MaryEm Wallace has worked tirelessly for the health and well being of all Coastside residents during the past three decades. She is an extraordinarily accomplished woman who is a Nurse Practitioner, a Marriage and Family Therapist and holds a doctorate in Family Therapy. Following a 1978 needs assessment that she conducted, MaryEm established the Coastside Health Committee that includes representatives from various Coastside agencies and effectively integrates health and human services on the Coast. Through her vision and advocacy, San Mateo County’s Coastal residents including the underserved coastal Latino population have access to high quality health care and human services in one location. She recently mobilized the Coastside Health Committee to expand their disaster preparedness and to coordinate disaster planning for Coastal communities with the larger County disaster planning entities. MaryEm is bi-lingual, Spanish speaking and has served as well as advocated for the Latino Community to expand services for farm workers and their families. She established a group for Teen Mothers and taught sex education, developed and expanded services for children with developmental disabilities and started “The Power Winners Rangers” support group. MaryEm established and facilitates the Coastside National Alliance for the Mentally Ill providing support and educational resources for families with a seriously mentally ill loved one. As the Coastside Mental Health Clinic Supervisor, she models what it is to be an excellent clinician with an endless commitment to providing compassionate service for underserved seriously mentally ill children and adults. MaryEm’s leadership and vision has impacted thousands of individuals and families, and helped to improve the quality of life for at least three generations of San Mateo County’s coastside residents.