Alana Warren
Alana Warren joined the Civic Federation as a Senior Research Associate in April 2021, working to research and analyze various policies affecting the state budget. In May 2020, Alana earned a Master of Public Policy degree from Loyola University Chicago. In graduate school, Alana worked for Loyola University Chicago as a mentor to undergraduate students receiving academic funds through the federal government. She has also worked at the American Library Association as an advocate for librarians continuing their education in library collections and technical services.
Alana has experience interning for several political offices that include former Alderman Joe Moore of the 49th Ward, various state representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly and former Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri. Alana’s interest in policy began when she interned with the Immigration Law Project at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. While there, Alana researched, collected and analyzed data on immigrants within various St. Louis municipalities to organize programs associated with helping immigrant survivors of domestic violence.
At the Civic Federation, Alana leads several projects, including the State of Illinois budget analysis, the Chicago Public Schools budget analysis, and the effective property tax rates report within Northeastern Illinois. She has also written a series of blog posts related to the State’s use of COVID-19 relief dollars and cannabis revenues, as well as the State’s efforts to improve higher education funding for its public universities. In May 2023, Alana was selected to be a Chicago United for Equity (CUE) fellow on behalf of the Civic Federation—working towards building a more equitable Chicago alongside other local civic institutions.
Alana holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Political Science from Tennessee State University. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending concerts and local events, and checking out new exercise classes.
