For the past 30 years, Paula Basta has given her time and energy working directly with seniors, families, the disabled, and the LGBT community across Chicago. Because of her deep understanding of the intricacies of aging and City services, and her unique gift for coalition building, she has built bridges with partners and officials alike while helping to give these constituencies a voice for the issues that affect their daily lives.

Senior accomplishments:

Paula began her career as a social worker at Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly in Chicago and later as the parish social worker for St. Clements Parish in Lincoln Park.

These experiences eventually led to becoming Executive Director of H.O.M.E. (Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly). She managed the nearly 30 staff and many volunteers and grew that organization into a million-dollar, multi-disciplinary service agency. This deepened not only Paula’s executive and leadership experience, but also her years-long commitment to making life better for seniors and their families.

As Director of the Chicago Department on Aging’s citywide hotline, Paula learned first-hand both the emergent and long-term needs of the people government is intended to serve. Today, Paula manages one of the busiest senior centers for the City of Chicago – the Northeast (Levy) Senior Center. She also oversees the Northeast Region’s Golden Diner program that provides 4200 meals a week to seniors. She not only keenly understands these needs, but she also works tirelessly through volunteer and advisory capacities to meet the needs of the 4,000 individuals who come through the door of the Senior Center every month.

LGBT highlights:

Paula is also extremely active in the LGBT community. She is the crucial bridge between LGBT organizations and the traditional aging networks. Paula has been a tremendous asset to LGBT community.

Paula served for seven years on the Board for Equality Illinois and as its Board President from 2005 – 2006 – an exciting time during which the Illinois Human Rights Act was enacted and the groundwork was laid for the recent passage of the Illinois Civil Unions law, resulting in the improvement in the lives of thousands of couples starting in June of 2011.

Paula has taken the lead at the city and statewide level in forging alliances between the traditional aging network and LGBT agencies and organizations. She has helped The Center on Halsted’s SAGE Program become a congregate meal site and supported its move to become a center where LGBT seniors can meet and discuss their issues.  She is also the go-to community leader and City representative to whom legislators and council people look to ensure that legislation encompasses vital LGBT and senior issues.

She is currently a member of the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Aging, Cook County State’s Attorney’s LGBT Advisory Council and a Board member of TPAN (Test Positive Aware Network). She was a 2009 inductee into the Mayor’s Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.

Community involvement:

Paula’s political experience and involvement is long-term and based solidly in the kind of grassroots organizing and leadership she will re-awaken and reinforce in the north lakefront communities.  In 2010, Paula completed the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership as one of only 12 women selected statewide – a program recognized for actively recruiting and developing Democratic women leaders for political office.

Believing that all efforts should arise out of and not simply dictate what constitute community issues and needs, she devoted her earliest efforts to the women’s equality and pro-choice movements, to which she added LGBT and senior organizing

Paula’s knowledge of community needs is broad and inclusive: She has served in member, board and advisory capacities with Partners for Rogers Park, Willye B. White Park, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, the Inter-Community Housing Corporation and her local CAPS program.

Her political role model has always been Paul Simon because of his direct appeal to the voters and his skill in forging consensus where no one thought effective compromise possible, and his unerring integrity.  Paula wants a return to that kind of politics, and that kind of politician, and believes that only with the election of truly independent legislators will that happen.

Real Life:

Born in Cleveland, Ohio to a mother who owned a beauty salon and a father who ran an auto repair shop, Paula saw first hand the unique challenges that small businesses faced daily and she embraced their strong spirit of hard work and commitment to family and community. She finished her undergraduate studies with a degree in social work from University of Dayton.

On arriving in Chicago in 1978, Paula found an exciting, diverse, ecumenical movement devoted to issues of racial, economic and social justice and she dived right in.  She became active with Chicago Catholic Women, which led to her completion of a Masters in Divinity at McCormick Theological Seminary in 1989.

Paula and her partner of 9 years, Terri Worman, live in Rogers Park.