Nancy Navarro (born August 15, 1965) is a

Venezuelan-American Venezuelan Americans ( es, link=no, venezolano-americanos or ) are Americans who trace their heritage, or part of their heritage, to the nation of Venezuela. The word may refer to someone born in the US of Venezuelan descent or to someone who ha ...

politician and the first

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

county council member in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

. She served on the county council from 2009 to 2022, representing District 4, the largest and most diverse district in the county. Navarro was appointed to the President’s Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics by

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

in 2011. Navarro received international attention in March 2021 when two technicians were heard laughing at her accent during a virtual council meeting while she was speaking about inequitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Early life and education

Navarro was born in

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. She graduated from University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology.

Career

Before running for public office, Navarro was an educator in the Montgomery County Public School System. She was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Education in 2004. She served five years on the Board of Education and held the offices of both President and Vice-President. During her time on the school board, Navarro co-founded Centro Familia, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to assist the economic and educational development of Latino and other immigrant communities. Navarro was elected to Maryland's Montgomery County County council in a May 2009 special election. She is a self-proclaimed progressive Democrat who has championed legislation to increase racial equity, provide resources to Latinos striving for higher education and increase economic development. In October 2011,

appointed Navarro as a member of the President’s Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, where she served on the Early Childhood Education Committee. In 2018, she was president of the Montgomery County Council. In 2020, she opposed ballot questions B and D. In 2022,

Rushern Baker Rushern Leslie Baker III (born October 24, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected county executive of Prince George's County, Maryland in 2010 and won re-election in 2014. In 2018 and 2022, he ...

chose Navarro as his running mate in the Democratic primary of the

2022 Maryland gubernatorial election The 2022 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the next Governor of Maryland. Governor Larry Hogan, the incumbent two-term Republican, was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive ter ...

Personal life

Navarro resides in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

with her husband, Reginald, and their two daughters, Anais and Isabel.

Awards and accolades

In 2007, Navarro was awarded the Hispanic Hero Award by the U.S. Hispanic Youth Entrepreneur Education. She is also a 2009 recipient of the Heart of the Community Award from the Community Teachers Institute. Additionally, she has received the Maryland State Department of Education "Women Who Dare" Leadership Award, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County Leadership Award. In 2020, she was inducted into the County Women's History Archives. In 2021, Navarro was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

References

External links

The Politics Hour
March 12, 2021 , WAMU {{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Nancy Living people 1965 births Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Hispanic and Latino American city council members Maryland Democrats People from Colesville, Maryland People from Silver Spring, Maryland Politicians from Caracas School board members in Maryland University of Missouri alumni Venezuelan emigrants to the United States 21st-century American women County commissioners in Maryland