Dennis Mondero has served as Executive Director of Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA) since August 2013, after serving for approximately ten years on CMAA’s Board of Directors.

 

Dennis is a first-generation immigrant, born in the Philippines, when his family moved to Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood in 1971.  Dennis received his bachelor’s (BA) degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his law degree (JD) from Indiana University at Bloomington, and his master of law degree (LLM) in Real Estate from the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

 

After some time practicing commercial real estate law, Dennis later joined the City of Chicago as Chief Counsel for the Department of Buildings, then subsequently held positions as Deputy Buildings Commissioner, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer for the CTA.

 

Dennis is a past President of the Asian American Bar Association (AABA) and the Asian American Action Fund of Greater Chicago.  Among his current activities, Dennis sits on the Board of Directors for Illinois Partners for Human Services, a state-wide coalition of over 850 non-profit organizations, and on the national board for NAFFAA, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.  Dennis also serves on Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s Advisory Collective, and various other community advisory boards, such as for the University of Illinois at Chicago,Truman College, and the Chinese American Bar Association.

 

FUN FACT | Dennis loves to swim, bike, and run.