Commissioner Kari K. Steele was elected November 6, 2012 to her
first term as a Commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD).

Commissioner Steele is currently serving as the Chairman for the Budget and Employment Committee, the Information Technology Committee, and the Monitoring and Research Committee, and Chairman of the MWRD Employees Credit Union. She also is the Vice Chairman for the Stormwater Management, Finance and Real Estate Development Committees.

Commissioner Steele is a chemist, an environmentalist and a community leader. She has more than 11 years of experience working as a chemist. She has worked at both the Jardine Water Purification Plant (as a water chemist) and the MWRD (as a water sampler and lab technician). This background makes Commissioner Steele uniquely qualified to discuss and analyze proposed operational changes and operational efficiencies.

Commissioner Steele is a member of the Illinois Women’s Institute of Leadership; member of the 8th Ward Women’s Auxiliary Council; member of the Sierra Club; member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; member of the 27th Ward Regular Democratic Organization; member of Southside Democracy for America (2016); and a member of West Side Black Elected Officials (2017). Commissioner Steele was a 2014 Chicago Defender Woman of Excellence Honoree; 2014 Edgar Fellow; 2016 Graduate of the Metropolitan Leadership Institute and a recipient of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Freshwater Lab water award (2017). She is a past member of the Young Democrats of America; past Chairman of the 6th Ward Young Democrats; past Chairman and Treasurer of the Young Democrats of Cook County; and the Society of Cosmetic Chemists.

Commissioner Steele has a Pre-med degree in Chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana.