Who is Fiona Ma?

Democrat Fiona Ma is a new kind of leader for a new California.  She puts aside partisan politics to get things done, and stands up for what she believes in.  In just over a year in Sacramento, Assemblywoman Ma has won tough fights to protect young children from toxic chemicals, grow California's economy, and bring high speed rail to California.  As Assembly Majority Whip, Ma is the highest ranking Asian American woman in the California legislature.

A Certified Public Accountant, Fiona Ma got her start as head of a business association working to promote women and minority-owned businesses.  As a delegate to Bill Clinton's 1995 White House Conference on Small Business, Ma learned the importance of building coalitions to get things done.

For seven and a half years, Fiona Ma worked as an to aide to John Burton, an Assemblyman and Congressman who served as leader of the California State Senate.  She helped ordinary San Franciscans get government services and ensured that all communities had a voice in government through state board and commission appointments that reflect the diversity of our state.

In 2002, voters in the Sunset district entrusted Fiona Ma with representing their interests by electing her to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She quickly went to work, improving neighborhood quality of life, fostering
homeownership opportunities, bringing jobs to San Francisco, and cutting waste out of local government to preserve crucial services.  As the only Asian American on the 11-member board, she became an outspoken advocate for
San Francisco's diverse Asian American communities by working to expand language access, combatting discrimination and putting an end to human trafficking. Supervisor Ma also helped immigrants navigate the citizenship process and worked to ensure that all immigrants are provided a path to legal status in the United States.

In 2006, Supervisor Ma defeated a wealthy opponent in a heated and expensive Democratic primary for California State Assembly by earning 60% of the vote. Upon arriving in Sacramento, Fiona Ma was named Assembly Majority Whip.  As the Majority Whip, she has been responsible for counting the votes to pass important bills to help California's working families, protecting California's environment, enhancing public education and providing healthcare for every Californian.  As part of the Speaker's leadership team, Ma provides a strong voice for our values.

As the Assemblywoman representing San Francisco and San Mateo counties, Ma brings a progressive perspective to Sacramento.  Ma chairs the Legislative Committee for the Legislative Women's Caucus, working on a bipartisan basis
to secure pay equity for women and end the scourge of human trafficking. She has been honored by Equality California for her staunch support of civil rights for LGBT Californians.  As chair of the Legislative High-Speed Rail
Caucus, Ma is working to combat global warming through the construction of a high-speed train that moves California forward and gets cars off our congested highways.

Fiona Ma serves as the Speaker's representative on the California Democratic Party's Executive Board, where she works to protect democracy and make every vote count.  She is a founding member of the Westside Chinese Democratic
Club and an active member of many local organizations.

Ma earned her B.A. from Rochester Institute of Technology, her Masters in Taxation from Golden Gate University and her M.B.A from Pepperdine University. She resides in San Francisco's Sunset district.