Meet Marcelino
Marcelino Garcia is an attorney with an expertise in local and international governments, healthcare and community affairs.
is a public servant who has spent years helping people address their legal difficulties through his public interest law work. He also works arduously to bring resources to communities and people to ensure their economic and health development.
Currently, Marcelino is the Director of Community Affairs for the Cook County Health & Hospitals System, the nation’s third largest public health system. He is also a Partner with Overseas Strategies, LLC an international business development consulting firm that helps small and medium sized companies with the logistics of import and export and market development.
An attorney by training, he is devoted to public service having worked in leadership roles at not-for-profits and governmental entities. Through his legal work at the Chicago Legal Clinic, he was able to help clients deal with mortgage foreclosures, domestic relations, bankruptcy, and immigration matters. As a legislative liaison at the Chicago Park District, he witnessed first-hand the harmful effects that water can have on communities’ health when not treated properly. He understands the value of conservation and preserving resources and the environment.
Marcelino worked with management and budgets at the State of Illinois to ensure that entities run properly and to avoid waste at all cost. His work also focuses on ensuring that Chicago and Cook County are recognized as a true international city with the many different business and cultural attributes that the city and region have to offer. Marcelino has many years of international business development experience having worked as Senior Manager of International Relations for Chicago 2016 the Olympic Candidacy Committee and as Assistant Managing Director of the Illinois Office of Trade and Investment (OTI) where he worked with Illinois companies looking to export to new markets in the Americas, Africa and the Middle East.
Marcelino is a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He earned his J.D. from Northwestern University and his Bachelor's Degree from Dartmouth College. He is fluent in English and Spanish and is proficient in French, Italian, and Portuguese. An avid traveler, as he likes to visit new and interesting places to experience the world’s societies. He is an avid skier, swimmer and gourmand and enjoys interacting with people from all over the world.
Joanne directs policy research, relationships with external government offices and nonprofits, and overall strategy to engage with diverse communities. Throughout her career, Joanne has focused on designing innovative environmental and education projects. Previously, she was Director of Strategic Initiatives at Friends of the Chicago River. Appointed by Governor Pritzker, she currently serves on the board of the Great Lakes Protection Fund. Joanne hails from Beantown where she received her undergraduate degree in Economics from Boston University. To contact Joanne, please email DillJ@mwrd.org.
Daniel Stralka came to the MWRD after serving as the Executive Director of the Illinois Civil Service Commission for 17 years. In that position, he managed the daily operation of the Commission which safeguards the rights of 47,000 State employees. Prior to that Dan worked for the Property Tax Appeal Board, the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County as the Associate Clerk for Human Resources, and as an associate attorney with the firm of Davis & Cichorski engaged in the general practice of law. Dan is a lifelong resident of Chicago who lives in Norwood Park with his wife Carol and rescue dog Chessie. He stays active biking, golfing and participating in a wide variety of outdoor activities.
Richard is a High School graduate of Luther North, 1974 College graduate of Concordia University, River Forest, 1979. After graduation he worked for the Crisis Intervention department for the City of Chicago, Human Services Public Service continued as a Chief of Staff for Alderman Kotlarz and Wojcik. He proudly served as State Representative of the 40th district from 1996-2008. He also had a rewarding experience working as a Youth Care worker for Maryville Academy.
Brigid is a 20-year-old student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, pursuing a degree in Advertising and Sustainability. Her academic journey intertwines her passions for public health, environmental inequality, and environmental justice. Currently, she is devoting her time to MWRD, feeling privileged to collaborate with the vibrant communities of Cook County.
Cristina Saldana is an Industrial Designer with more than 30-years experience in Graphic Design and Identity Development. For the past 14 years she has also worked in local government, focusing primarily on legislative relations, developing legislation and analyzing budgets. Cristina lives in Cook County, is married, and has 2 children attending public schools.
