Blog

Read biographies of feature guests for the STEM Networking Forum "Building a Diversity Wave in STEM" being held Tuesday, July 25 at 1871 Chicago.

Delia Gutierrez McLaughlin, President, CODA Technology Consulting

Delia Gutierrez McLaughlin is the President and CEO of Coda Technology Consulting and brings extensive experience in leveraging technology to deliver competitive business advantage. She has led engagements with clients such as Catholic Health Initiatives, Ace Insurance, General Growth Properties, etc., that incorporated a high degree of cross-organizational partnering, outsourced vendor knowledge, relationship management, data center, and infrastructure operations skills. She has worked in concert with teams across corporations to drive strategic process improvement. Partnering with her clients, Delia has a track record in providing technology solutions to business initiatives and, more recently, in the effective use of strategic sourcing resulting in a new $25M contract with an outsource vendor.

Before Delia took her life in a new direction by creating her own company, she was the Director of Outsourced Vendor Management for Aon Corporation’s Chicago-based Technology Services and Solutions team. Delia leveraged her 20 years of experience in information technology, telephony and software development to provide governance and oversight for all technology projects assigned to the Technology Services and Solutions team. Delia managed the escalation for all end-user issues within Aon Hewitt by providing an added layer of leadership between Aon and their vendors.

In October 2010, Delia was elected to the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC) and was selected to the HITEC 100 – Most Influential Hispanic Executives in IT, 2011. HITEC is a premier professional organization for Hispanic IT Executives which focuses on significantly increasing Hispanic leadership in information technology. HITEC recognizes the importance of highlighting HITEC members and their achievements by focusing on technology leaders who have made a significant contribution to the IT Industry.

Delia is a native of Chicago, having grown up in the Pilsen neighborhood. As a child, Delia participated in programs such as Head Start, CETA and other social programs that worked to provide opportunities to children. Delia attended college at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas and received her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Accountancy from University of Illinois – Chicago. Delia has a passion for advocacy and assists organizations on behalf of the communities they represent to continually work toward fulfilling goals.

Manny Ozaeta, Director of the Hispanic Technology Incubator, 1871 Chicago

Manny Ozaeta is the Director of the Hispanic Technology Incubator, a new program established at 1871 in partnership with the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In this role he serves as facilitator and mentor to Latinx entrepreneurs by curating tailored content that includes educational programming, access to funding, and technological support.

Prior to leading the incubator, Ozaeta was the Director of Membership at 1871, where he supported the needs of active and alumni members.

Previously, Ozaeta was a Senior Communications Consultant at a boutique public affairs firm in Chicago, where his clients included, the Chicago Cubs, Lurie Children’s Hospital, and Navistar among others. He has also served as a legislative staffer in the United States House of Representatives.

Ozaeta has worked within the press and communication departments of the Office of the Mayor in Chicago, the British Consulate General in Chicago, and the Office of Senator Richard Durbin- IL, in Washington, D.C.

He received his undergraduate degree from DePaul University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Northwestern University. A native Spanish speaker, he hails from Texas but now resides in the Printer's Row neighborhood of Chicago with his two dogs.

Elizabeth Velazquez, Technology Consultant, Accenture

Elizabeth Velazquez is currently a Technology Consulting Senior Analyst at Accenture. Elizabeth has delivered and developed thorough and high quality training materials that aided her client in a successful transition with OCIS (Accenture-owned software solution). She's also worked closely with support centers, BSAs, and work stream leads to assess business impact on defects, plan and manage testing for releases, and conduct general triage support for testing. She is also an active ADP (Accenture Development Partnerships) volunteer who has donated over 100+ hours of her time and has participated in various projects ranging from analytical research of ADP LatAm Partnerships to participating as the East Coast Regional Lead for the CE3 Mentorship Program. She is currently the ADPVC Chicago Hub Co-Lead.

Prior to her career at Accenture, she worked on environmental and health related issues using her expertise obtained through engineering and international development studies. Elizabeth has also used her analytical skills to provide pro-bono consulting services for non-profits. Although she has a passion for humanitarian engineering and sustainable development, she aims to expand her expertise in the business arena across differing industries and pursue a career that utilizes both her technical background and business education. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and a Master of Science in Management Studies from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.