Links included for informational purposes only and do not constitute any affiliation with this campaign.

My pronouns are she/her. Thida is pronounced Thee-dah and Cornes is pronounced Corns . 

Childhood

My mom is Burmese and my dad is English and they met and married in London. While my mom was pregnant with me, they took a mostly driving trek from England to Thailand. I was born one night in Bangkok and lived in Thailand until I was two. 

My parents first noticed I had a disability when I was two but at the time movement disorders were poorly understood so I didn’t receive that diagnosis. My parents knew I was smart but top neurologists insisted I must be “mentally retarded”, a term I’m glad that is no longer acceptable. Ironically my mum knew what an intellectual disability looked like because her youngest sister was born with Down Syndrome.

My parents then moved back to London until we emigrated to the US. I attended US public high school. As a mixed-race disabled immigrant, I struggled but high school was the first school I felt I belonged. I want that sense of belonging for every student at MVLA.

I graduated from high school when I was 16 and took a gap year in London where I visited the top neurologist of movement disorders at the time, Dr. Marsden. He diagnosed me with a movement disorder, which was a revelation.

Working Life

I received my BA from Bryn Mawr. I moved to the Bay Area then worked at a series of tech startups. I got an MBA at UC Berkeley while working full-time. I moved to Mountain View 20 years ago. I married a Chinese American and we have two wonderful kids whose educational paths have been different. One is a driven top-achieving student who’s overcome the stress and pressure endemic to Silicon Valley schools and the other has been in special education since age three but has managed to do well.

Civic Engagement

My first civic engagement in Mountain View began in 2008 when my son was three and fell through a gap in a playground structure. He was fine but Parks and Rec had added ADA-compliant steps without considering whether this would also make it accessible to younger kids. I applied for the Parks and Recreation Commission and served for 8 years including as Chair. At that time, 8 years was the maximum time one could be appointed.

My first Parks and Rec Commission meeting began my engagement with the Spanish Speaking community who wanted a park in my own neighborhood, Shoreline West. We created Mariposa the first park with natural elements, and several other parks, created a sanctuary for burrowing owls, Shoreline Fields, and added a playground to McKelvey Ball Park. We also created the first tree canopy plan.

In 2008, I got my first service dog, which changed my life. I get my service dogs free of charge from Canine Companions an amazing organization.

From 2010 to 2013, I served on the Northwest Regional Board of Canine Companions helping to raise money and awareness of the organization and service dogs in general.

From 2012-14, I served on the Site Council and I also served on the PTA.

In 2013, I co-founded Great Streets Mountain View (GSMV) to improve the safety of our streets for all residents, such as adding blinking crosswalks over Shoreline Blvd. GSMV recently joined with our sister organization and is called Mountain View Safe Streets for All.

I discovered that people didn’t understand how MVWSD was using its bond measure so since I had an MBA, in 2013 I joined the bond measure committee to make the budget readable.

MVWSD staff then asked me to join every district committee, the school boundaries, and the facilities committee to renovate schools and build 2 new schools. We found a way to add two special education classes at no cost to the district. 

I also joined the League of Women Voters Education Committee.

Political Engagement

In 2015, I graduated from Emerge, a training program for women who want to run for office.

In 2016, I ran for Mountain View City Council. Four incumbents joined the race so it was tough. At this time, I feel MVLA needs both the issues I’m representing and my unique skills and background.

More Civic Engagement

In 2017, the City Council formed the Environmental Sustainability Task Force. I was elected Vice Chair. We created policy recommendations to combat climate change. The policy I was responsible for – electrification of all new buildings became City policy.

After the Task Force finished its work, I was invited to be on the Board of Carbon Free Mountain View.

I was also invited to be on the Board of my church Unitarian Univeralist Church of Palo Alto. I served my term and then stepped off because I decided to run for MVLA.

From 2020-2022, I was on the Board of the League of Women Voters, helping to modernize our systems. I’m taking a leave of absence because Board members can’t run for office but I’m continuing my work as Database Manager.

In roughly the past year

In May 2021, I received my fourth service dog Jeeves III. Service dogs are like people and retire. My third service dog Nakoma is retired with me and my family as a much beloved pet.

In spring 2022, I was invited to be on my church’s campus task force reimaging the campus for a possible capital campaign

Academic & Professional Background

Davis High School, California

BA. Bryn Mawr Political Science 1990

MBA UC Berkeley Haas 2001, night MBA, full MBA earned while working full-time

I created my own computer consultant company in 1991 in Bryn Mawr.

In 1994, I moved to the Bay Area and worked in a series of tech startups.

Most recent past position: Director in tech. I built five teams that all worked together and reported high job satisfaction that created tools to monitor what was then cutting-edge broadband.