Mary Gardner
Vice President
Mary Gardner is one of the most prominent community organizers on the West Side of Chicago and the wife of the late Joe Gardner, a member of Mayor Harold Washington’s cabinet as Commissioner of Neighborhoods. The middle child of eight children, she experienced her parents’ financial struggles after they migrated from Alabama to the West Side of the City, and worked her way through college while providing for her children, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from Concordia University. A longtime collaborator with Rainbow PUSH, she became involved with 100 Women for Harold Washington, whose historic campaign opened the door for several women to be elected to Chicago City Council, the Illinois State legislature and U.S. Congress. In 2020, she was appointed to the City of Chicago Women’s Advisory Council and after the botched raid on the home of Anjanette Young, helped organize a coalition of 1,000 women, marching in support of criminal justice reform.
Gardner has served as membership chair of Chicago Women Take Action, former secretary of Chicago Urban Professionals and is a former member of the National Forum of Black Public Administration and Women of the 7th State Representative District. She has been elected both Local School Council parent representative and Local School Council community representative for three different CPS schools and is the mother of two CPS alumni.