OUR TEAM
JASON ESTREMERA | Executive Director
jestremera@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: he/him/él
Jason Estremera is the Executive Director of the Northwest Side CDC where he provides organizational leadership, budget oversight, and administrative management.
Before joining the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation in 2020, Jason served the Portage Park community as Executive Director for the Six Corners Association.
Jason is a born and raised Chicagoan, but after earning his Bachelors of Science at Northern Illinois University, Jason worked with J.P. Morgan Chase and a merger brought Jason to Cleveland, Ohio, for 10 years. There, he graduated from Cleveland State University with his Masters of Business Administration. and soon after began his career in nonprofit when he was recruited to be the Associate Director of the Hispanic Business Center.
During this time, Jason also opened a social enterprise that supported youth in the Cleveland foster care program, created and performed in Cleveland’s first Latinx theater company, and cohosted a local Latinx television show. Jason moved back to Chicago in the fall of 2019 after spending 10 years in Cleveland.
A recent recipient of the 2021 CIBC Emerging Leadership Award and an Aspen Institute Fellow, Jason is also a proud member of the 2022 Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation Leadership Academy.
Jason enjoys spending his free time reading, practicing yoga, and traveling. If he started his own business, he would open an un-pretentious, affordable neighborhood bar with classic cocktails and bar food.
KELLY PYZIK | Grants and Communication Manager
kpyzik@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: they/them/elle
As Grants and Communication Manager, Kelly’s job is to tell the story of NWSCDC’s work to our partners, funders, and community and keep them updated on our progress and successes through grant proposals, our quarterly newsletter, and other communications. They support the organization in a behind-the-scenes capacity, ensuring that there is consistent, sustainable funding for all of the important services that NWSCDC provides to the Belmont Cragin and Greater Chicago communities.
Kelly’s education and training is originally in journalism and English literature, through which they honed their research and storytelling abilities. They graduated from DePaul University with a Master of Arts in Journalism, but shortly after decided to move into grant writing and non-profit development because they wanted to actively advocate for a good cause through their writing. Since joining NWSCDC, they have helped to secure more than $500K in grant funding, including a federal Community and Economic Development Planning Grant.
If Kelly started their own business, they would open a late-night coffee shop with bubble tea, a back patio, and lots of tables for people to read, write, make art, and spend time together.
DALY ROLDAN | Finance and Operations Manager
mroldan@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: she/her/ella
Daly joined the NWSCDC team this February in the new role of Finance and Operations Manager. She now oversees payroll, invoicing, budgets, allocations, and expenses. Daly came to us from Northwest Housing Center, where she worked for 14 years. She has been a resident of Belmont Cragin for 30 years and she grew up in the Wicker Park area.
Daly always wants to continue learning. Despite spending 14 years at Northwest Center, she never felt that the time moved slowly because she kept taking on new roles and learning new skills. Her transition to NWSCDC was motivated by the opportunity to continue developing her financial management skills and learn more about non-profit administration. If Daly were going to open her own small business, she would open a dance studio that offers all different kinds of Latin dance classes.
FRANK MIZHQUIRI | Lead Ambassador
fmizhquiri@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: he/him/él
Frank started working for NWSCDC as a member of the Belmont Cragin Corridor Ambassadors team, and after showing his strengths and talent for leadership, he took on the role of Lead Ambassador. The Corridor Ambassadors are a non-police safety presence and support system for the neighborhood. They patrol the main corridors of Belmont Cragin and engage with small business owners and community members in a personal, face to face manner, connecting them with resources and offering help in any way that is needed.
Frank previously worked in retail and management all over the city. When he applied to join the Ambassadors team, he was seeking something new and different, and he feels that he has learned a variety of new skills in this role and grown his passion for helping his community. In his work, Frank is motivated by supporting small businesses and finding additional, innovative ways that his team can help our community.
If Frank started his own business, he would open an affordable fitness gym in Belmont Cragin.
