Office of Legislative and Community Affairs
Jennifer Mason
Vice Chancellor for Legislative and Community Affairs
The Office of Legislative and Community Affairs works to build and maintain strong partnerships with local community-based organizations, schools, government officials and departments, faith institutions, and other stakeholders.Our Values
The Office of Legislative and Community Affairs strives to maintain positive relations between government offices, local campuses, and our neighbors and to work collaboratively with community groups to improve the educational experience of our students. The mission of our office is to provide legislative, regulatory, and financial support to CCC through proactive representation before the City of Chicago City Council, the Illinois General Assembly, the offices of Illinois constitutional officers, and the United States Congress.
We seek to introduce legislation that is beneficial to CCC, to expand and maintain financial opportunities for the District, and to foster working relationships with elected officials, government agencies, and industry experts. Our goals are to ensure public understanding of City Colleges’ programs and initiatives, ascertain public attitudes toward issues in education, and identify the public’s educational expectations for their students.
We have developed and will manage the Strategic Community Outreach & Legislative Affairs Plan for City Colleges, which is a focused approach aligned with the District’s core business of education.
Our Core Objectives
We seek to define and advance excellence in community engagement by:
- Identifying key indicators of excellence in the community, state organizations, and local schools
- Identifying potential goals for achieving excellence in community engagement in the next five years
- Locating where we are now relative to that vision and what is supporting/hindering the various constituencies in achieving excellence at present
- Addressing how best to make progress toward sustained excellence in community engagement through appropriate programs, networks, relationships, and structures
- Addressing questions amongst government officials and school/community events
Civic Engagement
The Office of Legislative and Community Affairs cultivates community partnerships that are designed to give students opportunities to explore pathways to community involvement, leadership development, and civic responsibility. Civic engagement takes on individual volunteerism, collective engagement, and electoral participation to foster awareness of societal issues and address issues of public concern.
As part of our civic engagement efforts, City Colleges of Chicago has joined more than 800 other colleges and universities around the country by committing to the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. By joining the challenge, our goal is to increase voting rates across our campuses by helping students, staff, and faculty register and make a plan to vote.
To take the pledge to vote, visit allintovote.org/take-the-pledge and make sure to select your City Colleges campus when you fill out the form.
Faculty and Staff
Faculty & Staff
Jen Mason
Vice Chancellor for Legislative and Community Affairs
jimason@ccc.edu
Nate Ward
Community Relations Strategist – Harry S Truman College and Malcolm X College
Nadia Morris
Community Partner Adult Learner Liaison
Norma Mejia
Community Partner Adult Learner Liaison
Sandra Payan Catano
Community Relations Strategist – Wilbur Wright College and District Office
Steven Gomez
Community Relations Strategist – Olive-Harvey College and Richard J. Daley College
Maggie West
Community Relations Strategist – Harold Washington College and Kennedy-King College
