It may not have been as prestigious as being honored by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the White House (she was), but Anja Herrman of River Forest was recognized by her hometown village President Cathy Adduci for her contributions to the village Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group at the Jan. 22 Village Board meeting.
Herrman was unable to attend the meeting to accept the proclamation in person, but appeared via Zoom.
“I want to thank the board for taking time out to issue this proclamation,” said Herrman, who at 17 is the youngest member of the DEI advisory group and an Oak Park-River Forest High School senior.
“I love working with the DEI committee,” Herrman said before signing off to do her homework.
In the proclamation, Adduci noted that Herrman was one of 15 young woman leaders selected by the White House Gender Policy Council to be honored at the inaugural “Girls Leading Change” event in October and congratulated her for her “commitment to raising awareness about disability rights and her role as an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Trustees Erika Bachner and Ken Johnson, co-chairs of the DEI advisory group, joined Adduci in offering their congratulations.
“If we listed all her accomplishments, we would be here all night,” Bachner said.
“She always entertained different perspectives that I never considered,” Johnson added.
The proclamation noted that Herrman joined the DEI Advisory Group “to work with others to ensure that River Forest remains a welcoming community for generations after me.”
The first lady spoke near the beginning and end of the 30-minute event, held on the International Day of the Girl. Karin Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, and Jennifer Klein, the director of the White House Policy Council, also spoke.
Herrman was in Washington, D.C., for 24 hours. She went bowling with the honorees before the event. She said she started developing friendships with them and plans to keep in touch.
The proclamation also noted how the White House highlighted Herrman’s role in “grassroots disability advocacy work, including as a member of the Personal Protective Equipment for People with Disabilities Coalition, which helped secure personal protective equipment for people with disabilities during the COVID pandemic.”
In addition, the proclamation mentioned how the White House recognized Herrman’s authorship of “a white paper that highlights the need for school shooting plans that account for the safety of students with disabilities through a fellowship program at the Disability EmpowHer Network.”