Ashawna Hailey

Ashawna Hailey (born Shawn Hailey)

Ashawna Hailey
Born (1949-10-08)October 8, 1949
Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Died October 14, 2011(2011-10-14) (aged 62)
San Jose, California, U.S.[1][2]
Residence San Jose, California and Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii
Alma mater Texas Tech University
Occupation technologist, philanthropist
Children Neal Hailey, Nora Hailey

Ashawna Hailey (October 8, 1949 – October 14, 2011), assigned at birth Shawn Hailey, created the HSPICE program which large parts of the worldwide semiconductor industry use to simulate and design silicon chips.[2][3] Her company, Meta-Software, produced compound annual growth rate in excess of 25–30 percent every year for 18 years, and eventually became part of Synopsys, which calls HSPICE "the 'gold standard' for accurate circuit simulation".[3][4][5] In 1973 she created Advanced Micro Devices' first microprocessor, the Am9080, a clone of the Intel 8080, and in 1974, AMD's first nonvolatile memory, the 2702 2048-bit EPROM.[3] Earlier, she built the launch sequencer for the Sprint Anti-Ballistic Missile System for Martin Marietta.[6]

She attended Texas Tech University along with her twin brother Kim, starting her first company while still in college.[3]

She is a trans woman. After retiring from her career in technology she began transitioning, changing her name to Ashawna and undergoing medical treatment.

As a philanthropist, Ashawna sought to reform government policies on recreational drugs. During her life she donated to the ACLU Foundation, Code Pink, the Drug Policy Alliance, Feeding America,[6] Rainforest Action Network, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition,[7] the Marijuana Policy Project, Erowid,[8] the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS),[9] and served on the board of MAPS.[10] After her death she left a US$10-Million bequest shared between MAPS, the ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project, and Second Harvest Food Bank.[11] In what its board considered a fitting tribute to Ms. Hailey, the Marijuana Policy Project dedicated a million dollars of her bequest to the initiative that for the first time enabled voters to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Colorado.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Obituaries 2011:Shawn Hailey - Ashawna". Beddingfield Funeral Service. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  2. 1 2 "Ashawna Hailey (1949–2011)". San Jose Mercury News.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Interview with Shawn and Kim Hailey". Stanford University Libraries. December 29, 1997. Retrieved 2011-10-19. "Video from which transcript was taken".
  4. ↑ Synopsys filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission: Form 8K/A of July 26, 2002
  5. ↑ Synopsis product page for HSPICE
  6. 1 2 "Shawn Hailey's Online Memorial". Remembered.com. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  7. ↑ "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition's 2010 Annual Report". Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  8. ↑ "Erowid Contributors 2011". The Erowid Center. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  9. ↑ "MAPS Receives 5-year, $150,000 a Year Pledge from Ashawna Hailey, Totaling $750,000!". 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  10. ↑ "Treating war veterans and victims of terror and sexual abuse" (PDF). Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. February 2009. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  11. 1 2 "$10-Million Bequest Shared by Groups Including Association for Psychedelic Studies". Retrieved 2012-10-10.
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