| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 2, 2007 |
CONTACT: Geraldine O’Connor
(650) 349-1900 |
|
Assemblymember Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco) has selected Pacifica attorney Helen Karr as the 19th Assembly District Woman of the Year.
Ms. Karr’s journey from beauty salon manager to Deputy District Attorney specializing in elder abuse was motivated by stories she heard of salon clients cheated of their life savings by family members. She was in her late 50’s when an article about two older women attorneys proving low-cost legal services to seniors inspired her to enroll in law school. Helen Karr was admitted to the California bar on her 64th birthday, embarking on an inexhaustible crusade to prevent elder financial abuse.
Ms. Karr is a San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Elder Abuse Specialist and is also a legal research assistance to the State Bar of California’s Office of Media and Information Services. She served as a California Senior Assembly (CSL) member for six years, testifying before the Senate and Assembly. Two of her CSL elder abuse proposals have been signed into law. Ms. Karr is a volunteer for San Mateo County’s SAIF (Seniors Against Investment Fraud) program and is a member of the county Ombudsman’s Board of Directors. In 2005 Helen was recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service when she received the “2005 Spirit of Service Award” and she was selected as Senator Dianne Feinstein’s delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. Ms. Karr and her husband, a retired professor, have twelve grandchildren.
“I am so proud to convey Helen Karr’s history of selfless advocacy to the State Assembly” Assemblymember Mullin stated, “I know that countless San Mateo County seniors join me in thanking Helen Karr for preserving the financial well being of our most vulnerable and beloved community members.”