Raul has long understood the challenges and strengths of working-class and immigrant families. After earning a BA from Carleton College (1988), Northfield, MN, he returned to the neighborhood where he grew up and in 1990 co-founded The Resurrection Project (TRP) with seed capital of $30 ,000 from six Chicago-area parishes.

Since inception, TRP has leveraged this capital into over $600 million in community investment and positively impacted more than 198,000 individuals in Southwest Side Latino city neighborhoods and western suburbs.  Under his leadership as CEO, TRP seamlessly blends community development, community organizing, human service delivery, and advocacy to build healthier and engaged communities. Today, TRP is one of the region’s most innovative and effective community development organizations, working in every area of community life.

Raymundo’s innovative and entrepreneurial approach to building community prosperity and stability includes connecting policy to grassroots leadership development and helping residents take empowered, strategic action to affect their lives and community. As ample evidence of the power of this approach, TRP has created more than 800 affordable homes and developed community facilities, including early childhood centers, senior centers, community centers, and a charter school serving thousands of families. Through job creation, assistance in strengthening local businesses, and engagement in public policy debates, TRP improves the quality of life for many communities in the Chicago region.

In 2012, Raymundo’s visionary leadership, creativity, and organizing skills led to the urgent action needed to avoid massive foreclosures from the failure of Second Federal Savings, a Mexican immigrant-serving financial institution with 1,100 mortgages and over $150 million in community deposits. In 2017, he also was instrumental in the rescue of Seaway Bank, a historic African American-serving community bank. These actions led to the establishment of Self-Help Federal Credit Union, the largest community development credit union in Illinois. Together, its two local divisions have invested over $335 million in more than 2,100 mortgages and community lending products in Black and Brown neighborhoods.

Acknowledged at the local, state, and national levels, Raymundo is an active civic leader. He currently serves on several local and national boards, including as Chair of the Board of Self-Help Federal Credit Union, with its multi-state operations and national policy impact. He also is Co-Chair of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) and member of the board of the National Association of Latino Asset Builders (NALCAB), START EARLY, Illinois Justice Project Advisory Board, St. Anthony Hospital Ministry Board, and of the leadership team for United Power for Action and Justice.  His activities also include participation on several bank advisory boards, including Fifth Third Bank, CIBC Bank, Huntington Bank, and the Self-Help Federal Credit Union’s local divisions.

Along with TRP, Raymundo is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. He is a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and has mentored many leaders in Chicago and the nation.

Lifelong residents of the Pilsen community in Chicago, he and his wife have three children, Raul Jr. and twin daughters Bela and Maya.