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ROCKVILLE, Md., June 17, 2022—The Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery will honor Councilmember Nancy Navarro for her public service achievements and commitment to advancing racial equity at the museum’s Juneteenth celebration on Sunday, June 19.
"I am incredibly honored to receive this recognition by the Sandy Spring Slave Museum and Art Gallery, an outstanding cultural institution conserving African and African American history and heritage in Montgomery County,” Councilmember Navarro said. “In 2004, I started my career in politics as a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education. I came into office armed with a burning desire to work on addressing and closing systemic inequities. This work I carried with me to the County Council, and after eighteen years of public service, I am proud of the legacy I am leaving behind.”
Every year, the Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery pays tribute to heroes and achievers who have made significant contributions to the community and whose influence has improved the lives of Montgomery County residents and people worldwide.
In 2012, Councilmember Navarro led an effort with Montgomery College, the Ross Boddy Community Center and Comcast to produce a documentary about Sandy Spring called “Sandy Spring: Unity in the Time of Segregation.” You can watch the full documentary here.
Councilmember Navarro, who chairs the Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee, is being recognized alongside other leaders for her dedicated service on the Council, her leadership in adopting a countywide Racial Equity and Social Justice policy and her efforts to improve educational and economic opportunities for the Latino and immigrant communities in Montgomery County. The celebration will be held at noon at the museum located at 18524 Brooke Rd. Sandy Spring, MD 20860. The tribute will include an unveiling of a plaque in her honor.
Councilmember Navarro was first elected to the Montgomery County Council in a special election in 2009 and was re-elected to a four-year term in 2010, 2014, and 2018. Since 2010, she has chaired the GO Committee and serves on the Education and Culture Committee. She has served two terms as Council President. She is the first Latina to serve on the Council and has earned a reputation in our region for bold reform in key strategic areas like early care and education, public education, municipal government, and economic development, with an emphasis on equity for all.
In 2019, Councilmember Navarro was elected to serve as Co-Vice President of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), where she has been a Board member since 2014.
Councilmember Navarro has received numerous awards and recognition, including: the 2009 and 2013 Maryland’s Top 100 Women Award; and the Mid-Atlantic Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Elected Local Government Official of the Year Award. In 2019, Councilmember Navarro was named for the second time to Washington Magazine’s List of Most Powerful Woman in the Washington metro area in local politics and government. In 2020, she received the Humanitarian Spirit Award for Diversity and Equity at National Center for Children and Families; and in 2021 she was inducted into the Montgomery County Women's History Archive.
Learn more about Councilmember Navarro here. Additional information about the Sandy Spring Slave Museum can be found here.
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