Don’t let the green eyes and light freckles fool you…not only is Tracy Galindo fluent in Spanish, she can ignite any karaoke bar with hits ranging from Banda Music to Reggaeton, and everywhere in between. Her passion for all things multicultural goes way beyond Spanish karaoke.

Whether she’s presenting best practices in Hispanic marketing at a National Conference, or providing solutions in diversity training to a team of store directors, her goal is to help clients achieve greater reach and meteoric results by helping them get rediscovered by new audiences.

A continual goal-setter and achiever, Tracy is in the midst of accomplishing the tasks found in a book entitled “101 Things to do Before You Die.” She’s checked off “things” from skydiving and seeing a space shuttle launch, to riding in a hot air balloon and running a marathon…next time you see Tracy, ask her what’s next on her list!

Danya considers herself an expert in food and travel, having traveled to the Middle East and Europe since she was six. You could definitely blame her parents for her wanderlust and love of food. Danya seizes any and all opportunities to travel (and eat, which go hand in hand to her). Whether you find her in Lisbon, Alaska, Crete, Bruchsal, Tel-Aviv or Napoli, she is proud to call Chicago her hometown, but currently resides in Philadelphia, PA!

Danya graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a degree in advertising and a concentration in public relations. She is a social media addict, in-depth researcher and creative thinker, attributing all of these skills to her multicultural experiences. She believes bringing together her passion for media, marketing and communications and her passion for learning about cultures is the best way to understand consumers and clients.

Danya is recently married and loves hanging with her husband, her family and dog, Oliver. She is one of four children and is close with each sibling. Danya likes to live an active lifestyle whether tennis, yoga, hiking or throwing around a football, she loves it all.

Sooji is a versatile designer and front-end developer who utilizes critical thinking and creativity to design effective solutions. She has a passion for crafting meaningful communications via digital content such as websites, landing pages, emails and other marketing collateral.

Sooji is an integral part of the GT Universe digital team where she channels her energy to help clients reach their goals by following a user-centered design and development approach for creating beautiful and effective websites.

She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Psychology and Visual Communication and a minor in Studio Arts. During her free time, Sooji enjoys crafting and gardening. She can make a tiny paper crane out of 6mm x 6mm paper.

When it comes to building relationships and taking on new projects, Addie’s got it down to an artform, and we mean that both literally and figuratively! With a Degree in Arts Management and Minors in Dance and Theater from Indiana University, there’s no end to her imagination and creativity. Whether she was working at the credit union as a bank teller or interning at music festivals and science museums, she’s always enjoyed wearing many hats – and in her role as Ad & Event Manager for GT Universe, she looks forward to wearing even more!

When she’s not driving sales and increasing efficiencies for our marketing programs, Addie loves taking new dance classes, being outdoors, and spending time with her loved ones. Her creativity shines through her love of dance, costumes and décor, and next time you talk to her, you might even want to ask what DIY or sewing project she’s taking on!

If you’ve experienced one of our cultural and specialty events over the past decade, you’ve more than likely experienced the magic of Mago. Whether she’s at the office sorting through and organizing t-shirts, sunglasses, footballs and other promotional items to give away from our brands…or designing the look of an ambassador’s table…or setting up 30 sampling booths at one of our special events…or making last-minute decisions on the best placement of a jazz band…she truly does it all, and does it with ‘estilo.’ She’s worked her way up from a Brand Ambassador, to Set-Up Support, to Field Manager, to Office Manager, and the best part about Mago is, she’s happy to take on any of those roles on any given day, with a smile!

A Latin music lover, you’ll see an extra skip in Mago’s step when our in-store DJ - or any DJ - puts on salsa and bachata music. A ‘Boy Mom’ who puts family first, she naturally connects with our youngest shoppers and makes them feel right at home at each event. An avid foodie, she’s always keeping an eye on our latest recipes, to see how she can integrate them into her next dish.

When she’s not throwing a party at a grocery store, you can find Mago at the gym, cozying up at home to an action/thriller, or traveling to a sunny spot. While her dream may be to become a teacher, she sure is teaching, inspiring, and motivating countless ambassadors and field team members along the way.

As a Public Relations major, Stephanie knows the importance of storytelling and making sure that a brand’s voice shines through in all that it does. With a longtime goal of getting to work directly with consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, Stephanie is excited to be at GT Universe, where she coordinates specialty programs that put hundreds of brands in the spotlight, and finds ways to continually help brands make their way into more homes in diverse communities.

With a creative mindset and a passion for helping businesses expand their reach, Stephanie is always ready to take GT’s partners to the next level.

Outside of work, Stephanie loves trying out new restaurants, going to sporting events, exploring new places, and hanging out with her friends and family. Some of her personal interests include health, wellness and all things lifestyle!

Lyndsey graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Graphic Communications and a minor in business administration. Although her focus was in design, her business background - combined with her passion for social media - produced a love for all things marketing. With her creative mindset and prior experience in project management, Lyndsey effectively guides our creative, social and overall digital programming from a worldly lens.

From trying exotic foods to traveling to new countries, Lyndsey is always up for new experiences. Her love for learning different cultures stems from taking a trip to the Philippines when she was eight years old. Having travelled far and wide ever since, she is working on accomplishing her bucket list of places she needs to visit or activities to try, such as eating the poisonous puffer fish Fugu! You can safely say “danger” is her middle name.

When Lyndsey is outside of the office, you can find her searching for hole-in-the wall restaurants, going to different events around Chicago or spending time with friends, family and her dog Duncan and cat Yo-Yo. Though she is always out and about, Lyndsey loves to end the day relaxing with her chamomile tea and piece of dark chocolate.

From logistics to hosting to recapping…when it comes to event planning, Oliver has done it all. Given his experience in the world of music, retail, and non-profits, Oliver brings a unique perspective that fuels his creative problem solving, which makes him an ideal fit for the Ad & Event Manager role at GT Universe!

Always enjoying the thrill of the chase, he is endlessly excited at the opportunity to learn and grow, both inside and outside of the office through meeting new people, hearing new voices, and garnering new experiences. One of his most recent accomplishments was building a fundraising event from the ground up - - the notable “No Time 2 Waste” event successfully brought together local Chicago artists to provide further education on the ongoing mental health crisis in the LGBTQ+ youth community. In his spare time, Oliver enjoys a range of activities including music composition, philosophy, snowboarding, and long walks with his pup Theo. He’s always up for the next challenge, and we look forward to see how he takes our programming to new heights!

If anyone on our team knows something about hospitality, it’s Leah. After working in restaurants for almost a decade, she took her social skills to the next level when she decided to accept a position with GT Universe. As our first-ever Creative Producer, a role curated just for Leah, we are thrilled to have these skills translate to creating opportunities with clients, partners, customers, and everyone in between. Leah will also be taking over our social media and all things digital, as her passion for being creative and innovative is simply second nature.

When she’s not working, you can still find her…working! Leah enjoys buzzing away on social media for her dogs’ popular influencer account, cooking up extravagant meals, and more recently, baking everything her taste buds desire. She also enjoys traveling to places she’s never been, and doing things she’s never done…and yes, that includes stepping in as a brand mascot if needed! Just ask her about her JoJo credentials! Needless to say, Leah is here to take GT to new heights all around!