Maria Hadden, originally from Columbus, OH, moved to the Rogers Park neighborhood when she first arrived in Chicago in 2004. Like many, Maria chose Rogers Park because of the diverse and welcoming community, its proximity to the lake, its culture, and its affordability.
Alderwoman Hadden has found a community in the 49th Ward through her activism and engagement with her neighbors. When the housing bubble burst, she organized her neighbors to save their homes. She’s a founding board member of The Participatory Budgeting Project where she led participatory budgeting processes in Chicago and across the country to build community power through the democratic process and to ensure all voices are engaged and represented in the public decision-making process. Before being elected to serve as Alderwoman of the 49th Ward, she founded and served as the Executive Director of the national non-profit, Our City Our Voice. This nonprofit worked across the country to redesign democracy for more empowered and equitable participation.
Maria is the first openly LGBT woman on City Council as well as one of the first Black Aldermen to serve the north side of the city. She currently sits on eight committees at City Hall, including the Committee on Housing and Real Estate and the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Buildings. On these committees, she is focused on working with her colleagues on environmental issues, comprehensive COVID recovery, reinvestment in people through services, programs, and resources, and finding innovative paths to home ownership and affordable housing for all Chicagoans. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, she formed the Rogers Park Community Response Team to help connect neighbors to food and rent assistance.
Maria lives with her wife, Natalia, and their dog in a cooperative apartment in the heart of Rogers Park.