Elmy Bermejo

Elmy Bermejo "has been dedicated to public service for more than 20 years and has worked in different parts of California and in Washington D.C. Elmy is now special assistant to President pro Tempore, Senator Don Perata, working on issues that impact women and children, outreach to the Latino/Latina community and work with the ethnic media.

"Other elected officials for whom Elmy has worked include: former President pro Tempore Senator John Burton of San Francisco, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey of Marin-Sonoma, former Congressman Mel Levine of Los Angeles, former Lt. Governor Leo McCarthy and for the late U.S. Senator Alan Cranston, where she developed expertise in immigration issues and procedures. She has also worked as a consultant to various statewide campaigns, as well as on Spanish language translations of campaign materials and public service announcements for television, radio and Latino media.

"Elmy is Chair of the State Commission on the Status of Women. She was appointed to the Commission by Governor Gray Davis in 1999. She was also appointed by the Governor to the California Complete Count Committee for Census 2000. As a board member of HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality) this year Elmy will chair Latina Action Day in Sacramento which will convene more than 700 Latinas for a statewide conference focusing on the Latina agenda. Elmy also serves on the boards of The Women's Foundation, the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), and served on the Presidential Rank Review Board. She was also recently re-appointed by Senator Barbara Boxer as a delegate to the State Democratic Party.

"Elmy has also served as a panelist/speaker at conferences organized by AAUW, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the S.F. Commission on the Status of Women, NWPC-CA, the Women’s Leadership Symposium of UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, the Latina Leadership Network Conference of the CA Community Colleges and HOPE.

"She has a BA in psychology and a graduate degree in Bilingual Vocational Counseling. Her family comes from Yucatan, Mexico and owns Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant, one of the most successful family operated restaurants in San Francisco. Tommy’s, named after her father, Tomas, specializes in food from Yucatan and features the largest selection of premium tequila outside of Mexico (Tommy's Mexican Restaurant). The restaurant has been featured in various publications, radio and television. For the next 18 months it will be featured in a video by Virgin Atlantic Airlines on their flights from London to San Francisco. Elmy’s entire family has a very strong work ethic. In her "spare time" she helps out at the restaurant and hopes to soon write her cookbook on Yucatecan cuisine."