Womxn Leading Social Change: Keynote

Don’t miss out to join us for an exciting three part conference called “Womxn Leading Social Change” on March 16th, March 17th, March 29th at 6 pm in collaboration with SOLE, PKG, Women’s & Gender Studies and ISO. Come learn about women’s roles and responsibilities when it comes to leading social change efforts, increase your awareness and commitment to how feminism plays a role within leadership and get inspired to be social change leaders within your own communities!

Keynote Speaker: Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui
Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui is currently serving her third term on the Cambridge City Council, and second as Mayor of Cambridge. Mayor Siddiqui immigrated to the United States from Karachi. Mayor Siddiqui’s passion for service and youth representation motivated her to co-found the Cambridge Youth Council. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Brown University, Mayor Siddiqui served as an AmeriCorps fellow at New Profit, a then Cambridge-based organization dedicated to improving social mobility for families. Upon earning her J.D. from Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law, she moved home to practice as a legal aid attorney with Northeast Legal Aid.
As Mayor, her priorities include increasing affordable housing, supporting local businesses, improving Cambridge Public Schools, and leading Cambridge through the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this crisis Mayor Siddiqui:
• Launched the Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund, which has raised over $5 million dollars to help individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations
• Started Cambridge RISE, one of the first guaranteed income pilots in the country
• Sponsored the Tenant Rights and Resources Notification Act
• Increased internet access to low-income families to equitably participate in remote learning
• Founded a Winter Support Drive for residents in need
• Initiated an Early College Pilot with Cambridge Public Schools and Lesley University
During her time in office, she has chaired the Mayor’s Task Force on Tenant Displacement, increased funding to legal aid services, and advanced the Condominium Conversion Ordinance. Mayor Siddiqui, who serves as chair of the School Committee, has promoted equitable access to education for Cambridge families by increasing scholarship funding for low-income children to attend high quality preschools and by implementing a Children’s Savings Account program along with the City Manager’s Office and Cambridge Public Schools, helping families build dedicated savings for post-secondary education. Mayor Siddiqui has sponsored numerous community events, including Cambridge Digs DEEP, a series of Citywide forums and workshops on racial justice, and held an annual Cambridge Community Iftar during the month of Ramadan. She has helped preserve the City’s existing expiring-use affordable housing at the Rindge Towers, and has collaborated with residents and advocates to clean up and revitalize the area around Jerry’s Pond, an environmental justice site in North Cambridge. In addition she has led efforts to bring halal food to the Cambridge Public Schools, and eliminated library fines that disproportionately affect low-income residents and families of color.
Mayor Siddiqui earned a 2020 NAACP award, Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts Emerging Women Leaders in the Law 2021 award, South Asian Bar Association 2021 Member of the Year, Margaret Fuller House 2021 Gala award recipient, and Greater Boston Labor Council Labor Champion award.

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