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Veronica Pejril seeks Democrat nod in Senate District 24
Senate District 24 candidate Veronica Pejril (rhymes with EDGE-ril) has been a Hoosier-by-choice since 1996, and she resides in Putnam County.
The daughter of a city water-treatment engineer and a public school math teacher, she is a parent of twin sons, both 2017 Purdue graduates.
Veronica attended Illinois public schools, including the University of Illinois where she received her bachelor’s degree. While a student there, she developed new software tools for musicians and composers and was awarded a doctoral fellowship to Princeton University to continue her research.
While at Princeton, she founded a small business, Black Squirrel Software. After time as a stay-home parent and as a K-8 music teacher, she now leads DePauw University’s instructional technology team and is a part-time assistant professor of music.
Pejril was elected to the Greencastle City Council in 2019, becoming Indiana’s first openly transgender elected official. In council service, she championed infrastructure investment, doubling the 2023 street repair budget.
Councilwoman Pejril supported pay raises for police officers, fire fighters, and other municipal employees to promote morale and retention.
With Greencastle’s Human Relations Commission, Pejril now coordinates community meetings that bring together countywide first responders and health care providers, working toward improved outcomes for mental-health crisis responses across Putnam County. She is president of the Greencastle Board of Zoning Appeals and serves as a city plan commissioner.
Pejril’s non-profit service reflects her values:
• As president of Putnam County Recovery Coalition, she gives vision and direction to the only non-church-based organization providing substance recovery services to the county.
• As treasurer on the Board of Directors for Indiana Youth Group, she provides fiscal guidance to an organization that works to improve outcomes for young LGBTQ+ Hoosiers through programming and activities, and access to health care and rapid-rehousing. IYG has an operating budget of more than $4 million and demand for services has tripled in recent years, correlating with attacks on Indiana’s LGBTQ+ community from the Indiana Statehouse.
• As acting president of the board of trustees for Princeton’s LGBTQ+ alumni association, Pejril provides leadership for an organization leveraging a $1.7 million endowment.
An outspoken champion for marginalized and vulnerable young people, Pejril’s community advocacy has been featured in regional press and television media, including the Indianapolis Star, NUVO, WRTV-6 and WISHTV-8. She represented Putnam County in national media by opening the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the Dunbar Bridge for the second evening of televised programming for the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
In 2017, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin commissioned Veronica as a Kentucky Colonel, the highest title of honor bestowed by the state.
Pejril is active with 100 Women Who Care of Putnam County. She plays piano with her church community and in Putnam County’s music scene. She regularly seizes opportunities to donate her talents to benefit local and regional organizations.
As the next state senator for Indiana’s 24th District, Pejril intends to fight for all Hoosiers’ healthcare freedoms, better paying jobs, affordable housing and improved access to mental health crisis care and addiction recovery resources.
Learn more about Veronica’s vision for Indiana at veronicaforindiana.com.