Longtime public policy leader Sylvia Puente has been appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
Puente, who lives in Chicago, has been the president and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum since 2009, and has extensive experience as an advocate and policy analyst focused on education, housing, immigration and other issues of importance to the Latino community in Chicago and across Illinois.
Puente will fill the seat vacated by Kareem Dale and, pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate, will serve the remainder of his term, ending Jan. 16, 2023.
Puente is the first Latina to serve as a U of I trustee in three decades, following the 1992 election of Ada Nivia Lopez. For many years, trustees were elected rather than appointed by the governor.
“Sylvia Puente’s deep policy experience with so many important issues facing our state today and her track record of leadership will make her an asset to the Board of Trustees and the University of Illinois System. I am pleased to welcome her and look forward to working with her as we seek to maintain and enhance the strong value of a U of I education to our tens of thousands of students,” Board of Trustees Chairman Don Edwards said. “I also want to thank Gov. Pritzker for this appointment and the thoughtful evaluation behind it.”
U of I System President Tim Killeen said he is eager to work with Puente.
“Sylvia Puente has built a career that balances public service, commitment and success and she brings deep knowledge of Chicago, our state and the challenges and opportunities on the horizon for both,” University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen said. “As an alumna, she also knows well the value our universities deliver for the people of Illinois and I look forward to working with her. I want to thank Sylvia for her willingness to serve, and Gov. Pritzker for her appointment.”
Puente, a Democrat, earned a bachelor of science degree in economics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a master of arts in public policy from the University of Chicago.
Prior to joining the Latino Policy Forum, Puente was director of the Metropolitan Chicago Initiative at the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies. She also held senior positions at The Resurrection Project and the Latino Institute.
Puente was recently appointed to the Restore, Reinvest, Renew Board and the State Housing Task Force. She also was appointed by previous Illinois governors to the Illinois Early Learning Council, on which she still serves, and the Illinois Education Funding Advisory Board. She is also a board director of Advance Illinois, a public policy agency working to improve education in the state, and a member of Illinois Unidos, a consortium of local Latino leaders dedicated to addressing the public-health and economic impact of COVID-19 on Latinos statewide.
Puente previously served on Gov. Pritzker’s transition team as part of the Educational Success Committee.
The Board of Trustees oversees the U of I System and its universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. The board has 13 members, 11 of whom vote. Nine trustees are appointed by the governor and no more than five may belong to a single political party.
