Bushra Amiwala

Bushra Amiwala
Bushra Amiwala speaking at international conference
Member of the
Cook County Board of Education
Incumbent
Assumed office
2019
ConstituencyD73.5
Personal details
Born (1997-12-30) December 30, 1997 (age 26)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic

Bushra Amiwala (born December 30, 1997)[1] is a Memon Pakistani-American college student at DePaul University who, as of April 2019, is the first Gen Z elected official in the United States,[2] [3][4]and went down in the Chicago History Museum as the youngest Muslim elected official in the United States.[3][5][6] Amiwala was a Democratic candidate for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in the 2018 Illinois primary election. She lost to the then 16-year incumbent Larry Suffredin in the Democratic primary election on March 20, 2018.[7] Suffredin then encouraged Amiwala to run for public office shortly after she announced her candidacy for D73.5 Board of Education, and was elected in April 2019.[8][9]

Amiwala also became the first Muslim person elected to the board of education seat in her district.[10] In February 2020, Bushra Amiwala was awarded the Asian American Coalition of Chicago (AACC) award for exemplary community service and youth excellence.[11] [12]Bushra Amiwala is known for hosting annual Ramadan Iftar events, which have been attended by notable politicians, including J.B. Pritzker.[13][14]

  1. ^ Blumberg, Nick (2018-02-19). "Bushra Amiwala: Candidate for Cook County Commissioner, 13th District". WTTW News. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  2. ^ Anya, Sen. "Meet Bushra Amiwala, the first Gen Z woman to hold public office in the U.S." malala.org. Retrieved Aug 17, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "CONTENTdm". collections.carli.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  4. ^ Smith, Morgan (2024-03-30). "26-year-old is one of first Gen Z women to hold public office in the U.S., works at Google and is getting her MBA—how she balances it all". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  5. ^ Burke, Sammi (2019-08-07). "How Bushra Amiwala Became the Youngest Muslim U.S. Elected Official & What She Hopes For Next". Her Campus. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  6. ^ "Bushra Amiwala Is One of The Youngest Muslim Elected Officials". NowThis News. Archived from the original on 2019-09-14. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  7. ^ "Bushra Amiwala", Ballotpedia. Retrieved on 5 December 2018.
  8. ^ Davis, Susan; Parks, Miles; Elving, Ron (2019-11-29). "How To Run For Office". NPR. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  9. ^ Meadows, Jonah (2019-04-01). "2019 Election Results: Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood". Skokie, Illinois Patch. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  10. ^ Van Sickle, Dylan (2019-04-05). "Meet Bushra Amiwala: The DePaul Junior Newly Elected to the Skokie School Board". Fourteen East. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  11. ^ Ullah, Syed Khalil (2021-02-22). "Bushra Amiwala receives Exemplary Community Service Award". Patch.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  12. ^ Cox, Brian L. (2021-04-27). "Skokie youth activist Bushra Amiwala featured in new documentary, honored with service award". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  13. ^ Dorfman, Dan. "Gov. Pritzker, other top officials attend Skokie iftar organized by local elected official". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved Aug 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Ullah, Syed Khalil (2021-02-22). "Bushra Amiwala receives Exemplary Community Service Award". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.