JESSICA VAZQUEZ | Business Advisor
jvazquez@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: she/her/ella
As a Business Advisor, Jessica is responsible for providing financial and strategic advice to micro, small and mid-sized businesses to help their businesses start, grow, and prosper. A priority for Jessica is to foster a strong climate for local small business growth by providing in-depth, confidential business counseling and training, and resource and referral services to Northwest Side and Belmont Cragin small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Over the last 5 years, Jessica has worked with over 300+ small business owners on Chicago’s Northwest side to provide assistance through business consultations on opening a business, writing business plans, creating marketing plans, providing financial literacy, going through city licensing, and accessing capital.
Jessica lives on the Northwest Side and received her Bachelors of Arts and Science from Northeastern Illinois University. If she were to open her own business, she would start an industrial psychology consulting firm.
MARIA RIVERA-ORTIZ | Business Resource Coordinator
mortiz@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: she/her/ella
Helping business owners grow and thrive is Maria’s forte. She connects entrepreneurs with resources related to permits, finance, buying a storefront and building their operational capacity. Maria has been with the Northwest Side Housing Center- and now the NWSCDC- for six years, where she has helped foster organizational growth.
If Maria started her own business, she would open a Puerto Rican restaurant with weekly cooking classes for youth.
CESAR ESCOBAR | Business Resource Coordinator
cescobar@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: he/him/él
As a Business Resource Coordinator, Cesar helps connect businesses with resources such as training opportunities, grants, and business loans. An important part of his role is to make phone calls and in-person visits to business owners, developing personal relationships and providing a supportive presence out in the community. This past year, Cesar was instrumental in successfully organizing our first music festival, “¡Gritos de Independencia!” which featured food and musical performances from different Latinx cultures at 10 small businesses across Belmont Cragin.
Cesar graduated from Robert Morris University with a Bachelors of Science in Business Management and then worked in the mortgage industry for more than 10 years. He chose to join NWSCDC because he was looking to do something different that would help the Belmont Cragin community.
If Cesar started his own business, he would want to open either a boutique with exclusive clothing and shoe lines or a restaurant with a menu full of authentic dishes from all different Hispanic countries.
GLORIA MALDONADO | Rental Resource Coordinator
gmaldonado@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: she/her/ella
As a Rental Resource Coordinator, Gloria provides one-on-one counseling to community members, connecting them with housing-related information and resources. She also helps to facilitate housing resource events and Rental Rights workshops. Before joining NWSCDC, Gloria was working as a Senior Project Coordinator at the Spanish Coalition for Housing, where she received the Employee of the Year award in 2022.
In her work, Gloria is driven by the needs of the community – she sees the way that Brown and Black community members have not been educated on best practices in fair housing, housing discrimination, etc, and wishes that her own parents had access to more of the resources available today. She feels best when she is assisting a client and is able to connect them with a resource that helps them or guides them in the right direction.
When Gloria is not supporting our community with housing resources at NWSCDC, she likes to spend time with her children and grandchildren, go bowling, or work on crafts and sewing projects. If she started her own business, Gloria would open a therapeutic spa with massage, yoga, reiki, and other holistic healing services.
KARINA AGUILAR | Rental Resource Coordinator
kaguilar@northwestsidecdc.org
prounouns: she/her/ella
As our Rental Intake Specialist, Karina has been focused since December 2022 on supporting asylum-seeking new arrivals in need of housing and rental assistance. She also provides education on the cultural differences of living in the U.S. and fair housing. She previously worked at Northwest Center as a member of the Chicago Connected Team during the pandemic.
Karina originally connected with NWC when she was looking for support as a landlord. She was moved by the kind and professional attention that she received. She took on the new challenge of working in Rental Counseling because she personally understands the need for a reliable source of information and education for Spanish-speaking immigrants, as well as the fear and mistrust that can make it difficult to ask for assistance.
Karina likes to spend her free time with her family and friends, watching movies and eating nachos. If she started her own business, she would want to open a thrift store. She sees a thrift store that sells quality secondhand items at an affordable price as a valuable contribution to the neighborhood which is also good for the environment.