Anna Prager Civic Leader Providence, Rhode Island

Anna Prager came to the United States as a holocaust survivor in 1952 at age 16, with her parents, who had escaped from Europe before World War II. They had escaped from Poland into Russia during the Russo-German Pact. After the war, they returned to Poland to find all of their close family killed in the war. They emigrated to Sweden, then to Israel, from Israel to Canada, and finally to the U.S. The family settled in New York City, where Ms. Prager attended high school at Seward Park and attended Queens College.

In her professional life, Ms. Prager has touched many people’s lives in a variety of roles including research chemist and chemistry teacher, community planner and policy analyst, and leader of Rhode Islanders for a Drug Free Community. Ms. Prager has also served in leadership positions on the South Kingstown Town Council, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, Save the Bay, Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, Governor's Council on Environmental Affairs, Rhode Island Section of American Planners Association, and Rhode Island Land Use Commission. Ms. Prager has been recognized as an outstanding leader with the Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Planners Association and the Leadership Rhode Island Community Service Award.