Negocios Now

www.negociosnow.com Junio 2021 17 S U B U R BS CHICAGO'S CHICAGO'S S U B U R BS 1 1 McDonald's career in 1995 as a crew person working at her family's first McDonald's restaurant in Harwood Heights, Illinois. She became an approved owner operator in 2009. She is serving her third term on the McDonald's Owner Operators of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Marketing board and is also a member of the McDonald's Hispanic Owner Operator Association. During her 25-year career, Herrera has helped grow the family business to its current size of 13 restaurants with 550 employees. WAUKEGAN SILVIA CHACON AGENT American Family Insurance WAUKEGAN Chacon has been an agent with American Family Insurance for 15 years. She grew her business into a successful agency specializing in home, auto, life, and commercial insurance. This success has earned her numerous awards including, Top Producer, Agent of the Year, Gold Key Agent, American Star Certified Agency, and Centurion Level, a designation for the most- accomplished agents. She is a graduate of DePaul University and a resident of Waukegan, and strives to provide career opportunities for her community. CLAUDIA PICCOLO DENTIST Family Dental Care WAUKEGAN Family Dental Care, located in Waukegan and Chicago, was opened 30 years ago by José Villa, a prosthodontist and professor at Loyola University. Claudia Piccolo joined the practice as an associate in 2012. Piccolo practices with Family Dental Care in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois Dental School in Chicago and completed a three-year fellowship in dental implants. She has managed several dental offices in Chicagoland, and directed the Spanish course for dental professionals through the Hispanic Student Dental Association. JOSE RODRIGUEZ CO-OWNER Rodriguez Home Inspectors WAUKEGAN Rodriguez has lived in Lake County for 17 years. He worked as an electrician in the maintenance department of a factory, but in 2002 felt pulled towards a different path. He became a home inspector and started his own business in partnership with his younger brother Efrain. Through Rodriguez Home Inspectors he has helped educate thousands of home buyers during the home inspection process. In December 2010 he received a community service award from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. LUCY TORRES FRANCHISE OWNER Express Employment Professionals WAUKEGAN Torres has been a franchise owner since 2011 and brings more than 20 years of human resources and recruiting experience to her work. Her experience includes recruiting for Fortune 500 companies. In 2016, Torres earned the Hispanic Business of the Year Award in Lake County from the Illinois Small Business Development Center. In order to meet the needs of the Hispanic workforce in Lake County, the Waukegan office staff is fully bilingual in Spanish. WESTCHESTER LOURDES MARTINEZ FOUNDER Agsant Agency Corp. WESTCHESTER Martinez started Agsant in 2011, focusing on business to business insurance solutions. When the pandemic slowed business, she expanded her focus to offer liability insurance, workers comp, and additional products. She joined the insurance industry, and in Chicago found her biggest clients were the people who lived in the Cabrini-Green housing project. Without realizing the danger, she kept working and made a good start on her career. When someone pointed out it was a dangerous place, she decided to focus on business-to- business accounts. WILMETTE ALEJANDRO URZAGASTE President North Shore Music WILMETTE Urzagaste is a professional guitarist and composer who has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival three times, toured the nation with different acts, and been a featured artist with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. North Shore Music was founded in 2016 as a music lessons and retail store in Wilmette. He decided to offer lessons and retail after teaching in businesses and private programs including Ravinia Reach Teach Play and the Thelonious Monk institute. The La Michoacana story began in Tacatzcuaro Michoacan in the late 1930s with Andrade's uncle Roberto Andrade, who founded the business. Cousins Marco and Rafael Andrade expanded to Mexico City. The company grew, became well known, and in 2008 Marco opened the first U.S. store in Aurora, Illinois. Andrade and his brother Chon were invited by Marco to help expand the company in the United States. Thanks to the high quality and flavor of the products, made with the original recipe, both Americans and Latinos appreciate the taste. Today the company has more than 79 branches with seven more stores opening this year. The COVID pandemic required the company to adapt to a new normal and create systems using the best health standards to serve customers because it is only thanks to them that La Michoacana continues working and generating the jobs that workers depend on for support of their families. WAUKEGAN Daniel Andrade - Marco Andrade La Michoacana Premium

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