Biography

I've had the honor to serve on the Seattle City Council since January 2006. Before joining the Council, I worked in non-profit social services and government with the aims of helping people:

• Become their own best advocates; and
• To connect with government in ways that would improve their lives and their communities.

Journalism
Print media, writing for dailies or alternatives, is the highest calling. I spent most of my time in college at the UW Daily and worked internships at the Everett Herald and the Bremerton Sun. Subsequently, I freelanced for local and national newspapers and magazines and edited the Seattle Gay News for a year.

Chicken Soup Brigade
I moved further into advocacy journalism and then put my skills to work as the Communications Manager for Chicken Soup Brigade, a non-profit agency that provided practical support to people living with AIDS in King County.

City Councilmember staff person
In 1997 I left Chicken Soup Brigade to join the office staff of then-Seattle City Councilmember Tina Podlodowski. In Tina's office, I worked on a range of issues including neighborhood development, public safety and technology.

Department of Neighborhoods
In 1999 I joined the City's Department of Neighborhoods as Neighborhood Development Manager for Southeast Seattle. In this role I linked neighborhoods, City staff, non-profit groups, businesses and developers to help implement neighborhood plan recommendations.

Master's of Public Administration
In 2002 I left the Dept. of Neighborhoods to earn a Master's Degree in Public Administration at the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs. While in the MPA program I served as executive director of the Northwest Association for Housing Affordability, an organization dedicated to developing and maintaining low-income housing in Washington's rural communities.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance
After finishing my degree, I worked as a legislative aide to King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson before joining Lifelong AIDS Alliance as director of community resources. At Lifelong AIDS Alliance I oversaw public policy and advocacy, HIV prevention education, volunteer recruitment and training, and insurance premium payment assistance.

Seattle City Council
At Seattle City Council I chair the Committee on Economic Resiliency and Regional Relations, serve as vice chair of the Energy and Environment Committee and am member of the Government Performance and Finance Committee, the Labor-Management Leadership Committee and the Labor Relations Policy Committee.  I serve, also, on the King County Board of Health.

Away from City Hall
My partner and I live in the Brighton neighborhood of Southeast Seattle with a dog, three cats, and a garden-in-progress. In my spare time I row with Conibear Rowing Club. On an open Saturday morning I like to sneak in a bike ride to Fremont or Alki and have finished the Seattle-to-Portland ride twice.