DULCE DOMINGUEZ

Hometown: Waukegan, IL
School: University of Chicago
Degree: Master of Social Work
Placement: Office of Congressman Brad Schneider

Dulce Dominguez (she/her) is originally from Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico, and immigrated with her family to the United States at the age of two. Dulce is now a DACA recipient and has worked in the Lake County Community in Illinois as an advocate for immigrant families since her senior year of high school. Throughout her work in Lake County, Dulce has been a part of community efforts that advance the protections of immigrant families. In 2017, she helped lead efforts to pass the Safe Haven Resolution at Waukegan Public Schools, affirming the district’s commitment to secure the information and safety of students and their families. She is a co-founder for a grassroots initiative in Northern Illinois known as the Center for Immigrant Progress, working to engage Latinx and Immigrant Youth to gain leadership skills and advocate for immigrant rights.

Dulce obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master’s Degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago. As an undergraduate intern Dulce worked at Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, providing bilingual substance abuse counseling to Latinos in the area. In 2019, Dulce worked at Mano a Mano Family Resource Center as the community engagement manager, where she led the organization’s outreach and strategic partnerships and facilitated community workshops on policies and programs impacting immigrants. Most recently, Dulce worked as the development coordinator at Alianza Americas, a Chicago-based organization advocating transnationally for immigrant justice. She first joined Alianza Americas in 2018 as part of her graduate internship in policy and research, where she spearheaded two research projects on the health and safety of outdoor immigrant workers. Dulce is passionate about immigrant justice and building leadership among immigrant youth in Lake County.

As a CHCI Social Equity Graduate Fellow, Dulce hopes to learn more about the legislative process and gain valuable skills in policy research to help propose just policies that protect and promote the well-being of immigrant families. With the knowledge and skills she gains at CHCI, she plans to return to her hometown and help develop programs that build the leadership and civic engagement of immigrant youth and engage them in advocacy strategies that contribute to better outcomes for Latinx and immigrant communities.