Nancy Navarro (born August 15, 1965) is a

Venezuelan-American Venezuelan Americans (, ''venezolano-americanos'', or ''estadounidenses de origen venezolano'') 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 U.S. of Ven ...

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 (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

. 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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

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 (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 northern p ...

. She graduated from

University of Missouri-Columbia The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. Founded in 1839, M ...

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 who served as the 7th county executive of Prince George's County, Maryland from 2010 to 2018. He previously served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegate ...

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. Incumbent Governor Larry Hogan was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. This was the first gubernatorial elect ...

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 area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

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

Maryland Manual Online (

Maryland State Archives The Maryland State Archives serves as the central depository for government records of permanent value. Its holdings date from Maryland's founding in 1634, and include colonial and state executive, legislative, and judicial records; county pro ...

) {{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