Who is Ghousia?
About Ghousia
A longtime neighbor with the experience to listen carefully, make sound decisions, and follow through.
A Ward 8 Neighbor
Ghousia Wajid has called the Aurora–Naperville community home for more than 25 years. For the past 11 years, she and her husband have lived in White Eagle in Ward 8, where they raised their two children and built lasting relationships with neighbors, parents, educators, local businesses, faith communities, and civic organizations.
Her connection to the community is also practical. For 10 years, her family owned and operated a Subway franchise in Aurora. That experience gave her a firsthand understanding of what it takes to manage costs, serve customers, support employees, and keep a local business moving through both good and difficult periods.
Ward 8 is where Ghousia has raised a family, built a career, operated a business, and invested years in public and community service. It is not simply the area she hopes to represent. It is her home.
Why She Is Running
Ghousia is running because residents deserve representation that is visible, accessible, and consistent throughout the entire term. In conversations across the community, she has heard a common frustration: people often do not know how decisions affecting their neighborhoods are made, whom to contact when a problem arises, or whether their concerns are receiving meaningful follow-up.
Ward 8 is also facing decisions about development, city spending, local businesses, infrastructure, and the services available to families and seniors. Those decisions will shape the ward for years. Ghousia believes residents should be heard before decisions are made, not after the outcome has already been determined.
She will approach municipal issues on their merits, ask difficult questions, communicate openly, and put the interests of Ward 8 residents first.
Experience That Prepares Her to Serve
Ghousia brings together corporate leadership, small-business experience, teaching, local government service, and years of grassroots involvement.
Professional leadership
As a Senior Program Manager, she has worked on major business and technology initiatives that require careful planning, risk awareness, coordination across teams, and accountability for results. Her career spans more than 20 years across banking, consulting, technology, retail, and food service.
Education and mentoring
Ghousia holds an MBA and brings experience in teaching and mentoring.
Planning and development
As an Aurora Planning and Zoning Commissioner, she reviews land-use, development, rezoning, and zoning matters and makes recommendations to the City Council. The role has given her direct experience with the city process and the need for thoughtful, transparent decision-making.
Community and accessibility service
She is serving a third term as secretary of Aurora’s Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board and a third term on Naperville’s Advisory Commission on Disabilities. Her work has supported educational opportunity, cultural understanding, accessibility, and stronger connections between residents and local government.
Grassroots experience
Ghousia served two terms as an elected Democratic precinct committeeperson and has participated in candidate forums, voter outreach, phone banking, canvassing, and other efforts to strengthen local civic participation.
Leadership in Action
When Ghousia learned that some Aurora students were beginning the school year without the supplies they needed, she did more than talk about the problem. She organized a school-supply drive in White Eagle, brought neighbors together, and helped collect and prepare 200 school bags filled with classroom essentials. The bags were distributed through community organizations serving children and families across Aurora.
She has used the same approach in other efforts, including coordinating a holiday toy drive that brought together volunteers from several communities and delivered toys to children receiving care at area hospitals.
She also helped organize food drives, Diwali celebrations, International Yoga Day, and Aurora’s first Pakistan Flag Raising Day alongside the annual India Flag Day observance.
Her record reflects a straightforward leadership style: identify a need, bring people together, build a workable plan, and stay involved until the work is done.
A Record of Results
Expanded educational opportunity
Helped increase the student scholarship fund of the Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board from $5,000 to $10,000.
Built bridges across communities
Recognized with the Mayor’s Light and Excellence Award for work that advanced community understanding and participation.
Sustained civic involvement
Continues to serve through local boards, commissions, interfaith work, cultural programs, voter engagement, and community organizations, including service as IAMC president.