Rodrigo A Sierra

Rodrigo Sierra was appointed to the Chicago Board of Education in May of 2011 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Mr. Sierra is currently the Principal of Sierra Strategies. Previously, Mr. Sierra was the Chief Marketing Officer of Johnson Publishing Company where he helped reposition the company's corporate image. Prior to joining to Johnson Publishing Company, Mr. Sierra spent eight years with Integrys Energy Group and its predecessor, Peoples Gas, where he served in a variety of roles including Manager of Public Relations and Vice President of Corporate Communications. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Sierra served in the cabinet of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley as Deputy Mayoral Press secretary. He was also an integral member of the team that helped to win relocation of the global headquarters of Boeing Corporation to Chicago. Previously, Sierra spent 15 years in the media in a variety of positions he created out of initial opportunities. From 1990 to 1998 Sierra served at WGN Radio as a reporter, anchor and assignment editor. He also launched the station's first public affairs program focused on Latino issues. Sierra began his communications career by leveraging a part-time, temporary position with ABC News, New York into a management role by creating the department of Affiliate News Services for the radio networks. His journalism work has been recognized with awards locally and nationally from United Press International, the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Sierra's concern for Latino issues resulted in his position as a founder and steering committee member of Nuestro Futuro, a partnership with the Chicago Community Trust that encourages giving from Latinos and increased grants to organizations that serve Latinos. He serves on the board of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance and on the executive committee of the board of the Goodman Theater as well as co-chair of its education committee. He is a member of the Arthur Page Society, the Institute for Politics at Roosevelt University, the Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives' Club of Chicago, the Publicity Club of Chicago and the City Club of Chicago. Sierra earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management through the Executive Master of Business Administration program in June 2008. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Northwestern University.