Claudia Guzman: Championing Civic Voice, Representation, and Community Power

Title: Director of Community Engagement

Organization: Office of the Mayor, City of Chicago

Age: 37

Claudia Guzman is a strategic, fearless, and community-rooted leader shaping the future of Latino civic engagement in Chicago. She currently serves as Director of Community Engagement in the Office of the Mayor, where she ensures that Latino and immigrant communities are not only invited into City Hall but are culturally and institutionally represented and heard.

Claudia’s historic accomplishments include creating Chicago’s first-ever Mexican Engagement Council, a formally established body that has created a goal to ensure Mexican community voices are represented in the civic life of the city and strengthen a sense of belonging across Chicago. Claudia also staffs the City’s AAPI Engagement Council, strengthening trust and representation for historically marginalized communities.

She co-leads the City’s annual budget engagement process, mobilizing hundreds of residents through surveys, roundtables, and citywide meetings to ensure public investments in safety, housing, youth programs, and small business support reflect lived realities. During crises, Claudia has demonstrated hands-on leadership, including coordinating efforts to contain a measles outbreak at the Halsted Shelter and leading engagement initiatives that reopened long-advocated mental health clinics in Roseland and Pilsen.

Beyond policy, Claudia reinforces Chicago’s cultural fabric by coordinating major City Hall celebrations. As the City’s Director of Community Engagement, Claudia played a key role on the City side in helping bring El Grito back to Chicago after a 10-year hiatus, coordinating City support to ensure the celebration could take place. Prior to the Mayor’s Office, she led grassroots fundraising exceeding $120,000, expanded digital engagement by 135%, and directed Latino voter mobilization strategies with measurable outcomes.

Claudia builds systems for voice, access, and accountability, connecting decision-makers directly with neighborhoods and centering dignity in governance. Her visionary leadership and measurable impact make her a standout candidate for the Negocios Now 40 Under 40 Chicago cohort.