Ayanna Soyini Pressley popularly known as Ayanna Pressley is an American politician. She is currently serving as the US Representative for Massachusetts’s 7th congressional district since 2019. Her district includes the northern three-fourths of Boston, most of Cambridge, parts of Milton, as well as all of Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, and Somerville. She was previously elected as an at-large member of the Boston City Council in 2010.
What is Ayanna Pressley Famous For?
- US Rep for Massachusets’s 7th congressional district.
Source: @bostonglobe.com
Where was Ayanna Pressley Born?
Ayanna Pressley was born on 3 February 1974. Her birth name is Ayanna Soyini Pressley. Her birth place is in Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States. She holds American nationality. She was born to a father, Martin Terrell, and a mother, Sandra Pressley. Her parents’ marriage eventually ended in divorce. She grew up on the north side of Chicago.
She attended the Francis W. Parker School. She was a cheerleader at high school and did modeling and voice-over work appearing in Planned Parenthood bus advertisements. She was also a competitive debater at high school. She was voted the “most likely to be mayor of Chicago” during her senior year of high school. She was the commencement speaker for her class.
She later attended the College of General Studies at Boston University. However, she did not complete her graduation. She left college to take a full-time job at the Boston Marriott Copley Place to support her mother. Later, she attended Boston University Metropolitan College.
Source: @wamc.org
Political Career
She had interned for the United States Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II while in college.
She later worked as a district representative for Kennedy II after leaving Boston University.
She then became Kennedy’s scheduler, eventually becoming constituency director for Kennedy.
She then became the political director and senior aide for Senator Kerry.
She served as US Senator John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) political director during 2009.
Boston City Council
She was first elected to the Boston City Council in November 2009, making her the first black woman elected to the council. She was the only woman among 15 candidates.
She formed the Committee on Healthy Women, Families, and Communities in her first year as a City Councilor.
The committee addresses issues such as domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking.
She finished first in the council election in 2011, 2013, and 2015. She placed second in November 2017.
Source: @nbcboston.com
US House of Representatives
Pressley announced her candidacy for Massachusetts’s 7th congressional district.
She defeated incumbent United States Representatives Michael Capuano in the Democratic primary election in September 2018.
She later won the general election unopposed.
She became the first African American woman elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress.
She is a member of the informal group known as “The Squad”. The other members of “The Squad” are Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez”. The squad form a unified front to push for progressive changes such as the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-all.
She stated in an interview with The Boston Globe in July 2019 that her office received death threats after President Trump’s tweets of July 14, 2019.
She filed a resolution in September 2019 that calls for the House Judiciary Committee to launch impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Source: @bostonmagazine.com
Honors and awards
2012: Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership, Class of 2012
2012: Truman National Security Project Partner
2014: Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, 10 Outstanding Young Leaders
2014: Victim Rights Law Center, Leadership Award
2015: Boston magazine, 50 Most Powerful People
2015: EMILY’s List, Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award
2016: The New York Times, 14 Young Democrats to Watch
2018: Boston magazine, 100 Most Influential People in Boston, #20
Source: @bostonglobe.com
Who is Ayanna Pressley married to?
Ayanna Pressley is a married woman. She is married to Conan Harris. She has a stepdaughter from her husband’s previous relationship. The family lives in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Her husband, Harris resigned as a senior public safety adviser at Boston City in January 2019 to form his own consulting firm, Conan Harris & Associates.
She was reportedly sexually assaulted while a student at Boston University.
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