Juana Cordova

Juana Cordova is a first-generation Latina, born in Waukegan, Illinois and raised in the Round Lake area. Her parents, originally from Michoacán, Mexico, passed down their indigenous cultural heritage that she continues to honor through traditional Purepecha dances of Michoacán.

Growing up in a low-wage household, Juana observed firsthand the hardships her parents endured, including poverty, limited educational opportunities, and workplace injustices, such as her mother dealing with unstable work schedules and other injustices working in the restaurant industry. Her family’s history includes both her grandfather and uncles who participated in the Bracero program and faced racial discrimination, wage theft, and inhumane working and living conditions. Their experiences were an important part to Juana’s upbringing, instilling in her a deep resolve to fight for fairness and uplift those facing similar conditions. Motivated by helping others not to go through what her family experienced, Juana pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in Law and Courts, along with a minor in Sociology, at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Before joining FLAP, Juana worked as an immigration legal assistant for a law firm based in Lake County, where she supported clients throughout their immigration processes, providing bilingual assistance, guiding them through complex procedures, and ensuring they had access to the information and advocacy often unavailable to them. Juana is bilingual in English and Spanish.

In 2024, Juana joined Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project-FLAP as a Bilingual Outreach and Intake Assistant. Three months later, she was promoted to Bilingual Outreach and Intake Coordinator and in 2026, after seeing the impact she is making, FLAP promoted her to Bilingual Outreach and Intake Specialist. In this role, she leads community outreach efforts through Know Your Rights presentations, intake coordination, and client communication. She handles referrals, supports case development, assists with litigation preparation, and helps build partnerships with organizations across Illinois. Her dedication ensures that low-wage workers are informed about their rights and have access to the resources they deserve.

Juana has participated in several professional development and leadership initiatives. Since 2024, Juana represents FLAP as part of the Partnership of a Safer Lake County, a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to ending violence in Lake County through advocacy, coordination, and public awareness efforts. She was a part of Lake County Nonprofit Leadership program at Northwestern University – Kellogg School Center for Nonprofit Management in 2025 and One World Shared Future’s A River Runs Through It!: An Urban River Stewardship Program, later that year. Juana also took part in Mano a Mano a Mano Family Resource Center’s 2025 Liderazgo Cohort and SoPL (School of Political Leadership, HEAL Political Leadership Program) of the HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance.

At the heart of Juana’s work is her passion for helping people. She sees her own family reflected in the low-wage clients she serves and is motivated to help others achieve justice and dignity in their workplace and communities. Since joining FLAP, Juana has made an impact conducting over 1,800 Know Your Rights presentations, facilitating more than 600  referrals, assisting with over 20 dual citizenship cases, and distributing more than 10,000 educational materials to low-wage workers across Illinois.