Megan Mathias

Megan is a hard-working mom, small business owner, community activist and elected Local School Council (LSC) member. She grew up in a small town in Michigan and her mother still lives on the same dirt road. Megan’s childhood home was a summer cottage with no central heat. Her father was a crane operator in the Operating Engineers Union and her mother retired in the Postal Carrier’s Union. Megan’s English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh roots brought her family to the Appalachian Mountains and coal mines of Tennessee. Megan’s grandfather and uncles migrated from the Tennessee coal mines to Flint, Michigan to work at the automotive manufacturing plants. Megan used grit and determination to navigate through life’s challenges; gaining invaluable insight into the benefits of a strong work ethic – a foundation laid by the strong union workers in her family.

A Chicago area resident since 2000, Megan first put herself through college at Michigan State University as a first-generation college student, earning two bachelor’s degrees. Megan found her passion after law school in Chicago – integrating community service into her legal work. After cutting her teeth at bigger firms, she founded a law firm in the 45th ward upon the principles of community, integrity, and innovation.

Megan attended public school and has three children in Chicago Public Schools. The success of public education is important to Megan as a parent, but also as a thoughtful community member. Megan was elected as a parent representative for the LSC for Belding Elementary School, and subsequently elected by her colleagues as the Chair of the LSC. Megan attributes her public education as the path she used to be able to leave her small town, attend college and law school and pursue a career in Chicago. She is a fierce advocate for equity in public education.

Megan has decades of experience working with and advocating for under-served communities and has sat on Boards of Directors for various organizations which include the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago (eliminating racism and empowering women), Life Span (anti domestic violence and human trafficking), and the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law (empowerment of women in the law). Megan has been acknowledged in the community for her work empowering women and received multiple awards including the prestigious Alta May Hulett Award from the Chicago Bar Association’s Alliance for Women, an award named after the first female attorney in Illinois. Megan continues to blaze a trail for the community and intertwine that passion with her work. Megan will bring her experience in negotiation, resolution of high-conflict matters, integrity, grit and determination to her leadership and representation of the 45th ward.