Jamie Pedersen: A Fourth-Generation Washingtonian Committed to Public Service My Norwegian great-grandparents homesteaded in Washington Territory in the 1880s, farming oysters and fishing for salmon. I grew up in Puyallup, graduated from Puyallup High School and worked at McDonald’s to help put myself through Yale College, where I studied Russian and history and graduated summa cum laude. After spending a year living in Russia and collecting oral histories of Soviet Afghan war veterans, I attended Yale Law School. I clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and then returned to Seattle – and Capitol Hill – 12 years ago to practice law at K&L Gates. My partner is Eric Pedersen, who worked in public education for 17 years and is now at home taking care of our son, Trygve, who was born in August 2007. I was brought up through Boy Scouts, church, and the example of my public-school-teacher parents to value community service. Since returning to Seattle, I have been actively involved in many community and nonprofit organizations. I am the past President and current Treasurer of Central Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill, where I helped to establish a nonprofit to run a community lunch program that feeds hundreds of people each week. I chaired the board of the national civil rights organization Lambda Legal from 2003-2005, and served as Lambda's lead volunteer lawyer on our state's marriage equality case. I have sung in the Seattle Men's Chorus, for 12 years and helped to craft the vision of the Chorus: to create a world that values and accepts its gay and lesbian citizens. And I provide free legal services to a variety of nonprofits, such as Pride Foundation, Social Venture Partners, the Puyallup River Watershed Council, Pups for Peace, and Lambert House. Every day, I work with small and established businesses and help them grow, create jobs in our community, and bring exciting new products and services to market. Having worked for many years as a volunteer and a lawyer on issues important to the district, such as health care, transportation and civil rights, I am putting my experience, skills and commitment to use for you and our district on the many important issues facing the Legislature. I am doing my best to work collaboratively, respectfully and with integrity to help solve our state's challenges and ensure that the citizens of the 43rd District are well-served in Olympia.