Holly Mitchell

Mitchell was born in Los Angeles to Edward Mitchell and Sylvia Johnson, both of whom worked for the government.^[2] They were both social workers when they met. After their marriage, her father was an educator and her mother was a probation officer.

Before working in the Legislature, she served for seven years as CEO of the nonprofit Crystal Stairs.^[3] She also served as a Consultant to the Senate Health Committee, and as a legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty.^{[citation needed]}

In 2018, Mitchell was named vice chair of the Joint Legislative Subcommittee on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response, formed in response to the #MeToo movement and several instances where accusations had forced some lawmakers to resign. Mitchell was the first African-American to serve as Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, overseeing the passage of state budgets totaling over $200 billion.^[4]

In 2019, Mitchell drafted and sponsored the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act (SB 188), a California law which prohibits discrimination based on hair style and hair texture by extending protection under the FEHA and the California Education Code. It is the first legislation passed at the state level in the United States to prohibit such discrimination. The Act passed unanimously in both chambers of the California Legislature by June 27, 2019, and was signed into law on July 3, 2019.^[5] The law has since inspired similar laws across the country.