DENNIS MONDERO

Dennis Mondero is a first-generation immigrant born in the Philippines, whose family moved to the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago in 1971. He received his BA with High Distinction in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his JD from Indiana University at Bloomington, and his LLM in Real Estate from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Law.

 

For the past ten years, Dennis has served as the Executive Director of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA), a non-profit organization that helps immigrants and refugees. Among its programs, CMAA is the only AAPI-led Small Business Development Center in the State of Illinois, and CMAA is an official Illinois Welcoming Center for migrants and refugees. As such, CMAA is part of the social service network actively assisting the influx of migrants to the Chicago area.

 

Prior to leading CMAA, Dennis’ legal career spanned work in both the private sector and government. After practicing commercial real estate law, Dennis 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. While at the CTA, Dennis invented the “train tracker” system used daily by thousands of commuters.

 

Dennis sits on a variety of boards and community advisory councils including the State of Illinois’ Asian American Employment Plan Advisory Council and Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s Advisory Collective. He is a Past President of AABA-Greater Chicago and has served on the advisory boards for AABA, CABA, and FALA. Dennis was a member of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s transition team, serving on the Public Safety Committee, as well as recently serving on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's transition team, serving on the Transportation Committee.

 

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