Meet Josina

Cook County Commissioner Josina Wing Morita was elected in 2022. She is the first Asian American woman to serve on the Cook County board, in the second largest county in the country.  In 2016, she was elected to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), and made history as the first Asian American elected to a countywide board in Cook County. 

As an urban planner and policy advocate, Josina brings expertise in racial justice, water policy, environmental justice, voting rights, and language access.  She is the Founding Chair of the Asian American Caucus and the country’s first Mamas Caucus. She sits on the National Blue Ribbon Commission for On-Site Non-Potable Water Systems and the bi-national Great Lakes Commission. 

Josina’s human rights, racial justice, and environmental justice work has been recognized locally and nationally.  In 2007, she was named one of the top 35 leaders under 35 fighting racism and poverty in Chicago by the Community Renewal Society. In 2013, she received the Emerging Leader Award from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and the Breaking Barriers Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women.  In 2016, she was named one of the 50 Young Asian American Stars in Politics by Asian Fortune Magazine.  In 2017, she received the Spirit of the River Award. In 2018, she was recognized as a National Water Hero by WaterNow. And in 2023, she was named a top Legislator in Leadership by the Illinois Women’s Bar Association.

Josina is the mother of young children Kai and Meiko. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and International Race Relations from Pitzer College and a Masters in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.