Candidate for
Board Member; San Francisco Unified School District

Dr. Emily Murase is a community leader, public policy advocate and a champion of schools and students. She has dedicated her career to creating opportunities for the city's youth and improving the lives of disadvantaged people in her community. As a product of San Francisco public schools and as a mother of two children currently enrolled in the school district, Emily is aware of the challenges facing the school district and is committed to making a difference.

As the granddaughter of immigrant sharecroppers from Japan, Emily inherited the values of hard work, perseverance, and community building. She learned from an early age that a quality education can change lives and strengthen communities. Her late father Kenji relied on public education to get him from the dusty fields of the Central Valley to a rewarding career at the San Francisco State University Graduate School of Social Work where he trained many of our community leaders. Emily's late mother Seiko immigrated from Japan to attend US schools and trained to become a social worker for the City and County of San Francisco.

As a champion of San Francisco public schools, Emily continues the legacy of her parents who were among the Founders of the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program (JBBP), a signature program of the San Francisco public school system since 1972. 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.

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.

In addition to these roles, Emily is very active in her community. 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. 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.

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.