LUCI – Latinos Unidos for Community Inclusion
Mónica Vallejo was born in Quito, Ecuador. In 1989, she immigrated to the United States with her husband and two children.
As an immigrant, Vallejo felt a deep calling to serve and support her Latino community. Over the past 24 years, she has been committed to this work through various roles in community organizing, advocacy and social services for organizations such as the Cedar Rapids Latino Festival; the Cedar Rapids chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission; Statutes Review Commission; Citizen Review Board; Alliance for Fair Housing Action Plan; the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation’s LAP-AID Inclusion Cohort; HACAP’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee; Iowa Ideas Advisory Council; Archdiocese of Dubuque in Cedar Rapids; and YPN, among others.
In 2023, she co-founded Latinos Unidos for Community Inclusion (LUCI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the well-being and inclusion of Latinos in our community, where she continues to serve as president. She is also a family support worker at HACAP.
Vallejo is the recipient of the LULAC of Iowa Woman Award. In 2022, she was honored by the Iowa International Center for her leadership, inspiration and positive impact on the lives of Iowans.
Today, she is proud and grateful to be the grandmother of seven grandchildren.