Today, the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) named Pedro Guerra as the new Director of the Illinois Latino Small Business Partnership, a coalition of eight organizations that with resources from the innovative Illinois Community Navigator Program will help thousands of small businesses throughout the state access state and federal funding.
Pedro is very committed to making a difference for Hispanic small businesses. He’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed,” said Jaime di Paulo, President & CEO of the IHCC.
Di Paulo explained that the Illinois Latino Small Business Partnership team will bring extensive hands-on business experience to each client’s situation, ensuring they receive practical “real world” advice that can be applied to the day-to-day operations of any type of business.
The expertise of Pedro covers all key business areas and he will work closely with each organization and each client to develop productive solutions,” added di Paulo.
Community navigators, as IHCC, will perform intensive outreach to ensure that small and hard-to-reach businesses are aware of the economic relief funds available.
Additionally, we will provide 1-on-1 technical assistance to support businesses in understanding how to access relief.
Guerra will transfer his experience in helping small businesses and community outreach in his new role. When the Restaurant Revitalisation Fund (RRF) was announced he collaborated with local officials and community leaders to make sure as many minority business owners had access to resources.
He serves the last six months as a business advisor for the Illinois SBDC at the IHCC.
For over 10 years he has committed his professional career to work within the business, education, and non-for-profit world. From working in the financial industry to working at an alternative high school as an instructor focusing on career pathways.
As an entrepreneur, Pedro is a founding member of the Business Technology Educational Center (BTEC). BTEC is an organization that provides educational programming at Chicago Public Schools to help underserved communities.
As an activist, among other things, Pedro is a founding member of Rise and Organize.
He also serves on the board of the Hispanic Business Network as its communications director. The HBN is a non-for-profit that gives scholarships to first-generation students. In addition, he’s also on the local school council at Curie high school.
Pedro will transfer his experience in the business and education fields by doing a deep dive into clients’ needs to find solutions that best serve them.
In his free time, Pedro enjoys playing sports, attending live sporting events, and watching movies.