CCBC Recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15 to October 15, is a time to honor the cultures, histories, and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America. For us at the Chicago Community Builders Collective (CCBC), it’s also a chance to spotlight the Hispanic leaders helping to bring the Bally’s Chicago Casino to life.
This year, we’re proud to share the stories of three professionals: Estefania Roa, President and CEO of LB Hall, a fireproofing contractor, Nelson Fernandez, Assistant Project Manager at UJAMAA Construction, a joint venture partner of the CCBC, and Diomedes Duran, Senior Virtual Design Construction Engineer with joint venture partner Gilbane Building.
Building Opportunity from the Ground Up
Estefania Roa
Born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico, Estefania Roa is a proud Mexican American who honors her Mexican roots and embraces her American citizenship. Her cultural heritage and the life she has built in the United States shape her journey as a mother, a business owner, and a leader in a traditionally male-dominated field.
For Estefania, Hispanic Heritage Month is about visibility, responsibility, and possibility.
“I feel a responsibility to show my community and my employees that there are real opportunities here,” she said. “Hispanic Heritage Month is a chance to celebrate who I am, what I’ve built, and to show others what’s possible.”
Cultural celebration is central to how she leads and lives. Estefania’s family centers their celebrations around September 16, Mexican Independence Day. Each year she travels back to Guanajuato, where the community organizes markets, school presentations, piñatas, food, and week-long festivities that also raise funds for local schools.
“There’s a lot of celebration for the smallest things. Our culture is about people and being happy. I think it has a lot to do with gratitude.”
For the past eight years, Estefania has split her time between Mexico and Chicago—running LB Hall while her two younger children attend school in Guanajuato and her eldest, now 25, works with her in the business as a project manager. It’s a demanding schedule, but to her, it’s worth it to keep culture, family, and opportunity closely connected.
“As a woman in construction, I feel my voice matters so much to my community and to my employees. I feel that Hispanic heritage is the best way to show them that there are opportunities. It’s about setting a path and opening ways for them to also move forward.”
Finding Community and Growth in a New City
Nelson Fernandez
On the project management side of Bally's Chicago Casino, Assistant Project Manager Nelson Fernandez offers a different but equally powerful perspective on heritage, opportunity, and community.
Nelson is Venezuelan. He came to the United States in 2017, following his brother, who had settled in the Chicago suburbs about nine months earlier. Seeking new opportunities and a fresh start, Nelson made Chicago his home.
Unlike some who grew up with formalized heritage observances, Nelson didn’t arrive in the U.S. familiar with Hispanic Heritage Month. His understanding of Hispanic identity and celebration has instead been shaped by the city around him.
“Being here has opened my eyes to how different communities celebrate their culture,” Nelson said. “For me, it’s less about one specific day and more about the everyday connections we create across our different backgrounds.”
The Venezuelan community in Chicago is relatively small, so Nelson’s network has become a diverse mix—Mexicans, Brazilians, Puerto Ricans and other Americans with Hispanic heritage who have formed their own communities and support systems. For him, that diversity within the Hispanic experience has been one of the most valuable parts of living and working here.
Nelson lives near the River West area, giving him a personal stake in the future of the Bally’s Chicago Casino. He sees the project not only as a job, but as an engine for community growth.
“My hope is that Bally’s Chicago will create new opportunities, bring more people together, and invite more Hispanic communities into this area to share in what’s being built here.”
A Heightened Cultural Awareness
Diomedes Duran
Hispanic Heritage Month wasn’t something Diomedes Duran grew up celebrating in the Dominican Republic. He only became familiar with it after arriving in the U.S., and especially through his experience at Gilbane.
“Back home, we didn’t really talk about a heritage month,” he explained “I think it’s something that has grown out of the U.S. Hispanic community.”
Known around Gilbane as “Dio”, he has learned to embrace it through companywide events and the HOLA employee resource group, which leads many of the activities and conversations around Hispanic culture.
What fascinates him most is the diversity within the larger Hispanic community in the United States. “Even though we all speak Spanish, we have differences,” he said. “We might share similar first names or last names, but accents, food, music, even the meaning of certain words in my country can mean something different in Mexico.”
For him, the common language is a bridge, but the regional distinctions are what makes the community rich and interesting.
Dio credits his Dominican heritage with shaping how he shows up as a professional and a leader. He looks to Dominicans who have made an impact in sports, music, and politics as inspiration for how he can serve as a role model.
“I try to be a beacon and an example outside of my community,” he said. As an immigrant, he’s mindful of the responsibility he feels to represent both his culture and his profession well.
“Sometimes as immigrants we feel we have to give 150% to be leaders,” he said. “I try to lead by example.”
As we mark Hispanic Heritage Month, the stories of Estefania, Nelson, and Dio underscore that heritage is more than a label or a date on the calendar. It is resilience forged through migration, opportunity created through risk and hard work, and culture carried across borders into new cities and communities.