For over 15 years, Rey López-Calderón has worked for the betterment of communities in Los Angeles, Orange County (CA), and Metropolitan Chicago. In addition to his work in community organizing with affiliates of both the Industrial Areas Foundation and the Gamaliel Foundation, López-Calderón founded the first chapter of MEChA in Illinois, has been a union organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), a volunteer organizer for the United Farmworkers (UFW), a founding board member of Latino Union of Chicago, a board member of the Alliance of Latinos and Jews, and has worked on several political campaigns both in Chicago and California. A long-time advocate for reform of the Chicago Public Schools, he has consulted with groups such as the Academy for Urban School Leadership, New Leaders for New Schools and Chicago Communities in Schools. He is currently the Executive Director of Alianza Leadership Institute. He was graduated from the University of Chicago and holds a Juris Doctor from DePaul College of Law. In his spare time, he blogs at www.cockroachpeople.com