Gov. Pritzker Announces 21 New Members of the Illinois Council on Women and Girls

Springfield, Ill. - Standing with women from across Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker named 21 new members of the Illinois Council on Women and Girls at a Tuesday reception in Springfield. Formed in 2018, the Council's mission is to advise the Governor and the General Assembly on policy issues impacting women and girls in Illinois.
 
"The new members of the Illinois Council on Women and Girls will help Illinois become a national leader in addressing issues impacting women and girls," said Governor JB Pritzker. "For decades, I've been committed to making sure that the voices of women and girls are heard in our debates, and I look forward to listening to the Council and its members to advance our shared priorities."
 
Governor Pritzker named Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton as Chair of the Council.
 
"I am honored and thankful to Governor Pritzker for naming me Chair of the Council," said Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. "I will work alongside the women of the Council and across our state to lift up solutions to the issues we face, especially those impacting women whose voices have gone unheard in the past. Together we will expand opportunity for women across our state."
 
The new members of the Council are Pamela Althoff, Amanda Basso, Candace Coleman, Sylvia Collins, Rochelle Crump, Brandy Donaldson, Veronica Espina, Theresa Forthofer, Monique Garcia, Kaethe Morris Hoffer, Aileen Kim, Ines Kutlesa, Jennifer Lee, Maaria Mozaffer, Wendy Pollack, Dr. Vidyha Prakash, Nikita Richards, Drella Savage, Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, Rhonda Thomas and Amina Zaffer.
 
The Council consists of 21 members. The Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives are each able to appoint four public members to the Council.
 
The reception included speakers from across the state who congratulated the new members and celebrated the Council. The reception's featured guests included girls from Springfield's Boys and Girls Club, I AM E.N.O.U.G.H, a Springfield program seeking to empower young women and girls from the Springfield Girl Scout Troop.

The Council will issue semi-annual reports on its policy recommendations by June 30th and December 31st of each year to the Governor and the General Assembly.