About Joshua Gray
Joshua Gray is a candidate for Cook County Board Commissioner of the 3rd District. A Chicago native, Joshua believes every community in our city has the potential to thrive. He is committed to strengthening the neighborhoods in the 3rd District and improving the wellbeing of its residents.
Joshua Gray has proven to be a man of service and champion of people throughout his lifetime. He has worked tirelessly—both alone and in partnership with other community leaders and elected officials— to address issues that negatively affect Chicago communities, including gun violence, youth unemployment, and inequitable state funding for underserved areas. In 2014, for example, Joshua launched the Southeast Legal Clinic, the only free volunteer legal service on the Southeast Side of Chicago, with the help of Pastor John Hannah, Alderman of the 6th Ward, and Chicago Volunteer Services.
Joshua Gray is currently the director of advocacy at a Chicago education reform organization. In this role, he helps families navigate Chicago’s education system and empowers them to demand the best opportunities for their children. Prior to this experience, Joshua was recruited by Arne Duncan to join the Emerson Collective, where he supervised grant funding for youth summer programming through One Summer Chicago.
Joshua Gray spent a large portion of his career working to improve educational outcomes for students. He was an educator and founding dean of discipline and culture at an urban charter high school on Chicago's Westside. Having attended public schools on the South Side of Chicago, Joshua was able to relate to his students and help them get on the right path to college. He also worked to improve the learning environment at schools in Chicago as the school culture and climate manager at Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
Early in his career, Joshua Gray was the director of youth programming at St. Sabina under Father Michael L. Pfleger. He partnered with local businesses to help employ young adults and teamed up with the City of Chicago to create a heavily funded young adult job program. Joshua was also an adult youth minister at the parish who led the St. Sabina community in the planning and execution of proactive community events and group protests.
Joshua Gray is a graduate of Sam Houston State University and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He resides in the South Shore community with his wife, Paraisia Winston Gray, and their four children.
