Maria Guerra

• First deputy director of Chicago's Office of Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs
• Age: 37
• From: Humboldt Park
• Lives in: Wicker Park

You wouldn’t want to mess with Guerra in a dark alley; she holds a purple belt in Brazilian jujitsu. “I got into it to learn self-defense, but then I fell in love,” says the DePaul MBA, who also bikes, swims, and does Pilates. Guerra throws plenty of punches at work, too: She helps her boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, push his legislative agenda through City Council.

In the market for: A brainy, athletic man who’s not timid. After all, Guerra once hiked the Camino de Santiago, a 450-mile pilgrimage in northern Spain, by herself.

Conversation starter: Frozen desserts of all kinds. She loves the vanilla soft serve at McDonald’s.