Mercado on Fifth is gearing up to reopen in May with a renewed sense of mission and a new leader at the helm.
Frances Williams, a Moline native who spent the last 24 years in Denver, Colorado, was hired in January as Mercado’s new Executive Director. She joins the nonprofit organization as it prepares for what will be the eighth season of the popular Friday night outdoor markets on 5th Avenue in downtown Moline.
"We could not have found a better person for Mercado on Fifth at this stage,” said
Maria Ontiveros, who co-founded the organization with her late grandfather Bob
Ontiveros, founder of Group O. “Not only will Frances add value to our network of
small and minority-owned businesses, she has already demonstrated incredible
leadership for our team in her first few weeks.”
Williams’ work experience includes 3.5 years with Mi Casa Resource Center, one of the
largest and oldest Latino-serving organizations in the state of Colorado where she led
the only Women’s Business Center in Colorado for the SBA. While at Mi Casa, and
serving as Senior Director of Pathways, she managed a team of 25+ employees
responsible for direct service of career/workforce development and small
business/entrepreneurship support. She was a key member of a transition team
brought in to take in-person training virtual and then to a new hybrid model amidst
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My passion is to assist other entrepreneurs in launching their own formalized
businesses that can not only build wealth and prosperity for themselves but also
future generations. Coming back to the Quad Cities and being able to continue that
mission through Mercado is a blessing,” Williams said.
Prior to Mi Casa, Frances launched three of her own businesses as well as dedicated
nearly 20 years of her career in service to the protection and preservation of
multi-generational wealth and business for future generations. Of Colombian descent
and fluent in Spanish, Frances spent four years prior to COVID expanding her financial
planning services to families in the majority of Latin American countries. Her love,
pride and passion for culture fueled Frances to find ways to support her Latino
community at home and abroad.
“Becoming a new steward to the mission of Mercado is something I am quite excited
and honored to continue,” Williams shared. “Having places where the minority
entrepreneurs can get education, support and celebration of who they are and where
they are in their journey is key to economic growth and prosperity. Mercado’s place
and influence in Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa will continue to grow.”
Since Mercado was launched in 2016, the organization has been building an equitable
local economy by supporting small-scale entrepreneurship. Working with its
community partners, including Black Hawk College and the Illinois Small Business
Development Center at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities, the organization has
helped to start over 60 new businesses, most of which are minority-owned.
“I look forward to continuing to professionalize the organization with systems and
processes that will help not only our internal team but also external shareholders and
partners like our valued vendors,” Williams said.
Williams is a graduate of Seton Catholic School, Alleman High School and studied
International Business, Finance and Business Administration at Northern Illinois
University, Black Hawk College and Saint Mary’s College. Frances is an avid global
traveler and enjoys a variety of outdoor activities. She is very family oriented and
loves being in the company of her many Midwestern cousins. Due to the sudden loss of
her father, Williams transitioned back to the Quad Cities in late 2023.