One Man's Quest to Improve the Chicago Community

Ric Estrada has spent his career as a leader in social and human services in Chicago.

Improving the Chicago community has always been at the forefront of Ric Estrada's career.

Estrada spent two decades as a leader in social and human services in Chicago and brought his expertise in strategic planning and management to many of Chicago's organizations.

Estrada received his educational background in social services and business from some of Chicago's top universities. He has a B.S. in Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago, an M.A. in Social Service Policy and Administration from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Educating Chicago's youth is something Estrada has been involved with for many years. He served as the Associate Executive Director at Latino Youth, Inc. in Chicago and as a professor at Saint Augustine College.

Supporting Chicago families and the homeless has been a large focus of Estrada's career. He served as First Deputy Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services. At DFSS he developed strategies to strengthen the program's services and directed the department's emergency services division.

In 1992, Estrada began his professional career at Metropolitan Family Services, at the time called United Charities, as a graduate policy intern. In March of this year, he was named President and CEO of MFS, which is considered one of the largest human service agencies in the city.

Estrada received many awards for his involvement in the Chicago community, including the City Club of Chicago John A. McDermott Award of Distinguished Social Leadership, the Citibank Hispanic Heritage Award and in 2002 was selected as one of Crain's Chicago Business' "40 under 40."

This year, Estrada has expanded his leadership in Chicago and in March was appointed to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Transition Committee for Social Services and Health care. He was also named a Trustee of the University of Illinois in January.

Today Estrada is a sought-after speaker and addresses global and local audiences on a variety of issues working to provide a better future for communities.

Contact Us