Judy Chu, Ph.D.
Assembly Member
49^th District, California

Dr. Judy Chu was elected to the California State Assembly on May 15th, 2001. She represents a Southern California district in the San Gabriel Valley that includes the cities of Alhambra, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, South El Monte, San Gabriel, and San Marino.

As a member of the California State Assembly, Dr. Chu chairs the Budget Sub-Committee on Health and Human Services, which oversees $60 billion in spending for health and human services programs annually. She chairs the Select Committee on Hate Crimes, is a member of the Select Committee on Language Access, and also serves as a member of the Assembly committees on Rules, Labor and Employment, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, Human Services, and Transportation. Prior to serving in the State Assembly, she served on the Monterey Park City Council for thirteen years starting from 1988 to 2001, and served as Mayor of the city three times.

Dr. Chu has been dedicated to education throughout her career. She started her career in public service as a board member of the Garvey School District from 1985 to 1988. She graduated with a B.A. in math from UCLA and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, and served as a faculty member in the psychology department in the Los Angeles Community College District for twenty years, with the last 13 years at East Los Angeles College. One of her first acts as a legislator was to obtain $250,000 to fix Mark Keppel High School's heating and air conditioning system.

Dr. Chu has carried legislation in a wide variety of areas. Her hate crimes bills improve the prosecution of hate crimes, prohibit the insertion of hate flyers in free publications, and create an anti-bias youth program. She successfully carried legislation to increase training for acupuncturists. She has helped the elderly and disabled by allowing the vans that carry them to use carpool lanes. Her bills also work to improve operations of domestic violence courts and establish best practice models for campus sexual assault programs. She carried a bill to establish an environmental justice small grant program to help low income and minority communities combat the effects of pollution. She has also helped small businesses through a bill that improves the competitive bid process for emergency work done by Cal Trans.

Dr. Chu was named by California Journal as one of California's top new legislators. She has received a 100% rating by the Children's Advocacy Institute, the Congress of California Seniors, the Better Business Alliance and the California League of Conservation Voters. She was given the Legislative Hero Award by the California Primary Care Association. She was also awarded the Public Service Award by the UCLA Alumni Association for her work in addressing the ethnic shift in Monterey Park and for promoting diversity by founding Monterey Park's annual Harmony Month.

Dr. Chu is married to Michael Eng, a noted community leader and attorney in the Los Angeles area.