[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 96 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1202-E1203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING HELEN MAUTNER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 2010

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize 
Helen Mautner for her tireless dedication to improving the lives and 
protecting the rights of all people in Arizona and throughout the 
United States. For many years, Mrs. Mautner has been involved in the 
struggle for basic human rights and social justice. She has volunteered 
for and been employed by organizations that assist those unable to 
speak or stand up for themselves all her life.
  Helen Mautner was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. While living in 
Chicago, she attended Marshall High School on the west side of the 
city. At the age of sixteen, she moved to California with her family 
and finished high school there. When Helen was growing up, her ambition 
was to help the slums of Chicago as an activist. This led her to become 
a sociology student at Los Angeles City College. She graduated from the 
University of California (Berkeley) and received her Bachelor's degree, 
then her Master's in Social Work. She taught sixth grade for several 
years. While employed as a school social worker in California, she was 
introduced to Robert Mautner. They were married from 1958 until his 
passing in 2004.
  Helen and Robert Mautner moved to Tucson in 1965. For the next decade 
she immersed herself in caring for Robert and her children Erik, Chris, 
and Alisa, and started her impressive volunteer path to help those in 
need. She was a stay-at-home mom to the three kids during their 
elementary school years: she took pottery classes, ran the studio 
during school hours, met members of Tucson's politically progressive 
community, and expanded her awareness of how to assist marginalized 
populations. She volunteered for the American Civil Liberties Union 
(ACLU) office in Tucson, an organization that defends individual rights 
guaranteed to every person in the United States. In 1973, she became 
the ACLU's Southern Arizona Chapter Director. She also served on, and 
chaired, the People with AIDS Coalition (now the Southern Arizona AIDS 
Foundation). She has been a member of the Tucson Police Citizens Review 
Board, the Arizona Superior Court Judicial Review Committee, and the 
City of Tucson Magistrate Selection Committee.
  For years, Helen was also involved in compliance with the federal 
Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) desegregation order. Helen has 
volunteered for every cause she holds dear, and still spends a great 
deal of time volunteering for election campaigns for those who share 
her vision. Her dedication and inspiration helped her to become friends 
with many local and national activists and political figures. She lent 
her time and dedication not just to politics, but to people from many 
walks of life. A longtime associate and friend, Cornelius Steelink, 
remembered her assisting a local biker group in an anti-discrimination 
case in the mid 1980s and saw first-hand how her beliefs and openness 
shone through. He remembered her saying, ``You never know who's going 
to walk into this office, but you have to be ready to (help) them.'' 
Emojean Girard, a local activist and retired judge, recently said of 
her: ``We esteem her for her clear thinking and dedication to the cause 
of civil rights. Tiny though she may be in physical structure, she is a 
giant of fortitude and determination.'' In 1997, Helen retired from the 
University of Arizona as the Assistant Director of the Affirmative 
Action Office.
  When not volunteering her time, she has financially supported 
charities ranging from Amnesty International to The Redwing Indian 
Schools. Helen is a regular walker on Martin Luther King Day, and has 
marched many times for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers union. 
Her children remember times when no meat, grapes or chocolate were 
allowed in the home in support of the causes she held dear. They 
treasure the values they learned during those formative years from 
their parents and love Helen for everything she is and what she has 
always stood up for.
  Helen Mautner has been a fantastic mother to her children, providing 
positive and loving guidance and navigating the challenges of 
parenthood. She and Robert saw Erik die of cancer in 1987, and she has 
missed him ever since. Alisa and Chris would not be the people they are 
today without their mother. Both are

[[Page E1203]]

employed in public and social service positions, and volunteer their 
own time to improve the lives of the less fortunate. Helen is now the 
proud grandmother of Zane, the son of her daughter Alisa and her 
husband BJ, and takes great joy in the time they spend together.
  Helen has always balanced the turmoil of parenting teenagers with 
that of politics. She currently serves on the Board of the Children's 
Action Alliance, an advocacy group for children; volunteers with the 
Primavera Foundation for the homeless; and is on the executive council 
of the University of Arizona Retirees Association (UARA). Penelope 
Jacks, the Director of the Children's Action Alliance and a longtime 
friend and colleague of Helen's, reminisced about first meeting and 
working with Helen. ``[I] learned who were the good guys easy, because 
all the good guys were Helen's friends. Together we sorted through all 
kinds of cases, taking turns holding my new baby, chatting, and finding 
how much we had in common. Our lives have seen many changes since we 
first met, but Helen is my first and most enduring friend in Arizona.'' 
Helen has won numerous awards and recognition for her amazing 
commitment to social and civil rights causes: the YWCA's Woman on the 
Move Achievement Award, a place in the Women's Studies Advisory Council 
(WOSAC) of the University of Arizona's Department of Women's Plaza of 
Honor, and awards from the City of Tucson's Office of the Mayor in 1981 
and 1989.
  As Helen turns 80 this year, her children and friends look forward to 
her next step in life. She is a woman who lives life to the fullest and 
considers nothing impossible. She is always open to new challenges. 
Helen Mautner has been an asset to Tucson and the State of Arizona, 
working tirelessly for her causes, preferring to enjoy the fruit of her 
labors without seeking public recognition. For these great 
accomplishments and in honor of her passion and dedication to all 
citizens rights, and on behalf of her work for the marginalized in 
society, we recognize Helen Mautner today.

                          ____________________