- Date of Birth: February 3, 1974
- Place of Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio
Congresswoman Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician, activist, and legislator serving as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts’s 7th congressional district since January 2019. The district includes most of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, and parts of Milton. She is the first Black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts and a prominent member of “The Squad,” the informal group of progressive Democratic lawmakers.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Pressley grew up facing significant challenges. Her father struggled with addiction and incarceration, while her mother worked multiple jobs as a community organizer. Pressley attended Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, where she excelled as a debater, cheerleader, and model. She later attended Boston University but left to support her family financially, taking courses at BU Metropolitan College while working full-time.
Pressley is a survivor of nearly a decade of childhood sexual abuse and a sexual assault while attending Boston University. She has openly shared these experiences to advocate for survivors.
Political Career
Pressley began her career as a staffer for Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II and later served as Political Director for Senator John Kerry. In 2009, she was elected as an at-large member of the Boston City Council, becoming the first woman of color in the council’s 100-year history. She served from 2010 to 2019, focusing on women’s and children’s issues, health equity, transgender rights, economic justice in underserved neighborhoods, and supplier diversity for minority and women-owned businesses.
In 2018, Pressley made national headlines by defeating ten-term incumbent Mike Capuano in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts’s 7th district with 59% of the vote. She ran unopposed in the general election and has been re-elected since.
In Congress, Pressley serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. She is known for championing reproductive justice, immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, workers’ rights, and support for survivors of sexual violence. In 2020, she publicly revealed her battle with alopecia, an autoimmune condition causing hair loss, and has since become a leading advocate for the alopecia community.
Official Links:
- Official Congressional Website: pressley.house.gov
- Twitter/X: @AyannaPressley
- Instagram: @AyannaPressley
- YouTube: @reppressley
