Rachel Arfa

Director Arfa serves as the City of Chicago's Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD). Arfa is a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., American Culture) and the University of Wisconsin School of Law (Juris Doctorate).  Prior to her current role, she worked as a civil and disability rights attorney for over fifteen years.  She is a 2017 Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy Fellow, 2016 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, a Disability Lead Member, and a 2013 New Leaders Council Fellow.  She was also a founding Steering Committee member of the Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium.  Her awards include the 2024 Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) Claudia L. Gordon Women in Law Inaugural Award, Devices for the Disabled’s 2024 Person of the Year Award.

On the Pace Board, Director Arfa is an ex officio member, representing the City of Chicago in her role as MOPD Commissioner. She has served on the Pace Board since 2020.