Just months after we published our first news stories in August 2015, we tried something new: we listed and published brief biographies of the state’s 28 Most Influential Black Leaders. People really liked it, shared it on social media, and told us who else should have been on that list. Many asked me if we’d do another list the next year; I said yes, we probably would.
We did more than that. That next year, we published another list of the state’s most influential Black leaders, as well as a list of the state’s most influential Latino leaders.
This week we are proud to present the 11th annual edition of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Latino Leaders.
Every year, with every list, I’ve intended to highlight the beauty of the diversity across our state. I want kids here in Wisconsin to see role models of people who are succeeding, to know that it’s possible for people of color to achieve great things here.
This week, we shine a statewide spotlight on the dedicated leaders of Wisconsin’s Latino. The people we highlight this week are elected leaders, business leaders and community leaders, doing difficult, important work, often in the face of discrimination.
We are also aware that this list, like every other, is not comprehensive. It’s obvious just from the number of nominations that there are far more than 23 influential Latino leaders doing good work in Wisconsin. We hope you will let us know about people in your community who we can include on future lists. For now, though, we just want to introduce you to a few of the people doing the work, often behind the scenes and without the accolades, across Wisconsin.
You might know a few of these names, but there’s a good chance that most of them will be new to you. I urge you to get to know them. Reach out to those living and working in your communities. Learn from them, network, and create partnerships. And spread the word — let others in your network know that we have people of all ethnicities living and working across Wisconsin to make sure everyone here can thrive.
Henry Sanders
CEO, 365 Media Foundation
Publisher, Madison365
This is the first of a five-part series.
Amanda Roman
Amanda Roman is founder and CEO of Domina Consulting, a Racine-based women- and minority-owned firm she launched in 2021. The firm consults small and medium-sized businesses as well as corporate and government clients, helps businesses obtain MBE, DBE, WBE and VOSB certifications, and offers diversity and inclusion consulting and outreach and engagement support for major construction projects. Domina Consulting has worked with Racine County to expand opportunities for local workers and businesses on the construction of the county’s new care center. Before starting the firm, Roman worked in banking, payroll and HR consulting, and project management. She was named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 Wisconsin Minority Small Business Champion. She serves on the boards of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Southeast Wisconsin, the Racine County Economic Development Corporation and the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation. She studied classical archaeology, geospatial science and religion.
Victor Huyke
Victor Huyke is founder, publisher and CEO of El Conquistador Latino Newspaper and Events in Milwaukee. He founded the paper in 1998, and it became a weekly within a year. The bilingual publication, printed half in English and half in Spanish, is the only Latino-owned newspaper in southeastern Wisconsin and distributes copies across Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Waukesha. Its events arm produces free community events including a Cinco de Mayo festival, a Puerto Rican festival, a wedding and quinceañera show, and the Latino Family Expo. Before launching El Conquistador, Huyke wrote for the Spanish Journal and the Spanish Times. Born in Puerto Rico, he moved to Milwaukee as a child in the early 1970s. His great-grandfather, Juan Bernardo Huyke, was a Puerto Rican educator and publisher who served as interim governor of Puerto Rico in 1923.
Alex Ayala
Alex Ayala is president of the Milwaukee Police Association, the union representing Milwaukee police officers, a role he has held since 2024 after serving as the union’s vice president. A detective, he joined the Milwaukee Police Department directly after high school and worked his way up from police aide to patrol officer to detective, mostly on the city’s South Side. He is president of the Milwaukee chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association and national parliamentarian of the organization, and has worked to recruit Latino officers to the department. As union president, he has led the association through contract negotiations with the city. UMOS named him Hispanic Man of the Year in 2023. He previously received a Hometown Heroes Award from the Wisconsin State Assembly for rescuing a 5-year-old boy from the Menomonee River.
Kalista Ysquierdo
Kalista “Kali” Ysquierdo is an outreach specialist with the Menard Family Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where she supports programs focused on entrepreneurship, free markets, economic opportunity and student engagement. She has a background in marketing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from UW-La Crosse.
Part Two coming tomorrow!
