Veronica Pejril was born in Chicago, and after transplanting to Indiana in 1996, she has grown firm roots in her community. She began her first year of service representing the third ward on Greencastle’s City Council in January 2020, making history as Indiana’s first openly-transgender elected official. Greencastle’s third ward is economically diverse, and Veronica works for greater access to housing and nutrition for the city’s disadvantaged population. During her time on council, she has worked on the Budget Committee as well as being liaison to the Sustainability Commission and the county E911 Board. During her tenure, she also helped the city adopt a new salary ordinance, ensuring that every municipal employee’s wage was competitive with peer communities.
An alumna of Princeton’s Graduate School, Pejril is also an assistant professor in DePauw University’s School of Music, where she teaches courses in music technology and provides leadership for the university’s instructional technology team. At DePauw, she served on the university’s Diversity and Equity Committee, including a year as Chair during the implementation of a new 5-year DEI plan.
Veronica is politically active. She serves as Secretary for the Putnam County Democratic Party, and on the board of the Indiana Stonewall Democrats LGBTQ constituency caucus. Veronica was one of 35 trans/gender-nonconforming delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, where she opened the Pledge of Allegiance for the 2nd evening’s program.
Veronica serves on the Board of Directors for Indiana Youth Group, a 501(c)3 organization that works to ensure positive outcomes for LGBTQ+ Hoosier youth. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for BTGALA, Princeton’s LGBTQ alumni association. Veronica is active with Greencastle’s local NAACP Unit 3051, Putnam Pride Initiative, and the Putnam County Arts Council. She plays jazz/blues 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. She is a proud parent of two Purdue graduates and a resident of rural Greencastle since 2006, after a decade in northwest Indiana. Veronica is a motorsports enthusiast and avid gardener.