Biography

I served as Chief of the Civil Division for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office under Norm Maleng from 1999-2007. We worked hard to promote justice and create a civil society.

I led a staff of over 60 lawyers that provided advice to Executive Ron Sims, Sheriff Sue Rahr, King County Council members, Metro Transit, Harborview Medical Center and the other agencies of the nation’s 13th largest county; a multi-faceted government with an annual budget of $4.9 billion.

I led the legal team that created the public-private partnerships who produced cost efficient construction at Harborview Medical Center and the King Street Center. My team and I negotiated agreements with Sound Transit and the City of Seattle to eliminate duplication of services, saving taxpayers money.

Prior to becoming Civil Division Chief, I was head of King County’s Transportation, Natural Resources and Real Property legal team.I worked closely with the state legislature and the Port of Seattle, represented King County International Airport/Boeing Field, and became a transportation expert.

In addition to helping create an effective region-wide transportation system, I have focused on community service and key environmental issues during my career.I led the County’s legal team to reduce homelessness, combat elder abuse and clean up polluted creeks and rivers.I also led the team that protected salmon, open spaces and forest land and my team created a model cap and trade program to reduce the County’s carbon footprint.

I started my legal career as an Assistant Attorney General after graduation from Stanford University in 1973 and the University of Idaho Law School in 1976. I have served as business and finance lawyer for both Washington State University and University of Washington.

In 1983, I was appointed the University of Washington’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise Officer and was selected by Gov. Booth Gardner to play a lead role in including minority and women owned businesses in the state government’s public contracts.

I believe in service to my community. I have established a legal clinic at the YWCA’s Opportunity Place where other lawyers and I provided free legal advice to homeless women. In 2004, my efforts were recognized when I received both the King County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award and the State Bar Association’s annual award for lawyers in public service.

From 2005 to 2007, I chaired Allied Arts Waterfront for All Committee. I was a leader in the effort to secure a world-class waterfront while protecting and enhancing the environment, assuring freight mobility and creating an economic engine for the Pacific Northwest.

I raised two sons through public schools in Lake Forest Park where I served two terms as council member on the Lake Forest Park City Council; I spearheaded Shoreline School District’s first all-day kindergarten, and established enrichment programs for foreign languages, arts and environmental science in elementary, middle, and high schools.

After my sons were grown, I pursued my lifelong passion and learned to fly, and in my spare time I piloted sick children to medical facilities and camps throughout the region with the non-profit organization Angel Flight.

I am married to attorney Brad Bagshaw. I am proud that Brad represented gay and lesbian couples in their struggle for the right to marry inAndersen v. King County.