Making HERstory

Chicago, Ill. – March is Women’s History Month which became a national celebration in 1981. This month is time for us to celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made throughout American history in a variety of fields. This month, BUBAA would like to spotlight and celebrate the achievement of our own, Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly. Congresswoman Kelly has served Illinois's 2nd Congressional District (which includes Kankakee County and parts of Cook and Will Counties) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013.

Recently, she made history by being elected the first woman and African-American to Chair the Illinois Democratic Party.

Born and raised in New York, she moved to Illinois after graduating high school to attend Bradley University in Peoria, where she earned her B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Counseling. She was inducted into the Zeta Phi sorority at Bradley University. She received a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University.

Before her current office, she served as the director of the Crisis Nursery at Crittenton Care and Counseling Center, Associate Director of The Youth Shelter, Director of Multicultural Student Services at Bradley University.

Her commitment to public service began as served as the director of community affairs in Matteson. She is co-founder and past president of the Unity Coalition of the South Suburbs. She continued her journey of public service when she joined the Illinois State House of Representatives in 2003. She served as the chief of staff for Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois State treasurer from 2007–2010. In this position, she was the first African American woman to serve as chief of staff to an elected constitutional statewide officeholder. In 2011, Kelly was appointed as the Cook County's chief administrative officer. At that time, it was the second-largest county in the U.S.

Kelly served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, representing the 38th District. She then served as chief of staff for then-Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias until 2010, the first African American woman to serve as chief of staff for a constitutional officer in Illinois.

Congresswoman Kelly has served on the Committee on Science, Space and Technology and on the Committee on Oversight and Congress Government Reform, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee and Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade. A firm advocate of common-sense gun reforms and responsible community policing, she served on the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce co-chair. She wrote the 2014 Kelly Report on Gun Violence in America, the first congressional analysis of the American gun violence epidemic.

Devoted to improving the health and wellness of defenseless communities across the country, she serves as the Vice-Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, and Co-Chairs the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. She also Co-Chairs the House Democratic Policy Group and House Tech Accountability Caucus.

She continues to serve in her community as a commissioner on human rights in Cook County. She also holds the position as a board member of the Hate Crimes Commission, Rich Township Food Pantry Illinois Theatre Center, Bradley University Trustee, and Bradley University Council.

BUBAA would like to honor and thank Congresswoman Kelly for her continued service on the national level, in the community, Bradley, and definitely BUBAA.