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County. He trained as a Hematologist/Oncologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Rubinstein then joined the division of Hematology/Oncology at Stroger Hospital of Cook County and holds a position as an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center.

While he treats all hematological cancers, his clinical research focuses on the racial disparity of care, the treatment, and mechanisms of disease of hematological malignancies in patients infected with HIV/AIDS. He is a clinical site principal investigator of the only sites in Illinois for the AIDS Malignancy Clinical Trials Consortium, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored cancer clinical trials consortium. He designed the latest clinical trials on both the upfront and relapsed treatment of HIV-associated Hodgkin lymphoma and has also helped design and has participated in multiple clinical/translational studies in the treatment of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in both HIV and non-HIV infected patients. He is also a co-investigator of the NIH minority underserved community oncology research program (NCORP). Dr. Rubinstein is also a board member of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Illinois Chapter and on the Latino Advisory Counsel for Gilda’s Club, Chicago.

Melissa Simón, MD is the George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology, Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a Northwestern Medicine physician, and a full tenured professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She is also the Founder and Director of the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, and co-program leader for cancer control and survivorship at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Simón is an expert in implementation science, women’s health across the lifespan, minority health, community engagement and health equity. She leads a diverse portfolio of research partnered with multiple sectors that directly impacts local, state, and national level thought and policy regarding inclusion and health equity.

Her research creates transdisciplinary partnerships focused on improving vulnerable populations’ health and their interface with the health care system.
Dr. Simón is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and Elimination of Health Disparities and the NAM Care, Culture and Decision-Making Innovation Collaborative. She also is a recently appointed member of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and she serves as the chair of the National Institutes of Health standing study section, Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health.

Raised in Detroit, Michigan, she completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago, her master’s degree in public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, her medical degree at Rush Medical College, her residency at Yale University, and her fellowship in family planning at Northwestern University.

Gabriel J. Martínez-Díaz, M.D. is a board-certified dermatologist practicing aesthetic, medical, and surgical dermatology since 2014, and has been in the Chicago area since 2015. He is a physician associated with Northwestern Medicine, as a private practice physician, and previously practice in a cosmetic dermatology practice in the Northshore of Chicago and numerous other practices in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. He is excited to build his dream in one of Chicago’s most thriving neighborhoods, the West Loop.

Dr. Martínez-Díaz is originally from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and is fluent in Spanish. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin to obtain his degree with honors in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Martínez-Díaz attended Stanford University where he received his medical degree and gained distinction as a Doris Duke Research Fellow.

He completed his medical internship at Hennepin County Medical Center, in Minneapolis, MN before moving to Pittsburgh, PA where he completed his dermatology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Martínez-Díaz has both authored and coauthored over 20 medical publications. On a personal note, he enjoys mentoring, reading, traveling, and playing volleyball.

Yamilé Molina, MPH, MS PhD, is an Assistant Professor within the Community Health Sciences Division at the School of Public Health, Faculty Affiliate within the Center for Research On Women and Gender, and Academic Partner/ Early Stage Investigator for the UI Cancer Center’s Office of Community Engaged Research and Implementation Science.

Dr. Molina’s interests concern recognition and promotion of the health-protective factors that promote breast cancer care uptake and well-being along the continuum, with a focus on Latinas, African American women, and rural women.

Locally, partnering community leaders and she lead NIH-funded breast health promotion efforts for Latinas in Pilsen/Little Village and South Chicago/East Side. Her efforts have been resulted in multiple recognitions, including being a recipient of the 2017 National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 under 40 Leaders in Minority Health award.