If you’re raised in Back of the Yards, nothing is ever handed to you. And that was true for Mayra Macías. Mayra was born at Cook County Hospital. The oldest of three, she and her parents–who are Mexican immigrants–lived with extended family to save money as they worked to get on their feet.

Eventually Mayra’s family moved into a home of their own across the street from her elementary school and the church her family still attends today. It was there she learned the meaning of service. Before Mayra’s dad got a union job with the city as a garbage man, the family sometimes struggled to make ends meet. But Mayra never felt poor; her family was deeply immersed in the community and the church, and everyone helped each other, because that’s just what you do.

Mayra thrived in school and was admitted to Whitney Young, on the near west side and it was then that Mayra experienced for the first time the income inequality that had long existed in Chicago. Her high school years continued to shape her commitment to public service and her community. As a high school senior, Mayra led a student walkout to protest the Sensenbrenner Bill, an anti-immigrant law directly targeting the Latino community. I

After graduating high school, Mayra was accepted to Yale University making her the first in her family to attend a four-year college. Her need-based financial aid covered most costs, but she took on odd jobs to pay for the rest. And she was supported with the Peace and Education Coalition Scholarship for a few years. When Mayra wasn’t working or studying, she was tutoring children in underserved communities, working at La Casa Cultural on campus and spending time in Latin America working with non-government organizations to bring resources to communities in need. Big or small, if someone needed help, Mayra was there. Mayra’s passion for education led her to Teach for America where she taught middle school English for two years. However, after witnessing the consequences that bad policies—made by Washington, D.C. politicians—had on her students and her classroom, Mayra decided to do something about it. So she joined President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign as an organizer.

Since then, Mayra has dedicated her life to building coalitions with organizers, policymakers and advocates to address the needs of families across the country. She served as Executive Director of the Latino Victory Fund, an organization dedicated to helping elect Latinos to office as well as to empower voters to use their voice and their vote to demand change. And most notably, she served as the Executive Director of Building Back Together—an organization that worked closely with the Biden-Harris Administration to pass some of the most meaningful legislation since the New Deal.

Mayra has been chosen for this recognition because of her strong roots and ties to the Back of the Yards while she has developed her skills for advocacy and organizing on the national stage. We are proud that the Peace and Education Coalition Scholarship fund helped support her in her higher education endeavors.