Mary Hayashi

• Biography:

  Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) represents the Bay Area’s 18th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Hayward, San Leandro, Dublin, most of Castro Valley and Pleasanton, and a portion of Oakland, and the unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, Sunol and San Lorenzo. She was elected to the State Assembly in November 2006.

  Assemblywoman Hayashi is a member of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass’ leadership team and serves as Chair of the Business and Professions Committee. The committee’s primary purpose is to protect consumers, with oversight of the Department of Consumer Affairs occupational licensing and enforcement boards.

  Assemblywoman Hayashi brings to the Legislature her deep interest in issues related to health and access to care. Ms. Hayashi is a member of the Assembly Health Committee. Her first-term accomplishments include laws that provide low-cost vision care to seniors, increase the number of Medi-Cal providers, better protect children from neglect and abuse, and grant County Boards of Supervisors authority to review the files of children who die while under the protection of the county welfare services.

  Assemblywoman Hayashi also carries a profound and personal commitment to mental health matters. In her first term, Ms. Hayashi authored legislation (AB 509) that became the catalyst for Governor Schwarzenegger to establish the Office of Suicide Prevention for California. She also continues to serve as a commissioner on the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, which monitors the implementation of mental health care services under Proposition 63.

  Assemblywoman Hayashi's devotion to health care causes has been nationally recognized. Redbook magazine honored her as one of its "Mothers and Shakers;" and Ladies' Home Journal cited her as a "Woman to Watch." Additionally, the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women named her a Women and Industry honoree, and the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center acknowledged her with a 2004 Leadership Award. This year, she has been selected to receive the National Public Policy Award from the American Association of Suicidology.

  Assemblywoman Hayashi is the first Korean-American woman to serve in the Legislature. The story of her remarkable journey from a child in Korea to a national voice on health care and access is recorded in her ground-breaking book: Far From Home: Shattering the Myth of the Model Minority.

  Assemblywoman Hayashi earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Economics from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University. Ms. Hayashi lives in Castro Valley with her husband, Dennis Hayashi, an Alameda County Superior Court judge.