www.negociosnow.com
4 March 2020
Age: 30
Title: Cook County Commis-
sioner
Name of Organization: Cook
County
Alma Anaya is a trailblazer
who not only was the youngest
woman to ever serve on the
Cook County Board of Com-
missioners, she also became the
only Latina on the board in over
25 years and became one of the
few formerly undocumented
immigrants in the nation to hold
elected office.
A native of Guadalajara,
Mexico she immigrated to the
United States at age six. The
eldest of four children, she
was raised by a single mother
on Chicago's South Side. After
earning a bachelor's degree in
communications, she recei-
ved a master's degree in public
administration from the Uni-
versity of Illinois at Chicago
(UIC).
With a history of major le-
gislative accomplishments be-
hind her, in 2019 Commissioner
Anaya also helped pass an ordi-
nance terminating the county's
gang database and prohibiting
data sharing, setting a model for
other jurisdictions.
During the 2019 budget cycle,
Commissioner Anaya successfu-
lly pushed a budget amendment
allocating funds to expand re-
sources for domestic violence
survivors, an issue personal to
her because it will help connect
survivors with services including
trauma-informed care.
Commissioner Anaya serves
as co-chair of the Cook Cou-
nty Complete Count Census
Commission and has worked
diligently with community and
government partners to ensure
a complete 2020 census cou-
nt. She is also chair of the Cook
County Commission on Social
Innovation, an entity focusing
on economic and workforce de-
velopment. Anaya also serves as
vice-chair of the Business and
Economic Development Com-
mittee as well as the Pension
Committee on the Cook County
Board. She also serves as chair of
the Real Estate Committee and
Audit Committee on the board
of the Forest Preserve District of
Cook County.
An Accomplished
Trailblazer
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"M
y accomplishments would
not be possible without
community support. My decisions
as a policymaker prioritize
community input at the forefront;
this is how true social change can
be achieved."
Alma Anaya
