About

Pilsen Neighbors

Community Council

Pilsen Neighbors Community Council organizes, engages and activates people and resources to positively address community issues facing Pilsen- most notably in the areas of education, housing, healthcare, social justice and immigration reform. Pilsen Neighbors provides leadership training that empowers organizations and members of the community to effectively advocate for themselves, their families and for the benefit of the community as a whole. For more than 60 years Pilsen Neighbors Community Council has served as a resource and advocate for the Pilsen community.

Our History

In 1954, on Chicago’s near west side, PNCC emerged as Eastern European immigrants banded together to confront their community’s most pressing needs. In the late sixties and early seventies, the Pilsen neighborhood underwent a major demographic change with a dramatic influx of newly arriving immigrants from Mexico. These new arrivals transformed the Pilsen community.

Throughout its history, PNCC has worked with businesses who recognize Pilsen as a fertile marketplace, as well as educators, the community and government, to improve the health and welfare to the community. In particular, PNCC has sought to give voice to neighbors who might not otherwise have the knowledge or power to achieve their collective goals.

PNCC has been instrumental in bringing new institutions and capital improvements to the neighborhood. These include:

Allocation and construction of Benito Juarez High School
Allocation and construction of Harrison Park Field House
Allocation and construction of the West Side Technical Institute, a new City College opening in the spring of 1996
Allocation of $26 million in city infrastructure funds between 1995-1999
Planning and development of Alivio Medical Center, a not-for-profit community health center located in the Heart of Chicago and serving Pilsen, Little Village, and Berwyn.

Since 1973, when PNCC first organized a fundraising event to celebrate the construction of Benito Juarez High School, we have been partially supported by our summer event, Fiesta Del Sol. The Fiesta brought 1 million people to the neighborhood in 1995 to enjoy Latino music, food, and entertainment. In 2022, PNCC celebrated the 50 years of Fiesta del Sol.

How we serve Our Community

Organizing

Organizing people, organizations and resources to positively impact the community- most notably in the areas of education, housing, healthcare, social justice and immigration reform.

Serving

Serving as a resource, connecting individuals and organizations to effectively take on the issues affecting the Pilsen community.

Training

Training, supporting and holding community leaders accountable to reaching their goals for personal and community improvement.

Relationships

Leverages relationships and connections built over more than 60 years of working in the community to affect positive change.

MEET OUR STAFF

Juan F. Soto

Executive Director

Juan F. Soto is the Executive Director of Gamaliel of Metro Chicago, Gamaliel of Illinois and Gamaliel Network’s Director of the Civil Rights for Immigrant Department. Juan is also a senior trainer for the Gamaliel Network and mentors and trains organizers at the local and national level. He oversees Fiesta del Sol, the largest four day Mexican cultural event that draws in over 1.3 million people annually. Fiesta Del Sol is the largest, free family orientated, non-alcohol and tobacco-free festival in the U.S. Fiesta has been an economic engine that has supported the creation of entrepreneurship for many small business owners.

Alejandra Guerrero

Special Projects Coordinator

Alejandra Guerrero was born in sunny and beautiful Acapulco, Mexico. She immigrated to the United States when she was twelve years old. She lived in the South and North Side of Chicago with her parents and two sisters. Alejandra graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and Spanish and a minor in French. Alejandra’s career has been mostly with nonprofits serving underserved youth and their families in Miami, Florida; Omaha, Nebraska; and Washington, D. C. She served as a liaison between youth, their families, community organizations, service providers and the judiciary system focusing on implementation and compliance of services while encouraging and teaching youth & parents to be their own advocates. Alejandra advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and is passionate about human rights. She enjoys swimming, spending time with family and friends and traveling.

Myrna Melendez

Office Manager/Financial Analyst

Myrna is from Chihuahua, Mexico with experience in administrative and community service. From 2009 to 2016 under the Making Home Affordable® program as part of the Obama Administration, she worked for legal identities to assist homeowners reduce their monthly mortgages and avoid foreclosures. Myrna has knowledge in providing financial and leadership workshops for underserved Spanish speaking communities and has experience in project management, conflict resolution and accounting by assisting Human Resources departments. She’s had previous involvement in non-profit organizing as coordinator and instructor, where she led teams that provided workshops, lectures, and after school activities for Chicago Public Schools and suburbans Schools as well. Myrna has been involved with the cultural Latino community by participating in Mexican folklore dancing and theater performances by helping coordinate productions shows and plays.