Hi neighbors and future neighbors!

My name is Dennise (Den) Arres and I have lived in Champaign-Urbana for about 20 years. I have attended elementary school, middle school, high school, and university here and as a naturalized citizen that emigrated here from Mexico I am proud of the community that resides here.

At age 15, I began teaching Sunday school at the Catholic church I grew up in, serving alongside my fellow Latinx community. At age 17, I started working in IT while attending the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, where I studied Computer Science and Behavioral Neuroscience. After graduating at age 21, I continued my IT career in healthcare-focused environments, progressing from a Systems Administrator to an Engineer. Alongside my professional work, I continue to teach Sunday school and serve as a childcare coordinator. I am also an appointed Champaign County Board Member for District 6, and for the past approximately three years, I have served as a Champaign County Democratic Precinct Committeeperson for the City of Champaign 30 precinct. I am now running to serve for the City of Champaign 06 precinct.

For fun, I crochet, play violin and classical guitar, I play chess, do karaoke, plan fun things with my huge family, and I still like to read about fascinating studies relating to Neuroscience discoveries.

I would like to use this site to continue to make local government accessible to us all. Voting is important but it is also vital to understand what we are voting for and why. Everyone’s opinion matters even when it is not election season so my hope is to provide resources for other ways we can all voice our opinions. We can work together to hold our leaders accountable in creating a better community for us all, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized community members.