ROCKVILLE, Md., October 31, 2013—Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the “Most Powerful Women.” The list includes “117 of the area’s most influential women in government, business, health, media, law, education, nonprofits and the arts.” Council President Navarro is one of 53 women who are new additions to the list.
Selected annually by the magazine’s editors, the 2013 list includes First Lady Michelle Obama, Maryland U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski and Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
“I am deeply humbled to be on a list with such distinguished women,” said Council President Navarro. “I appreciate Washingtonian magazine’s editors for recognizing me for this distinct honor.”
The list of the “Most Powerful Women” is featured in the November 2013 issue of Washingtonian magazine. A reception recognizing the honorees will be held at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13.
Councilmember Navarro is the first Latina ever elected president of the Montgomery County Council. She was elected to the Council in a special election in 2009 and re-elected to a four-year term in 2010. Since 2010, she has chaired the Government and Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee.
Prior to joining the Council, she was a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education, where she was twice elected president. During her tenure there, she focused her efforts on kindergarten readiness, advancing the achievement of the County’s neediest students, strengthening parental engagement, expanding bilingual staff and increasing the Board’s accountability to its stakeholders.
Before entering public life she co-founded a community-based organization whose mission was to assist the economic and educational development of Latino and other immigrant communities. School readiness, healthy family development, and academic achievement were primary goals of the organization.
One key initiative led by Council President Navarro’s office is the groundbreaking Latino Civic Project. The purpose of the project is empowering the Latino community to engage in civic participation and to advocate for issues affecting their neighborhoods. More than 100 participants have joined Council President Navarro at conferences, organizational meetings and public hearings. These community leaders volunteer their time and effort to becoming involved in the civic process and have an active commitment to creating positive change in their communities.
In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Council President Navarro as a member of the President’s Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, where she serves on the Early Childhood Education Committee.
# # #