www.negociosnow.com
53 March 2022
Age: 35
Title: Director of Strategy &
Operations
Name of Organization: Allies for
Community Business
Isabel Vélez Diez is the direc-
tor of operations and strategy at
Allies for Community Business,
where she previously served as
the director of strategic initiati-
ves. In her current role, she deve-
lops, implements, and monitors
day-to-day operational systems
and processes that provide visi-
bility into organizational goals,
progress, and challenges.
In 2020, in response to the
pandemic, Allies for Community
Business partnered with various
government entities to disburse
over $600 million in emergency
funds to small business owners
across Illinois. Velez Diez, while
still performing her regular job
duties, quickly pivoted to colla
-
borating with government agen-
cies to determine eligibility re-
quirements, design applications,
review processes, and funding
processes for the grant programs
in order to quickly and properly
disburse the emergency funds.
Working with and hearing
from small businesses owners
suffering during a critical time
energized her during the long
workdays. "It was also incredibly
helpful to learn from them what
process improvements would
make future programs more ac-
cessible and equitable to diffe-
rent communities," she said.
Prior to her roles at Allies for
Community Business, Vélez Diez
was an assistant planner at the
city of Chicago Department of
Planning and Development whe-
re she worked closely with policy-
makers to create neighborhood
development initiatives and
affordable housing policy.
Vélez Diez was born and rai-
sed in Puerto Rico and moved to
Chicago in 2013. She received a
bachelor's degree architecture
from the Polytechnic Universi-
ty of Puerto Rico and received a
master's degree in Public Policy
from Loyola University.
She lives in the Humboldt
Park neighborhood of Chicago
with her dog Obi. In her spare
time, she likes to sew and travel.
Isabel C.
Velez Diez
Helping
business
focus
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"W
ork towards systemic change
can be overwhelming. Smaller
organizations can very impactful, and it's
important to value their local efforts.
It has been very rewarding and
encouraging to be part of this community."
