Keynote Speaker: Theresa Mah, Ph.D., Illinois State Representative 24th District
Theresa Mah
Born in San Francisco’s Chinatown to immigrant parents, State Representative Theresa Mah has fought tirelessly for working families, focusing on education, economic opportunity, racial equity, and immigrant rights.
A former college professor with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, Rep. Mah has also served as a community organizer, policy advocate, local school council member, and policy advisor to Illinois’ 41st Governor, Pat Quinn. As a member of Governor Quinn’s administration, Rep. Mah’s leadership helped increase minority representation in state employment and expanded opportunities for working families, including many immigrants. As a community organizer, she mobilized the Chinese American community to advocate for a single district and a unified voice in the redistricting process in 2010.
Before taking office, Rep. Mah successfully advocated for a new state-of-the-art public library branch and field house in Chinatown, as well as the restoration of the 31st Street bus route. As a local school council member at Thomas Kelly High School in Chicago, she worked to ensure language access and enrichment opportunities, improving outcomes for the school’s predominantly immigrant families.
Rep. Mah is a strong champion of language access and bilingual education, having served as a member of the Illinois Advisory Council on Bilingual Education. In November 2016, she became the first Asian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly and now leads a caucus of nine Asian American General Assembly members. She is a member of the House Speaker’s leadership team and a Co-Chair of the House Progressive Caucus.
Rep. Mah represents Illinois’ 24th House District, located in Chicago, which includes Pilsen, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Brighton Park, Chinatown, and McKinley Park. Now in her fifth term, she continues to fight every day for her constituents and champion issues such as public education, language access, immigrant rights, workers’ rights, consumer protection, racial equity, and senior services.
Leader Rep. Mah serves on the Appropriations Committee for Higher Education, as well as the Consumer Protection, Executive, Health Care Availability and Access, Health Care Licenses, Immigration & Human Rights, Public Health, Museum, Arts, Culture, & Entertainment Committees.