The Berkeley, CA based Mayerson family has fostered three
generations of social justice activists. Emma Mayerson, the youngest of the
family, has inherited the legacy of contributing to community building for both
the Jewish community and social justice causes in general, and has gladly taken
up community service commitments for many years.
Emma Mayerson’s grandparents Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson
started the Mayerson Family Foundations, which funds initiatives to improve the
Jewish community around the world, provide inclusion opportunities for people
with disabilities, fight for social justice, and encourage all forms of civic
engagement. Most recently, Emma Mayerson’s grandparents funded the creation of
an accessible park in Israel, designed to provide a space for youth and adults
with disabilities to enjoy nature and serve as a prototype for the construction
of similarly inclusive parks in the future.
The parents of Emma Mayerson, Allan and Arlene, are also
heavily involved in social justice work. Emma Mayerson’s father works
extensively with at-risk youth in a number of capacities, and her mother was
one of the primary legal counselors in the drafting of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, as well as a participant in the disabilities rights movement
in the United States.
As a result of her family’s influence, Emma Mayerson has
been heavily involved in the pursuit of social change since she was a young
teenager and volunteering at the Jewish Coalition for Literacy in San
Francisco. In more recent years, Emma Mayerson has worked for a number of
causes. While attending Tufts University, Emma Mayerson worked with janitors to
obtain better working conditions and wages. She has also worked with the
Women’s Foundation of California, the Jewish Funds for Change (now Bend the
Arc), and the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Marin, and Sonoma
Counties. Emma Mayerson is presently the Program Director for Alliance for
Girls.
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