Xitlaly Quintero-Guzman

Xitlaly Quintero-Guzman is a proud second-generation Latinx and neuroqueer individual with disabilities from the Southwest Side of Chicago. They graduated from Latino Youth High School with honors in June 2021. Graduating high school has been one of Xitlaly’s greatest accomplishments because they poured their blood, sweat, and tears into earning the most high-achieving grades they have ever made and, most importantly, their high school diploma. Another reason why it is Xitlaly’s most significant achievement is because they were the very first person in their family to graduate high school. Xitlaly has always been an individual who has been strongly passionate about supporting efforts in social equity by ensuring that everyone in historically marginalized communities has equal access to the same opportunities, privileges, wealth, health, and well-being. They began their journey of working in the non-profit sector at the age of 16 and continue to follow through with that same journey to this day. Through their journey, Xitlaly has learned several things. But one of the most important things that they have learned is that there is a lack of accessibility, findability, and discoverability, which are also some terms that exist in UX/UI Design, of resources and services within their community and other historically marginalized communities in their city. Having learned this inspired them to pursue a career in UX/UI Design in order to use and share their exceptional creativity, designing, leadership, and problem-solving skills, gifts, and talents with their community and others so that they can work collectively in partnership with their community, other communities across Chicago, associations, institutions, and tech professionals to develop and design accessible and interactive mobile apps and websites that will help address a variety of critical community needs and issues, one of them being the lack of accessibility, findability, and discoverability of resources and services of course, all while incorporating the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model into their work.