Precious Brady-Davis

The Columbia College Chicago School of Theatre and Dance proudly congratulates LGBTQ-rights advocate, environmental activist, and Columbia College Chicago alum Precious Brady-Davis ’13 on her election to the Board of Commissioners for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Brady-Davis, who graduated from Columbia College with an Interdisciplinary BA in Theatre and Liberal Education, is the first Black transgender woman elected to public office in Cook County, Illinois. As previously reported in this blog, she was appointed to the MWRD Board of Commissioners by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to fill a vacant seat in 2023; Illinois voters confirmed her in the position during the general election on November 5, 2024, choosing Brady-Davis, a Democrat, over her Republican challenger.

Precious Brady-Davis

Brady-Davis is the first openly Black transgender woman appointed to public office in Cook County, Illinois, history, according to the Chicago LGBT news site Windy City Times. She is also the first openly Black trans person to serve on a water reclamation board in the United States.

“Honored to be the first Black trans woman elected to public office in Cook County tonight,” Brady-Davis wrote on Facebook. “Together, we’ve made history. Over the next two years, I’ll fight to protect Lake Michigan, champion environmental justice, uplift marginalized communities, and amplify voices too long ignored. Thank you all for your faith in me. The work continues.”