Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 18

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Hayashi is a member of the Board of Registered Nursing, which licenses and regulates registered nursing in California, having been appointed to this position by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. She also serves on the Board's Legislative Committee, which reviews and analyzes legislation and public policies that impact health care and the nursing profession.

Mary's current work with the Board of Registered Nursing is reflective of a longtime personal and professional dedication to health care and public service. She has advised the nation's top policy leaders, and established unprecedented partnerships in support of social causes that previously had no financial or public backing. Mary is the founder and president of the Iris Alliance Fund, a children's mental health foundation, and served as the Alameda County Coordinator in the winning campaign to pass Proposition 63, which will expand mental health care services for children and adults in need. Mary is continuing her involvement with Proposition 63 - now the Mental Health Services Act - as a Commissioner on the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, which was created to monitor the implementation of this groundbreaking measure.

Previously, Mary served as the California Director of the American Public Health Association, where she served as their lead consultant on a bioterrorism preparedness initiative in California. She was also the Chairperson of Planned Parenthood Political Action Fund and was a board member of the National Breast Cancer Coalition and Research!America.

Mary is an advocate for public education, and believes our public schools should have the resources to provide a quality education to residents that will open opportunities for a better life and strengthen California's workforce. Mary focuses on these issues as a board member of the Chabot College Foundation, the Institute of Mental Wellness at CSU East Bay, and Girls, Inc. of Alameda County.

Redbook Magazine recognized Mary as one of its "Mothers and Shakers" and Ladies' Home Journal cited her as a "Woman to Watch." In addition, the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women named her a Women and Industry honoree, and the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center honored her with a 2004 Leadership Award. Her remarkable journey from her childhood in Korea to prominence as a health care leader is documented in her book, Far From Home: Shattering the Myth of the Model Minority. She has been a featured speaker at the California Governor's Women's Conference, The White House Conference on Mental Health, and the Annual Meeting of the Society for Public Health Education.

Mary earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Economics from the University of San Francisco, and her Master in Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University. She lives in Castro Valley with her husband, Dennis Hayashi, a noted public interest attorney. Dennis currently serves on the Alameda and Contra Costa Transit Board of Directors.