Alexandra Sossa

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The Face of Chicago Business had the pleasure of sitting down with Alexandra Sossa. Alexandra is the Executive Director of FLAP, the Farm Worker and Landscaper Advocacy Project. FLAP is an organization committed to improving working conditions and opportunities for low-income workers and their households in the cannery, farming, greenhouse, landscaping, meat, nursery, packinghouse, poultry, restaurant, and snow plowing industries.

Originally from Medellin Colombia, she’s been in Chicago since 2000. Growing up on a coffee farm, both of Alexandra’s parents had careers in law. Her father was an attorney who was always fighting for workers’ rights and representing farm workers. Meanwhile, her mother was a prosecutor working to defend low-income workers. This inspired Alexandra to pursue a similar career and she graduated from the Medellin University School of Law.

After law school, she worked at the Attorney General’s office during the time of Pablo Escobar’s reign in Medellin. With her whole family in the business of protecting the law, it was an incredibly dangerous time. Alexandra shares how she had witnessed Escobar’s men separate the men from the women at a bar, killing all the men on the spot.

Having a passion to fight for workers’ rights and knowing that would get her killed in Colombia, Alexandra moved to Spain where she had the opportunity to work with the Mexican Embassy. From there, love brought her to Chicago following her new husband who was studying in the city at the time.

“Many people moved to the United States looking for the American dream. And my American dream was to be able to do something that I enjoy. To be able to fight for human rights. I grew up under the philosophy and the statement that you can be successful in life and you can try to carry on those who are not as successful.”

She notes that Illinois is much more welcoming to the immigrant community than most other States.

Tune into this episode to hear more about Alexandra’s incredible story, how she came to find FLAP and more about the work they’re doing on The Face of Chicago Business Podcast.