Annette Nance-Holt A glass ceiling was not just cracked, it was shattered, when Annette Nance- Holt was appointed as the Chicago Fire Commissioner in 2021. She became the first woman, and black woman, to lead the Chicago Fire Department in its long history. Commissioner Nance-Holt has served
as a member of the department for more than 35 years. Her career began as a firefighter and she then promoted through the ranks to the positions of Lieutenant-EMT, Captain-EMT, Battalion Chief-EMT, and in 2018, she became the First Deputy Commissioner. Throughout these many years, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a contagious passion for service to the city she loves. Commissioner Nance-Holt has noted that while growing up, she never saw a female firefighter, or a firefighter of color, that she could look to as examples and role models for what women could strive to become. While admitting that as a young girl becoming a firefighter was something she didn't think possible for her, she came to believe strongly that Chicago needed a fire department that was a diverse organization mirroring the city it served - in every neighborhood - every day. High on Annette's list of goals has been to show future generations of young black women that they too can achieve anything they have the desire to be in life...including a Chicago Firefighter. As Fire Commissioner, she believes that the department must put the safety of the firefighters, and the safety of the community, first - above all else. With everything that goes on in a large and vibrant organization, those must serve as "true north" for the focus of the department's leaders. That must
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