Cristina Pacione-Zayas

Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Illinois State Senate.

Cristina Pacione-Zayas
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 20th district
Assumed office
December 22, 2020 (2020-Dec-22)
Preceded byIris Martinez
Personal details
BornChicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)David Cruz
ResidenceChicago, Illinois
Alma materUniversity of Illinois (B.A.)
University of Illinois (M.Ed.)
University of Illinois (Ed.D)
ProfessionEducator

Early life

Pacione-Zayas was born to Hispanic parents Jose A. Zayas and Theresa M. Pacione in Chicago, Illinois, US.[1] She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for her dual Bachelor of Arts degrees, Ed.M. and PhD in educational policy studies.[2] During her time in school, she co-chaired the Campus Committee on Latina/o Issues.[3]

Career

Upon concluding her education, Pacione-Zayas joined the Latino Policy Forum’s Education Department in 2012 and worked as the community schools director at Enlace Chicago. In this role, she managed eight community schools in the Little Village neighborhood and worked as a Culture of Calm Coordinator for the Roberto Clemente Community Academy.[4] In 2019, Pacione-Zayas was appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to serve as Secretary of the Board for the Illinois State Board of Education.[5] During her time at Erikson, Pacione-Zayas also established The Early Childhood Leadership Academy for Illinois leaders and directed the Community Data Lab.[2]

When Iris Martinez announced her resignation as a Senator to accept a position as clerk in the county’s Circuit Court, she announced she would likely choose Pacione-Zayas as her replacement. She said had been "watching and grooming" her for a long time and considered her the person she would "like the committeemen to support."[6] On December 22, 2020, Pacione-Zayas was officially sworn into office to fill the vacated seat, with her term ending in 2022.[7] Although she step down from her role as Associate Vice President, Pacione-Zayas continued to provide counsel and subject matter expertise as a consultant and Senior Policy Advisor to Erikson.[8]

References
  1. "Jose A. Zayas, 2017 Awardee". tasteofclemente.org. April 23, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  2. "Cristina Pacione-Zayas, PhD". erikson.edu. Erikson Institute. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. Payne, Mare (April 19, 2002). "Forum to look at Latina/o experience 10 years after protest". news.illinois.edu. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  4. "Cristina Pacione-Zayas". latinopolicyforum.org. Latino Policy Forum. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  5. "Erikson's Director of Policy Cristina Pacione-Zayas appointed to Illinois State Board of Education". erikson.edu. Erikson Institute. March 4, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  6. Hinton, Rachel (December 4, 2020). "New clerk of circuit court eyeing replacement for her former Senate seat". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  7. Hinton, Rachel (December 22, 2020). "New state senator sworn in to replace former Sen. Iris Martinez". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  8. "Erikson's Associate Vice President of Policy Dr. Cristina Pacione-Zayas Appointed to Illinois State Senate". erikson.edu. Erikson Institute. December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
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