Katya Nuques is the Executive Director of Enlace Chicago, a community-based organization with over 200 staff. It is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Little Village, which it does by convening, organizing and building the capacity of Little Village stakeholders to confront systemic inequities and barriers to economic and social access. Enlace’s four areas of focus include violence prevention, immigration, education and health. Prior to joining Enlace, Nuques worked in the international development field at the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Peru.

Nuques began her career at Enlace in 2005 as the Director of Community Schools. She played a substantial role in the expansion of Enlace’s Community Schools network, significantly increasing staff and funding levels and diversifying revenue sources. As Director of Education, a role she assumed in 2007, she expanded the organization’s involvement in teacher preparation programs, internships and post-secondary access. In 2011, Nuques became Associate Director, overseeing programs in the areas of immigration, education, economic development, health and community engagement, and providing direct support to department directors. As the Executive Director, a role she assumed in 2015, Nuques has focused on reinforcing organizational structure, high quality programming and financial sustainability. Recently, her principal role is to collaborate with local organizations, residents, government agencies, elected officials, healthcare organizations and other stakeholders to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, which seriously exacerbated existing racial and other disparities in Little Village, and support the most vulnerable community members.

Nuques is a member of the City of Chicago’s Racial Equity Rapid Response Steering Committee, the Board of Directors of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Latino Policy Forum and its Illinois Latino Agenda, the Second Federal Bank Advisory Council, and the Board of Directors of Sinai Health System. She is also a Co-Chair for the citywide planning initiative “We Will Chicago,” and a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow. Nuques graduated with honors from the Universidad de Guayaquil, with a degree in Economic Science, and holds an MSA in International and Community Development from Andrews University.