Representative Analilia Mejia of New Jersey was born in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey, on August 19, 1977. She earned a B.A. from Rutgers University in New Brunswick in 2000, followed by an M.P.A.P. and an M.L.E.R. from Rutgers University. Mejia worked as a professional advocate and served on the 2012 campaign of United States Senator Robert Menendez, the 2019–2020 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, and the transition team for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. She became deputy director of the Women’s Bureau at the United States Department of Labor in 2021. Elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress by special election, Mejia filled the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Mikie Sherrill.