Welcome to the Evolving Man Project’s ‘Evolved Man of the Week’ profile. Each week, we highlight an individual who embodies what it means to be an evolved man, famous and non-famous men alike. The world needs to know their stories and deeds. This week’s honor goes to the activist, social worker, community organizer, educator, and revolutionary Ulysses Diaz.
Ulysses recalls a time from his childhood while visiting family in Mexico. Even at such a young age, Mr. Diaz developed a robust socio-political consciousness.
Ulysses Diaz has been an activist for justice, human rights, and equality since his earliest days. He spent his time at Northern Illinois University as a campus activist, and to this day, he still serves his community. I had the pleasure of meeting and befriending Mr. Diaz during our time at NIU. He is a man of a sizable stature, a big heart, and a passion for all people’s true liberation. He is a man close to his indigenous roots and introduced me to the sacred space of the sweat lodge.
“We don’t own the earth we belong to it. We did not weave the web of life we are merely a strand in it, and whatever we do to it, we do to ourselves and others as we are all connected.”
Ulysses was born in Aurora, Illinois. He received a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in Latino Studies from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in social work from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Throughout his career and life, Mr. Diaz has been a man of the people and used his influence to fight injustice. He served as a bilingual counselor and associate professor at Waubonsee Community College. Diaz served as an outreach coordinator at OMNI Youth Services agency before coming to Waubonsee. He provided life skills development and substance abuse treatment to youth and their families. He now serves as the inclusive initiative manager at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is a winner of the Peter J. Perez award from the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board for his work with migrants and youth. Despite all his accomplishments and accolades, Mr. Diaz profoundly understands the value that people bring to each other’s lives:
“Friendship is a journey towards an unknown destination. The discovery that people must share not only what they don’t know about each other but what they don’t know about themselves.”
Mr. Diaz is a man of high integrity, passion, and inspiration. He is a teacher, scholar, activist, and modern-day warrior. I’m honored to call him a friend, and I’m a better man for knowing him. Today, we honor Ulysses Diaz as this week’s Evolved Man of the Week.

5 responses to “Evolved Man of the Week: Ulysses Diaz, LCSW”
“Modern Day Warrior,” that about sums this gent up!
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[…] friend who’s a Latino community organizer and fellow social worker, Ulysses Diaz, put it like this about whites in the Midwest: “White people feel more comfortable with us […]
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[…] and the very definition of an evolved man. There’s another friend who I kindly refer to as Big U. He’s a gentle giant, spirit warrior, fellow social worker, and a real man of the people. He’s […]
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Has the pleasure of knowing Uly through our MSW cohort at UIC. He’s a real one. Unfortunately, it’s rare to come across this combination of profound understanding, love, boldness and authenticity. Uly and Lornette demonstrate these characteristics in abundance.
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Likewise, Phil! I’m just a dude trying to figure it out. Thanks, and happy holidays!
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