Odalis Arcadio: Advancing Latinx Leadership and Community Impact

Title: Senior Associate of Community Engagement and Government Affairs

Organization: Obama Foundation

Age: 27

Odalis is a dedicated professional first-generation Latina, and is a proud native of Chicago. She currently serves as a Senior Associate of Community Engagement and Government Affairs at the Obama Foundation. In this role, Odalis is instrumental in shaping the organization’s Chicago impact and the strategy for the Obama Presidential Center. She achieves this by cultivating meaningful relationships, gathering input from essential stakeholders, and working across departments to ensure this community feedback is integrated into the Foundation’s work. Her specific focus areas include enhancing Latinx engagement and youth outreach. She also manages the Obama Youth Job Corps Internship program, a partnership with Urban Alliance that delivers workforce readiness training to 10th and 11th graders on Chicago’s South Side.

With expertise in public affairs, multicultural leadership, and grassroots outreach, Odalis is a multifaceted professional. She excels at building strategic partnerships, advocating for the interests of underrepresented communities, and implementing initiatives that deliver measurable results. Her core mission is to bridge legislative policy and community engagement to drive systemic change at both the local and national levels. Odalis’s commitment to public service centers on prioritizing communities and striving to create a better future for the next generation.

Odalis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice from North Park University. Demonstrating her commitment to continuous leadership development, she is an alumnus of the 2024 Latino Policy Forum’s Multicultural Leadership Academy cohort and the 2025 Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) of Chicago Leadership Institute. Currently, she is a participant in the first cohort of Chicago Latine’s in Philanthropy’s (CLIP) Colibri Fellowship, an experience designed to advance equity, foster cross-cultural relationship building, and help participants navigate organizational dynamics.

Furthermore, Odalis contributes to local organizations, serving as the Membership Committee chair on La Casa Norte’s Next Generation Board and as a member of the Instituto Del Progreso Latino Associate Board.