Teresa Patterson Hughes, was born October 3, 1931 in New York City, New York. A Democrat representing South Los Angeles, she earned a BA in Physiology and Public Health from Hunter College in New York, MA in Education Administration from New York University, and a PhD in education administration from Claremont Graduate School. Prior to moving to California from New York, she established a distinguished career in education serving as a teacher, social worker, and school administrator. After moving to Los Angeles, Teresa Hughes worked for the State Commission for Teacher Preparation, as an Assistant Professor of Education at California State University, Los Angeles and an Assistant Professor of Education at California State University, Los Angeles, and for the Honorable Mervyn M. Dymally. She was the second African American woman elected to the California Legislature. She succeeded Bill Greene in the Assembly in 1975 and was elected to the State Senate in 1992. She was a state lawmaker for more than 25 years. Teresa Hughes sponsored legislation to create the California African American Museum in Exposition Park. Her legislative agenda focused on broadening learning at schools and through museums, promoting equal opportunity for home loans, providing $800 million in bond funds for school classroom construction and creation of a state school of the arts. She was a past chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus and the Caucus of Women Legislators. Teresa Hughes died on November 13, 2011. She was 80 years old