Office Staff
Carlos Gamboa, Chief of Staff
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Carlos was born and raised in La Villita and grew up actively participating in sports programs at Piotrowski Park from Baseball to Gymnastics. His family has deep roots in the Little Village community, immigrating over 40 years ago to Chicago, looking for better opportunities for their future families. To this day they still call the 22nd Ward home. Carlos attended the University of Michigan furthering his education in Economics and Spanish, then returned to the 22nd Ward to work on political campaigns as the Director of Finance. Carlos is currently the 22nd Ward Chief of Staff focusing to ensure that our neighbors in the ward get the best possible services from the City of Chicago and have their service requests addressed in a timely manner.
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"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
- Les Brown
Elianne Bahena, Director of Policy and Community Outreach
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Elianne “Ely” Bahena is the proud daughter of immigrant parents from Guerrero, Mexico, a first-generation college graduate, and a passionate Latina leader who grew up in La Villita. She worked in the nonprofit sector for almost a decade, advocating for the protection of immigrant survivors of domestic violence and for the rights of immigrant communities across Illinois.
In addition to her professional work, Elianne is the Chairwoman of Enlace Chicago’s Associate Board (ECAB),Co-Chair of the Young Women’s Giving Council at the Chicago Foundation for Women, and the Executive Board Secretary for the HACE Chicago Auxiliary Board. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Mujeres Latinas en Accion and Urban Warriors.
This past year, she was recognized by Negocios Now the inaugural class for Community Leadership Fellows.
“When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity … you do not slam it shut behind you … you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.” - Michelle Obama
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Ronelle Mustin, Aldermanic Aide
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Mr. Ronelle Mustin has been a resident of the 22nd ward for 45 years. He is an active community leader and serves as a block club chairman in North Lawndale. Mr. Ron is a supporter of unity among all peoples. He studied business at Alabama A&M. He can be found listening to R&B, and his favorite artist is Gladys Knight.
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Rosie Gutierrez, Aldermanic Aide
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Rosie Gutierrez was born on the Northside of Chicago and moved to the 22nd Ward when she was eight years old. She went to a trade school of business for three years soon after worked at Washasky Auto Parts. She then gained more valuable work experience at Target for a few years and later moved on to work as a janitorial supervisor at the Regency Towers in the suburbs. Rosie has a beautiful daughter named Sophie, who motivates her greatly. Some of the topics she likes to study are history and the study of astronomy. One of her current goals, out of the many, is to learn how to speak Polish. And who knows, maybe one day she can become a translator in a hospital, as she loves working with people.
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A few of my favorite things are: listening to oldies music, classical music, coloring books, reading, watching movies from oldies to modern day ones, crocheting, and baking mostly in the winter just to name a few. My favorite fruits are tamarind, strawberries and pineapple.
Francisco Rojas, Aldermanic Assistant
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Francisco was born and raised in Little Village. He attended Joseph E. Gary Elementary where he won a city championship with the 7/8 th grade boys’ soccer team, played in the school tennis team, the basketball team and where he met his life-long best friends. Francisco has always been involved in his community; volunteering and interning at various nonprofit organizations. He recently graduated from Oberlin College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree double majoring in Sociology and Latin American Studies. His research focused on analyzing the recent past and present inter-municipal migration patterns in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, specifically focusing on and comparing urban and rural college students’ employment, educational and migratory experiences and aspirations. Today, he is extremely happy to be part of the 22nd Ward Public Service Office because he hopes to continue working in and for his ward.
Inspirational quote
“In a diverse world, the ‘Platinum rule’ replaces the ‘Golden rule’: we should treat others as they’d like to be treated, not as we’d like to be treated.”
- Thais Compoint