Marilyn Grunwald, MPA
Jobs & Education Matter
Dreamers Matter
Black Lives Matter (BLM)
Health Care Matters
Honesty, integrity, and transparency Matter
The 10 million people with disabilities in CA matter
Writer is not the only job title Marilyn Grunwald has had in her nearly 70 years. Whether in her second home in Los Angeles County, New York, London, or Edinburgh she has tried nearly every profession that interested her. In fact, her first book is a closure of a circle that began as a precocious seven-year-old when she first attempted playwriting. Her family deemed her efforts "poor" because all her characters were always eating.
Now, she realizes that was because mealtime was the only time everyone spoke. This revelation joined many others, totally hidden to her until she wrote Tales from my Yellow Room.
A large part of her past adulthood centered on democratic politics.
Since her days as a Girl Scout in Scotland, Marilyn Grunwald has always given back to her community. She received the first of many awards for running the snack bar at Buckhaven Technical College's Friday Night Hop.
Her political activism began in the East San Fernando Valley with the Stop the Recall campaign, mounted to thwart a recall effort by the gun lobby against Hon. David Roberti. At that time. parents throughout the state were reeling from the shock of the Stockton shooting. Marilyn and her husband, David, were concerned for their daughter, Maria.
Volunteering in that successful effort led to being a staffer on the Roberti for Treasurer Campaign. In the 25 years since, she has spent much of her time and talents volunteering on various boards, charities, and political campaigns. She has also worked professionally for several elected officials, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, and in 2016 for the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DPSFV) as part of the campaign headquarters' team.
In 2019, she was appointed to the California Democratic Party (CDP) resolutions committee by Chair, Rusty Hicks. Marilyn has just concluded her term on Assemblywoman Christy Smith's Small Business Advisory Committee. She previously served on the L.A. Taxi Cab Commission, appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Her other commission work included being the longest-serving member of the Disabilities Access Commission of the L.A. Dept. of Building & Safety, originally appointed by Mayor James K. Hahn, and re-appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
A past secretary/treasurer of the Southern California Chapter of the National Writers Union, and Disabilities Caucus Chair,
Marilyn Grunwald lives in Santa Clarita, CA. These days, Maria is a public school teacher at Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a mother of four.