Naquetta Ricks is a Liberian-American politician, businesswoman, and accountant serving as a member of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

from the 40th district. Elected in November 2020, she assumed office on January 13, 2021.

Early life and education

Ricks was born in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

and moved to the United States with her parents amid the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...

. Ricks' paternal grandfather, John Henry Ricks, had been a state representative in Liberia prior to Naquetta Ricks' birth. Her maternal step-grandfather, General Glakron Gblodell Jackson, was superintendent of Bomi County and was killed after ousted politician Charles Taylor launched a rebellion in late 1989 that brought years of civil war and a quarter-million deaths. She was raised in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...

, where she graduated from

Aurora Central High School Aurora Central High School is a high school in Aurora, Colorado. It was originally named Aurora High School and was the first high school in Aurora Public Schools. When Hinkley High School was built in 1963, this school was renamed to its presen ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, in d ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University ...

. Rick’s family found a pathway to citizenship in 1986, when then-President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The law not only tightened enforcement but also made unauthorized immigrants who had arrived before 1982 eligible for amnesty. Ricks became a U.S. citizen in her early 20s.

Career

Prior to entering politics, Ricks worked as an accountant and operated a mortgage business. In 2017, Ricks unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Aurora City Council, placing third in a field of five candidates. In November 2020, Ricks was elected to the

, defeating Republican nominee Richard Allen Bassett. Ricks is the first Black immigrant elected to Colorado's Statehouse. During her campaign, Ricks was advised by New American Leaders and

Emerge America Emerge America is a non-profit national political organization based in San Francisco with the mission to increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training and providing a powe ...

, non-profit organizations that recruit and train female candidates for office. Upon her election, Ricks became one of the first two Liberian-American elected to a state legislature in the United States, along with Nathan Biah of Rhode Island.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricks, Naquetta Living people Liberian emigrants to the United States American politicians of Liberian descent People from Aurora, Colorado Metropolitan State University of Denver alumni University of Colorado Denver alumni Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Women state legislators in Colorado African-American state legislators in Colorado Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women