LEADERSHIP

MARICELA GARCÍA
Chief Executive Officer

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Maricela García is the Chief Executive Officer of Gads Hill Center, a community based organization founded in 1898 that creates opportunities for children and their families to build better lives through education, access to resources, and community engagement. Ms. García has more than twenty years of experience in nonprofit management leading organizations through start-up, turnaround, and expansion.

Ms. García is the former Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and founding Executive Director of the Latino Policy Forum. Prior to Gads Hill Center, she was the Director of Capacity Building and Juvenile Justice Policy at the National Council of La Raza, now named UnidosUS.

Ms. García came to the United States in the early 1980s as a result of the war in Guatemala. After her arrival in the U.S., she founded Casa Guatemala to assist newly arriving refugees and later co-founded Women for Guatemala, an organization dedicated to building solidarity among women in the U.S. with emerging women's organizations in Guatemala. As a member of the Peace and Justice Committee, she engaged the international community in monitoring and upholding human rights in Guatemala by advocating at the United Nations General Assembly and Committees during the 1980s.

Ms. García has served on various boards and councils including the National Immigration Forum, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Northwestern University Human Rights Center, the Chicago Community Renewal Society, Illinois Partners for Human Services, and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. 

​Ms. García holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Northeastern University and a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition, she was a policy fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Ms. García has been the recipient of several fellowships and awards, including the Chicago Community Trust Senior Leader Fellowship, National Hispana Leadership Institute Fellowship, Leadership Greater Chicago Fellowship, Latinos of the Southwest Excellence in Leadership Award, and Casa Guatemala Human Rights Award. In 2001, Chicago Woman Magazine nominated Ms. García as one of the 100 most prominent leaders making a difference in the quality of life of Chicagoans. The same year, she received the Bannerman Fellowship, which allowed her to study the correlation between economic development and migration in Mexico, Central America, and the United States. More recently, the Latino Policy Forum awarded Ms. Garcia in 2015 with the Champion of Change Award; that year, she was also presented with the Community Service Award for Tireless Service to the Latino Community at the 13th Annual Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation (ILLCF) Conference.

Ms. García has two children who are the inspiration of her life: Daniella and Camilo.  

ERNESTO DE LA TORRE
Chief Financial Officer

With more than 15 years experience in financial non-profit management, Mr. De La Torre currently is Gads Hills Center's Chief Financial Officer. Mr. De La Torre joined Gads Hill Center in 1999 as an accounting assistant. During the last eight years, Mr. De La Torre has held positions with increasing accounting and financial responsibilities. In addition, he has provided training to other nonprofit organizations on topics such as financial management, internal control, cost savings, budgeting and financial reporting. Mr. De La Torre received his B.A. in Accounting from the University of Guadalajara.

GUADALUPE PRESTON
Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Preston is a first generation Chicago native. Born to Mexican and Polish immigrant parents, Ms. Preston grew up in a tri-cultural environment with strong family ties to both sides of her immigrant family, traveling often to Mexico and Poland. Ms. Preston has a B.A. from Northwestern University, a J.D. from Loyola University School of Law, and a M.S. in Public Service Management from DePaul University. She has worked in legal services with migrant farm workers and on several consent decrees involving public benefits and language rights. Her prior work experience also includes working at MALDEF; the Illinois Department of Public Aid as head of their Latino Relations unit; and subsequently the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago overseeing workforce and early childhood programs then later advancing to a senior member position of the CEO’s cabinet.

Ms. Preston’s most recent experience is as the Regional Director for the SER companies in Illinois, which focus on workforce development and education initiatives with after school programs and youth at risk. Ms. Preston is the current board president for the Chicago Jobs Council and is a gubernatorial appointment to the Advisory Council for Illinois Hispanic Employment. She also sits on the boards of the IFF and the Second Federal Advisory Council. She has received several awards for her volunteer efforts including the 2014 St. Patrick High School Theater Parent Involvement Genesius Award, the 2014 Community Service award from the Illinois Association of Hispanic State Employees, and the 2016 LULAC Community Advocate. A single parent to a college age son, Lupe is an avid runner who is training for her 24th marathon as a charity runner.

​ROSA JULIA GARCIA RIVERA
Director of Programs

Ms. Garcia Rivera is an Illinois state Licensed Clinical Professional Therapist with over 20 years of culturally competent clinical experience in the mental health services field. She has worked as a mental health consultant since 2002, and is the owner and operator of Rivera Mental Health Consultants, a firm specializing in mental health-related strategies that provides services to schools and mental health agencies. In 2016, she became the Director of Mental Health and Youth Services at Gads Hill Center. Ms. Garcia Rivera received her Bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University, and her Master’s degree in Counseling Education from Northeastern University. With a concentration in child and adolescent therapy, as well as a depth of knowledge in trauma-focused therapy, Ms. Garcia Rivera has extensive experience in the treatment of adults, adolescents and children with a variety of severe psychological, emotional and behavioral disorders. She also serves as a Clinical Supervisor to other mental health professionals and students in various settings, has taught Master's level courses, and is currently an adjunct professor at Erikson Institute. She works systemically, taking a non-judgmental, strengths-based approach, to create desired change and emotional growth, helping individuals and systems build internal social emotional capacity.
 
Ms. Garcia Rivera is continually motivated by her husband Danny and two children, Vida Rosa and Gael Ruben.