NEWSFLASH: Emily endorsed by State Senator Mark Leno; SF School Board Members Rachel Norton and Jill Wynns; her labor union, the Municipal Executives' Association; Joan-Marie Shelley, former President of the United Educators of San Francisco (the Teacher's Union); Gwen Chan, former Acting Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District.

ABOUT EMILY

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ABOUT EMILY

A product of San Francisco public schools herself, Emily and husband Neal Taniguchi have two daughters in the district's signature Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program (JBBP) at Rosa Parks Elementary School. Founded 36 years ago by community leaders and parents, including her own, JBBP continues to promote multiculturalism within the school district.

Effective Advocate for Public Education
Emily is a member of the Rosa Parks School Site Council, the JBBP Parent Teacher Community Council, and the Lowell Alumni Association Board of Directors. In 2008, she chaired the Parent Advisory Council, appointed by the San Francisco Board of Education to ensure parent voices in key policy decisions. She also served on the Proposition A Steering Committee which successfully passed a local measure to increase teacher salaries in 2008.

Diverse Professional Background
In her professional capacity, Emily serves as Executive Director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, where she oversees a $3.5 million budget and a professional staff of 5 to promote the human rights of the women and girls of San Francisco. Previously, she served in the first Clinton White House as Director for International Economic Affairs (1993-1994), after working for AT&T Japan in Tokyo, and later worked in the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission.

Leader in Her Community
A Founding Sister of the Asian Pacific American Women's Leadership Institute, Emily is a graduate of the Emerge political leadership training program, Leadership San Francisco, and Leadership California. She has served on the boards of the Fort Mason Foundation, the Japanese American Citizens League (San Francisco, Tokyo, Washington, DC Chapters), and the Bryn Mawr Alumnae Association. She is currently on the boards of the Lakeshore Acres Improvement Club, the San Francisco Girl Scouts, and Democratic Women in Action.

Distinguished Awards
In 2009, Emily was named Woman of the Year by California State Senator Leland Yee and recognized for her contributions to the women's community by the Democratic Women's Forum.

Education
Emily holds an AB in modern Japanese history from Bryn Mawr College, a master's from the Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies at UC San Diego, and a PhD in communication from Stanford.

Family
She resides in San Francisco with her husband Neal and their two daughters Junko Taniguchi (10), Chief Negotiator, and Izumi Murase (8), Chief Curiosity Officer of the Murase/Taniguchi household.

Check out Emily's photo and video gallery here.

Neal, Emily, Junko, Izumi
Photo by Steve Baudonnet

Girl Scouts Junko, Ruby, Izumi

Emily with Leadership California
classmate Dr. Sylvia Andrew