[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 114 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF HELEN HAUSMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 2013

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Helen Hausman who has 
dedicated her life to education and served on the San Mateo County 
Community College District Board of Trustees for 23 years and before 
that on the Sequoia Union High School Board for 13 years. Helen 
represents the best that San Mateo County has to offer in education 
leadership.
  Helen is the current board president and was a past president for 
four terms. During her many years at the community college district, 
she has always made it her priority to provide students with high-
quality classroom instruction and an environment that nurtures 
learning. Helen was instrumental in getting bond measures passed to 
update the aging facilities and to create three state-of-the-art 
campuses. She firmly believes that education and opportunities should 
be accessible to everyone.
  Helen has also served during some of the most tumultuous times in the 
history of California's higher educational systems, making difficult 
choices on funding due to state funding cuts. Helen and her colleagues 
successfully navigated these challenges, retaining the core purpose of 
the district to prepare students for four-year colleges and 
universities. San Mateo County has a stellar community college district 
because of Helen Hausman's dedication to educational quality and 
inclusiveness.
  Helen, a native of New York, earned her BA in Education from George 
Washington University where she was the only woman in her class. After 
graduation, she taught at a grammar school in Maryland.
  While in Washington DC in 1945, Helen met Arthur Hausman who was in 
the Navy and who would soon become her husband. The two of them moved 
to California in 1960 because Arthur received what he calls ``an offer 
he couldn't refuse.''
  Helen became heavily involved with PTAs and held several leadership 
positions. Because of her outstanding reputation she was invited to 
fill a vacancy on the Sequoia Union High School Board and held that 
position for 13 years.
  She also has served on committees of the Association of Community 
College Trustees, Community College League of California and the San 
Mateo County School Boards Association. She is currently a member of 
American Association of University Women. Helen is listed in Who's Who 
of American Women, was inducted into the San Mateo County Women's Hall 
of Fame, and was elected to Pi Lambda Theta, a national honor society 
for educators.
  Helen is a longtime member of the San Mateo County American Red Cross 
Council and serves as chair on the Bay Area Red Cross International 
Committee to help trace and reunite families separated as a result of 
armed conflict or disasters. Her passion for this work started with the 
tracing project which reunited family members of Holocaust survivors.
  In her retirement, Helen is looking forward to spending more time 
with her husband Arthur, son and daughter-in-law Ken and Hilary, 
daughter Catherine and grandchildren Sam and Sarah.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor Helen Hausman, a woman I have known and admired for decades, for 
her common sense and no nonsense leadership. She has shaped education 
in the Bay Area for a generation and helped thousands of students build 
a foundation for successful careers. Her retirement is well deserved, 
and her impact upon our lives will be enduring.

                          ____________________