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June 8, 2016 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA
Register before Friday, May 6th for early bird pricing
From San Francisco to Sacramento: One Woman's Journey to Leadership
Celebrate the 2016/17 NAWBO SFBA Board of Directors and hear the inspiring story of Board of Equalization Chairwoman Fiona Ma CPA.
Ms Ma began her career on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She represented District 12 for the maximum 3 terms in the State Assembly from 2006 – 2012. She was the 112th woman to be elected to the California legislature, and the first Asian woman to serve as Speaker pro Tempore since 1850.
She is currently the Chairperson of the State Board of Equalization, an agency which brings in 30% of the state’s revenue to fund our schools, roads and communities.
Meet Our Speaker
Fiona Ma, CPA - Chairwoman of the State Board of Equalization
Fiona Ma was elected to the State Board of Equalization (SBOE) on Nov 4, 2014 with 68.6% of the vote (or 1,359,305 total votes). She is the first woman Certified Public Accountant to serve on the SBOE since the board formed in 1879.
From 2006-2012, Fiona represented the 12th Assembly District (representing the Westside of San Francisco and Northern San Mateo County). She was the #112 woman to ever be elected to the California Legislature and the first Asian woman to ever serve as Speaker pro Tempore since California’s first Legislature in 1850.
Assemblywoman Ma became interested in politics as a small business owner and a Certified Public Accountant advocating on behalf of other small businesses. She was an elected delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business under President Bill Clinton, which produced a report to Congress on the 60 top policy recommendations to help small businesses grow and prosper in the 21st century.
She formally entered politics in 1995 serving as the District Representative for then Assemblyman Senator John Burton. She was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2002, where she served for four years. During her tenure, she authored the landmark Local Business Enterprise ordinance on behalf of Women and minority business owners and passed legislation to tackle human trafficking.
Building on her work combating toxic chemicals in San Francisco, Assemblywoman Ma authored groundbreaking legislation (AB 1108) to ban toxic chemicals, known as phthalates, in baby products statewide, which was the first such law in the nation. Senator Dianne Feinstein incorporated her bill into the US Consumer Product Safety bill which now protects all babies and children across the nation.
As Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Domestic Violence, she worked on legislation to protect victims of domestic violence and help survivors in prison get another chance at freedom. She authored groundbreaking legislation to protect consumers, help California’s working families pay the bills, prevent the spread of Hepatitis B, increase access to quality healthcare, and provide equal rights for all Californians. She was a strong advocate for better neighborhoods, authoring laws to combat graffiti, recycling theft and disabled placard abuse. As a joint author of Proposition 1-A (Nov 2008), she was the legislature’s leading advocate to bring high-speed trains to California. Additionally, Assemblywoman Ma has been and continues to be a leader in promoting trade and fostering relationships between California and Asia.
The State Board of Equalization (SBOE) is the only elected tax board in America. There are four elected members and the State Controller represents the 5th voting member. Fiona was elected to the District 2 seat representing close to 10 million people in 23 counties from the Oregon border to Santa Barbara County. The BOE administers the sales and use tax, assesses property tax on electric, gas, and telephone companies, as well as other utilities, and provides guidance to the 58 county assessors. The agency also collects more than 25 special taxes and fees which, when combined with the sales and use tax, total approximately 35% of the total state revenues
. Fiona received her B.S. from the Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), her M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University (SF), and an MBA from Pepperdine University. She has been licensed in California as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1992 |
