Laurie Jinkins

Laurie Jinkins made history on January 13, 2020, when she became Washington state’s first woman and first lesbian Speaker of the House. She represents the 27th legislative district in Pierce County, which includes Downtown, Hilltop, North, Northeast, West, and part of South Tacoma, as well as Ruston and Fife. She is a native Midwesterner who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later a Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law (then the University of Puget Sound School of Law). She also completed executive studies at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Laurie started her career litigating child abuse and neglect cases for the state Attorney General’s Office. She then shifted her career toward public health, serving as an assistant secretary of health at the state Department of Health, and now as senior advisor at the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. She has also been active in advancing Washington’s anti-discrimination laws both prior to and during her time in the House. Prior to becoming Speaker, Laurie served on the House Appropriations and Health Care & Wellness committees, and chaired the Civil…