About Us

The Gate Newspaper

Chicago community news for Back of the Yards and surrounding neighborhoods

THE GATE Staff

Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, editor

Adriana’s focus is to tell the stories of local residents and to inform the community about events and services in their neighborhood. Along with the editorial team, Adriana utilizes the newspaper as a tool to share inspiring stories about local residents and spark solution oriented conversations about ongoing challenges in Back of the Yards and nearby neighborhoods.

Adriana came from Medellin, Colombia in 1997. She graduated from Loras College with a B.A in International Studies and a minor in Business. She began her career in Iowa working with immigrant communities.

Adriana moved to Chicago in 2005.  She worked  with Latino residents around legislative campaigns in support of immigration reform. Later, she worked connecting Latino youth with meaningful internship experiences and developed strategies to ensure high school students access to post-secondary education. Adriana joined the BYNC in 2010 to help kick start The Gate Newspaper.

Adriana is currently a Pritzker Journalism Fellow at Chicago Public Media.

Lucia Anaya, assistant editor

Lucia is highly interested in exploring the arts and culture of the city. She spends a lot of her time tracking down local artists, programs and initiatives, reporting on the many ways these can contribute to the lives of neighborhood residents.  Lucia also has an interest for new media and spends her free time exploring a diverse number of multimedia tools that can help produce a more interactive experience for The Gate readers.

Lucia attended DePaul University and graduated with a B.A. in  Journalism and Latin American Studies in 2010. Prior to her role as assistant editor, Lucia was a contributing Arts and Entertainment writer for Gozamos, an online magazine for local, young Latinos.

Lucia is currently a New Arts Journalism graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Monica Reynoso, Translator/Contributing Writer

Before joining The Gate Newspaper as the official translator and contributing writer, Monica Reynoso worked as an activist for the community in support of immigration reform, driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants and the big box living wage ordinance. She had the opportunity to participate in grassroots campaigns and organize neighborhood residents in support of local initiatives.

For seven years, Monica was part of the St. Joseph Church choir, a youth group that performed volunteer work for the residents of Back of the Yards and for the community in general.

Monica is also a translator for The Chicago Reporter and Catalyst-Chicago.

Other Contributors:
Kathleen Costanza
Shantell Jamison
Maureen Kelleher
Cristobal Martinez