Sylvia Puente AM 1990

Building Bridges for the Latino Community

Sylvia Puente, AM’90 says she is doing her life’s work. In Spanish, the word “puente” translates to “bridge.” And as the director of the Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiative at the University of Notre Dame, Puente often spends time building bridges—between the local Latino population and civic leaders, policymakers, and philanthropists—in an effort to foster a better understanding of the Chicago Latino community.

“I finally figured out … that God gave me this name for a reason,” she said with a smile.

Last winter, Puente devised the idea of hosting a series of roundtable meetings focused on the Latino residents of Chicago suburbs. These populations have experienced tremendous growth over the last several years, yet local communities are often ill equipped to incorporate the immigrants. Each meeting brought together leaders from the Latino, civic, business, school, and faith worlds. She said, “It was really fascinating because I had them all at the table, talking to people that they are usually not in conversation with.”

They tackled issues including Latino contributions to the community, challenges related to housing and education, and the need for improved social services. From these discussions, Puente and her colleagues developed a report of their findings and recommendations for helping immigrants. Puente and her team are now visiting area cities and towns to discuss the report with community leaders.

After spending time in the business world, it was during her year-long fellowship in the Illinois governor’s office that Puente realized a policy degree was perfect for her.

“Public policy really is the framework for how you understand vital issues and make systemic change,” she said. “And given my interests, my gifts, and what I’m good at, I felt like that was the [right] fit.”

On the one hand, a policy career was a way to go against the common stereotype of Mexican women. She said, “My way of being a revolutionary was to go and be all the things society didn’t have in store for women that looked like me.” But on a personal level, she explained that working on Latino issues was a way to promote her sense of self and belonging.

Now Puente said that the most rewarding part about her job is also the most frustrating part—her job as a bridge builder provides knowledge on a range of issues, but does not always allow for the depth she would like. But, she quickly points out that there are far more positives to her role than negatives. “I have this breadth, I have all these projects that I am involved in, and I am at [a] point in my career where I am recognized and established enough that people listen to me.” And there are many issues left that Puente would like to tackle.