Dr. Lulu Blacksmith

Managing Director of Community Engagement and Legislative Affairs

Lourdes (Lulu) Blacksmith, EdD serves as the Associate Vice President for Student Services and Development for Elgin Community College. In this role Blacksmith is responsible for providing strategic direction and vision for the division of Student Services and Development.  Blacksmith collaborates with students, faculty and staff to help create a safe and welcoming campus where students can thrive through healthy learning environments.

From 2002 to 2008, Blacksmith served as the Director of Community Relations and District Press Secretary for the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 1987 and 2002, Blacksmith served as the Manager of Community Outreach at AMITA Health Mercy Medical Center (Formerly Presence) in Aurora.

​Over the years, Blacksmith has served Kane County as a volunteer in many capacities. Her interest in helping others stems from her life experience as an immigrant. Blacksmith founded Compañeros en Salud / Partners in Health, NFP in 1999 to provide the Hispanic community and other diverse groups with the means to access resources and services for their health and well-being. In 2000, Blacksmith also founded Language Access to Healthcare, a free community-based, health care interpreting service to increase access to health care. Blacksmith advocates and works to raise awareness of health disparities and the importance of higher education.

Blacksmith is active in several groups including the Elgin Hispanic Network, Compañeros en Salud/Partners in Health, NFP and R.I.S.E. (Racial, Inclusion, Support, and Equity) of South Elgin.

​Blacksmith earned her Doctor of Education degree in Leadership in Higher Education and Organizational Change from Benedictine University, a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University, her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts with an Emphasis on Multicultural Studies from DePaul University and an associate degree in Applied Sciences from Waubonsee Community College. Blacksmith lives in Elburn, IL with her husband Steve. Blacksmith has two daughters, Nikki and Stefanie.