Ann holds a BSE in physical science and an MS in curriculum from Emporia State University. She taught high school science for five years and then became an engineer at Southwestern Bell/AT&T. She retired from SBC after nearly 22 years and started her own training and speaking company.

A Topeka YWCA Woman of Excellence, Ann was also the 2002 National President of the American Business Women’s Association. In that capacity, she traveled nationwide speaking on business and education issues.

Ann served in the Kansas House of Representatives for eight years. She was a member of the Kansas State Board of Education, representing District 4, for eight years, finishing her term in January 2025.

Ann has been a champion for technical education for decades. She served on the Kansas Advisory Committee on Career and Technical Education for the Kansas Department of Education in the 1990s as a utility manager concerned about the future of tech workers at SBC. She continued that work while in the House and on the State Board of Education. While in the House, she worked to create the Technical Education Authority to ensure better coordination of technical education between K12 and postsecondary institutions.

An avid community volunteer, Ann has served on the United Way of Greater Topeka Board of Directors and the Shawnee Heights Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors, as well as the Lutheran Fine Arts Council of Topeka.

She is married to Larry Mah, who recently retired as Shawnee County Treasurer.