Joaquín J. Altoro has spent nearly 30 years in banking and was a member of Milwaukee’s Planning Commission for nearly seven years. Now, he’s approaching lending from the government angle. Gov. Tony Evers tapped him as the CEO and executive director of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, or WHEDA, where he works with lenders, developers, governments and community groups. Issues of housing justice hit close to home for Joaquín, who grew up on Milwaukee’s south side. One of his family homes was literally on a block at the edge of a redlining map, the discriminatory tool used to deny housing to people of color. In 1918, Joaquín’s grandfather was one of the first Mexicans to come to Milwaukee and work in a tannery in Walker’s Point. His grandfather was hired to be a scab during a workers dispute with the tannery without knowing it, says Joaquín, who has served on various boards, including for SHARP Literacy and the Milwaukee Area Technical College, where he’s an alum. He also has a business management degree from Cardinal Stritch University. He was named one of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 2019 Power Brokers and has received the “Be the Change” award from the Milwaukee Urban League. When the DNC was scheduled to come to Milwaukee, he and Adam Carr, a journalist, historian and community advocate, had planned to do a bus tour to tell the story of redlining in Milwaukee for visitors.