Elected Officials Representing the 46th Ward
Angela Clay, 46th Ward Alderman
Elected in April 2023, Angela Clay became 46th Ward Alderperson on May 15th 2023.
Angela was born and raised in the 46th Ward, where her family has lived for over 80 years. Her Irish, German, Black, and Native American grandparents raised their multi-racial, multi-generational family in an affordable home on Hazel and Sunnyside. Angela attended Joseph Brennemann Elementary School, where she's sits on the Local School Council. She graduated from Uplift Community High School, the only high school in the 46th Ward. At Uplift, Angela was a student leader and founding member of Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE), researching the high school dropout rate. Recommendations that she and her peers made are still being used by CPS to this day.
Committed to developing policy solutions that would have a positive effect on the lives of ward residents, she went on to earn a degree from DePaul University in public policy. At 22, she became the youngest ever president of Voice of the People in Uptown, a non-profit with over 51 years of work in the community protecting and providing affordable housing.
After giving birth early in the pandemic, Angela organized mutual aid in the community, ensuring that everyone had the resources they needed during a moment of crisis, all with a new baby on her hip. Living here her whole life, Angela has a deep understanding of the diverse communities across this ward and has been working since she was a teenager to bring people together and implement policies that improve the lives of neighbors all across the ward.
Sean Tenner, 46th Ward Committeeperson
46th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Sean Tenner has spent his career working for organizations and officials dedicated to social justice and the public interest. Tenner served on President Obama’s campaign staff during both his U.S. Senate and Presidential campaigns and has worked for years to successfully elect Democrats at every level of government. In addition to leading the Uptown-based consulting firm KNI Communications, he has held leadership roles in a wide variety of innovative non-profit organizations addressing issues important to 46th ward residents.
Tenner was appointed twice by Illinois Governors to the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission following years of human rights work. On the Commission, he worked alongside legislators and other state leaders to develop initiatives related to genocide education. He was an early leader in the Save Darfur movement in Illinois and works closely with refugees from the violence in Darfur and South Sudan who have built new lives in the North Side of Chicago. He values his close ties with the 46th Ward’s Nigerian-American, Ghanaian-American, and Ethiopian-American communities and working alongside many diaspora leaders who call Uptown home.
During his work as Committeeperson, Tenner and 46th Ward Democratic organization members have volunteered with numerous local social service organizations including Voice of the People, Cornerstone Community Outreach, Nourishing Hope (formerly Lakeview Pantry), the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Friends of Uplift Community High School.
As a former President of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Chicagoland Affiliate, Tenner worked with our State Senator Sara Feigenholtz and our former State Representative Greg Harris to pass landmark pieces of breast cancer legislation in the Illinois General Assembly: requiring insurance coverage of breast cancer screenings recommended by physicians, requiring insurance coverage of medical costs related to cancer clinical trials, establishing numerous crucial new state programs to fight breast cancer through the “Reducing Breast Cancer Disparities Act” and requiring insurance coverage and state standards for potentially lifesaving clinical breast exams.
Tenner has done work related to post-conflict reconciliation in South Africa, Rwanda and Northern Ireland, and has also been profiled by CNN for his work founding the Uptown-based Abolition Institute, which has won over $10 million in federal funding to fight modern day slavery. He has received Awards from Voice of the People, the Community Renewal Society and clean government organization IVI-IPO, along with receiving a Belfast (Northern Ireland) Ambassador Medal and a Friends of the Diaspora Award from the Shiloh Institute.
Tenner lives on Buena Avenue with his wife Shiwali, who founded Uptown Rhythms and the annual Uptown Rhythm Festival to elevate the work of local performance artists. He is proud of his mother Nancy, a lifelong Democratic campaign volunteer and retired teacher, and his father Gene who is active in Buena Park Neighbors and has been honored as 46th Ward Senior of the Year for his tireless community work.