Hosts and Guests
Mistress of Ceremonies
Tanja Babich
Anchor/Reporter at ABC 7 Chicago
Tanja Babich anchors ABC 7 Chicago’s Eyewitness News in the Morning every weekday from 4:30AM until 7AM and again from 11AM until noon.
The Emmy Award-winning anchor brings a wealth of morning news experience and a rich cultural perspective to Chicago viewers. Tanja is the Canadian-born daughter to immigrant parents from Chile and Serbia. She came to the U.S. as a first-generation college student and proudly spoke about her heritage and living the “American Dream” when she became a United States citizen in April 2013.
Tanja is dedicated to improving the lives of Chicagoans through storytelling, bringing awareness to deserving causes and organizations. She is a board member of HFS Chicago Scholars, which provides financial and mentoring support to deserving area high school students. She is also the founder of Lake Affect Chicago, a kids camping retreat in partnership with The Wood Family Foundation and Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, WI.
Tanja has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in Government and a Master of Science degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Babich lives in Chicago with her husband and three daughters.
Lifetime Achievement Award
•• Presented to ••
U.S. Senator Dick DurbIn
Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield, is the 47th U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois, the state’s senior senator, and the convener of Illinois’ bipartisan congressional delegation.
Durbin also serves as the Senate Democratic Whip, the second highest ranking position among the Senate Democrats. Senator Durbin has been elected to this leadership post by his Democratic colleagues every two years since 2005.
Durbin serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and sits on the Appropriations and Agriculture Committees.
Elected to the U.S. Senate on November 5, 1996, and re-elected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020, Durbin fills the seat left vacant by the retirement of his long-time friend and mentor, U.S. Senator Paul Simon.
Senator Durbin makes approximately 50 round trips a year between Washington and Illinois. He is married to Loretta Schaefer Durbin. Their family consists of three children–Christine (deceased), Paul, and Jennifer–as well as six grandchildren. They reside in Springfield.
Carmen Velásquez Warrior Award
•• Presented to ••
Congressman Jesús “Chuy” Garcia
The Carmen Velásquez Warrior Award is presented to an individual whose leadership, tenacity, and drive, embody the (warrior) spirit of Alivio’s founder, Ms. Carmen Velásquez, and whose contributions serve to improve the health and lives of Alivio’s communities.
U.S. Representative Jesús G. “Chuy” García proudly represents the Fourth Congressional District of Illinois. He was sworn into office on January 3, 2019, during the 116th Congress.
Throughout his career, Congressman García has been a progressive voice fighting to improve the lives of his working-class neighbors, many of whom are immigrants like him. He is a coalition builder committed to empowering youth and expanding access to quality education, affordable housing, and economic opportunity.
He serves as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the Congressional Equality Caucus, Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, and New Americans Caucus. He is also the founder the Future of Transportation Caucus.
Congressman García was born in Los Pinos, a small village in the Mexican state of Durango. He is the youngest of four children raised by his mother while his father worked in the United States, first under the WWII-era bracero program and later at a cold-storage plant in Chicago. In 1965, Congressman García and his family immigrated to the United States with permanent resident status. He still remembers his first American meal: a bologna sandwich from a roadside diner in Texas.
Prior to his election to Congress in November of 2018, Congressman García was a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. As Commissioner, he opposed housing discrimination against disadvantaged communities, raised the minimum wage, and mandated that County employees have access to paid sick leave. He also passed an ordinance ending Cook County’s cooperation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). The measure was the first of its kind in the nation and set an example followed by more than 250 localities.
Congressman García began organizing for workers’ rights and more inclusive city services during his college years at University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC). He first entered political life in 1984, when he was elected Committeeman of the Cook County Democratic Party. He quickly earned recognition as a coalition builder between Chicago’s Latino and African American communities.
Soon afterward, Congressman García was elected to represent Chicago’s 22nd Ward on the City Council. During his time as Alderman, Congressman García prevented non-attorney immigration practitioners from levying unreasonable fees. In 1986, he became the Chairman for the Council’s Committee on Aviation, where he helped implement the Automated Guideway Transit (ATG) at O’Hare International Airport.
Mr. García also served as State Senator of Illinois’ 1st District. In 1993, he passed the Language Assistance Services Act, which requires hospitals and long-term care facilities to provide resources for effective communication with limited-English-speaking and deaf patients.
In 2015, Congressman García became the first Chicago mayoral candidate to push a sitting mayor into a run-off.
Congressman García still lives in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago with his beloved wife Evelyn and has three adult children.
Una Presencia Activa Award
•• Presented to ••
Antonio R. Guillen
SVP— Market President/Business Development,
Wintrust Bank, Pilsen, Little Village, & Logan Square
Antonio R Guillen serves as SVP of Business Development for Wintrust Bank Pilsen/Little Village & Logan Square. Antonio has over 35 years’ experience in the banking industry. Antonio’s expertise is business banking, specifically lending to small to medium size businesses and commercial real estate financing and development. Antonio spends much of his out in the field building relationships and supporting Community Organizations; his vast experience allows him to guide and mentor many local businesses. Antonio also serves as the President of the Hispanic Bankers Association (HBA) and currently serves on several other boards including Little Village Chamber of Commerce (LVCC), Humboldt Park Health (HPH), Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), Alivio Medical Center, Bernie Mac Foundation (BMF), and is a Member of the Latino Advisory Council (LAC) for Catholic Charites, he is a past Board Member of many other non-for-profits. Antonio is a Chicago native and married with five children, he joined Wintrust in July of 2010.
Patient Advocate Champion Award
•• Presented to ••
Akil Ghoghawala, RPh, PharmD
Akil Ghoghawala, PharmD graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy in 2000 and has spent the past two decades building something rare — a pharmacy program rooted in genuine community. As one of the founding pharmacist of Alivio Medical Center’s pharmacy services, Dr. Ghoghawala helped establish and expand the 340B drug discount program across multiple locations, ensuring tens of thousands of patients monthly — many uninsured or underinsured — could access medications their circumstances would otherwise put out of reach. He extended that reach to Alivio’s western and Berwyn locations and directly to school-based clinics through medication delivery. For Dr. Ghoghawala, none of this was ever just a job. Inspired by the founding vision of Carmen Velasquez and the enduring dedication of Esther Corpus, he found in Alivio’s patients and staff something he didn’t expect — a second family. And for twenty years, they have felt exactly the same way about him.