Since moving to the Midwest in 1995, Carlos Venable-Ridley has tirelessly served the  community of Sioux City as an activist and an advocate.

 Selected as one of Siouxland’s Forty under Forty in 2002 for his commitment to community issues, Carlos has an established record of public service. He is a former member of the Girls, Inc. Board of Directors, a former Treasurer for Mary Treglia House, the Vice President of the Coalition for Cultural Awareness, the Vice President of Task Force Friend, an Executive Board Member of the Sioux Chapter of the NAACP, former Project Coordinator for the Iowa Accountability Project, and a former member of the Sioux City Human Rights Commission. Selected by Thomas Vilsack former Governor of the State of Iowa, Carlos served on the 3rd District Judicial Selection Committee for four years. His community volunteerism has also found expression in coaching 5th Grade Football, Primary Grades Boys and Girls Basketball and track & field.

With a passion for making Siouxland a better place, Carlos focused on improving the safety and well being of our community’s most treasured resource, the children of Sioux City. He served as the Project Director of a 7.4 million dollar grant awarded to the Sioux City Community Schools—The Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Grant. The SS/HS Initiative was a collaborative project with funding received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice. In collaboration with organizations and agencies from Siouxland, the project provided students, the school district, and the local community with enhanced comprehensive educational, mental health, social service, law enforcement, and juvenile justice system services that promoted healthy childhood development and prevented violence and substance abuse.

 With his how to succeed and can do attitude, Carlos started C & A Properties, LLC, a fully integrated real estate investment company, in 2003. Well acquainted with the struggles and challenges of self-employment and business ownership, Carlos believes in the value of hard work and equates a strong work ethic to civic responsibility. Because of his passion for making Sioux City a better place for all people, Carlos is an active supporter of equity and access in healthcare, housing, education, government and employment. Carlos lives out his philosophy that community advocacy is a mandate, not an option.

For more than a decade, Carlos has given voice to struggling children, working families, disempowered workers, and marginalized individuals in Sioux City and throughout the country. Through his advocacy and volunteerism, Carlos has participated in national forums, has served on statewide committees, and has worked on local boards and initiatives to improve work and life conditions for Siouxlanders.

 Carlos Venable-Ridley delayed his own education and putting two brothers through college; Carlos received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University in 1995, and later earned a Masters of Science in Administrative Studies from South Dakota University in 1999. Carlos resides in the Morningside area of Sioux City with Michelle, his wife of thirteen years, their son, Carlos II, and their daughter, Alijah.