Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis has been named to Out Magazine’s 2025 Out100 list, honoring her as one of the year’s most influential LGBTQ+ people.
Brady-Davis earned the recognition for her leadership in public service, environmental advocacy and social justice. Joli Angel Robinson, CEO of Center on Halsted, was also named an Out 100 honoree. More to come on her recognition.
Since becoming the first Black openly transgender woman elected to public office in Cook County—and the first to serve on a water reclamation district in the United States—she has championed equity and sustainability across the region.
“To be named to the Out100 is not just a personal honor, but a powerful affirmation of the visibility and resilience of Black transgender women in leadership,” Brady-Davis said. “This recognition underscores the critical importance of having diverse voices at the table, especially in environmental policy and public service.”
In addition to serving as an elected official, Brady-Davis is chief strategy officer for Center on Halsted.
“Together these roles show that infrastructure and public service are inseparable, delivering real results that people can see and feel in their daily lives,” Brady-Davis told Out.
The recognition also carries a personal resonance for Brady-Davis, who said reading Out Magazine offered a “light in the darkness” while growing up in a household that did not affirm her gender identity. Now Brady-Davis hopes to be that light for others.
The full list and Brady-Davis’s profile will appear in Out’s upcoming issue and will be celebrated at a gala in Los Angeles next month.
The national spotlight comes months after Brady-Davis participated in a transformational executive education program at Harvard Kennedy School.
The three-week fellowship brought together 80 public servants from around the world, including a small cohort of LGBTQ+ officials who received David Bohnett Leaders Fellows scholarships.
For Brady-Davis, the experience offered a rare chance to pause and reflect on her leadership style.
She said her time at Harvard reaffirmed her beliefs on leadership and taught her new frameworks for preparation and collaboration, including a “prepare for the worst” mindset borrowed from national-security training.
“If you prepare for the worst, you will always be prepared,” she said.
Since returning to Chicago, Brady-Davis has applied what she learned to her work on flood preparedness at MWRD. She said the program pushed her to think about climate resilience not just as infrastructure, but also as communication—helping residents understand their role in protecting their homes and neighborhoods.
She recently launched an updated resource at waterisprecious.org outlining steps Cook County residents can take to prepare for flooding and climate impacts.
“I left really thinking about impact—about being even more intentional in how I do my work,” Brady-Davis said. “It made me focus on problems in a more granular way and think more deeply about how the government can truly deliver for people.”