Ayanna Pressley is an advocate, a policy-maker, an activist, and a survivor. On November 6, 2018, Ayanna was elected to represent Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, making her the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ayanna believes that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power, and that a diversity of voices in the political process is essential to crafting more effective public policy.
As a sexual assault survivor herself, Ayanna has worked to raise awareness and address this issue throughout her career. And, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, she has also sought to examine sexual harassment policies and procedures within our political institutions, an effort she believes is long overdue in Congress. In fact, her first act on the city council addressed violence and trauma against girls and women. Ayanna continues to chair the Committee on Healthy Women, Families and Communities and will make this area of work a major focus in Congress.