Joan Mah
Western Area VP

Joan Mah was appointed the Western Region Vice President representing IFPTE Local 20 in March 2022.

Joan’s Local is the Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20/IFPTE AFL-CIO & CLC that represents over 8,000 licensed engineers, scientists, licensed healthcare professionals, and attorneys at PG&E, Kaiser Permanente, the US EPA, Legal Aid at Work, and other employers throughout Northern California.

Joan is proud to serve as the Vice President on the Local 20 Executive Board representing the Optometry unit and has served in this capacity since 2011.

She has been on the Optometry Unit Board since 2007 and served as the Optometry Unit Board President from 2015-2020.

Joan is also the founding chair of the Local 20 Women’s committee which was established in January 2021.

Joan is an optometrist and steward at the Kaiser Permanente San Rafael facility. She  has been practicing Optometry since 1991, has worked at Kaiser since June 1989, and also owned a private practice with her younger brother in South San Francisco.

She has supported multiple labor management teams at Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael since 2000 and has participated in National Bargaining since 2012.

She completed her undergraduate degrees in Microbiology and Immunology and Physiological Optics, and her Doctorate of Optometry degree at the University of California at Berkeley.

Joan lives in the Bay Area with her husband and together they have raised 3 sons.