Carlos Tortolero

Carlos Tortolero is the Founder and President of the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the first Latino museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. He is a recipient of an Honorary Degree from Columbia College (Chicago) and an Honorary Degree from the University of Illinois (Chicago). Since opening in 1987, the museum has become a national model for its exhibits, performances, arts education programs and advocacy on cultural equity issues. NMMA contains over 10,000 objects in its permanent collection. The museum is the only organization to have won two White House National Awards for Excellence in Youth Arts Programming. NMMA also has an extensive Performing Arts Program. Twenty exhibitions organized by the NMMA have traveled across the country, and eight have traveled to Mexico. From 1975-1987, Tortolero worked as a teacher, counselor and administrator in the Chicago Public School System. He has served on numerous boards, including those of the University of Illinois, the American Alliance of Museums, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Smithsonian Latino Center, and the Illinois Humanities Council. Tortolero is the co-author of Mexican Chicago and has written articles for national and international publications. He has also taught classes at the University of Illinois in Chicago, The School of the Art Institute and Northwestern University. Tortolero has a B.A. in Secondary Education and History from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an M.A. in Bilingual Education Supervision from Chicago State University. He has presented throughout the U.S. and Mexico and has also spoken at conferences in France, Sweden, and Argentina. He has won numerous awards for his work including the Ohtli Award which is the highest honor given by Mexico to individuals “who have distinguished themselves in the services of the Mexican community outside of Mexico.” He was named by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of the 200 most prominent Illinoisans in 200 years of history and was awarded the City of Chicago’s highest honor in the arts – The Fifth Star Award. He also received the Chicago History Museum “Making History” Award and served as a Co-chair for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Art & Culture transition committee.