Pramila Jayapal

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal represents Washington's 7th Congressional District, which encompasses most of Seattle and its surrounding areas. She is the first and only South Asian American woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and one of just two dozen naturalized citizens currently in Congress.

She has spent over 20 years leading organizing and advocacy efforts for women's and immigrant rights and racial and economic justice. She spent 12 years as the founder and Executive Director of OneAmerica, the largest immigration advocacy organization in Washington State. Prior to that leadership, she spent almost a decade working on global health and development for the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), an international nonprofit organization.

Born in India, Representative Jayapal grew up in India, Indonesia, and Singapore before coming to the United States by herself at the age of 16. She attended college at Georgetown University and later received her MBA from Northwestern University before working in a number of industries in both the public and private sector. She is the author of two books, Pilgrimage to India: A Woman Revisits Her Homeland and Use the Power You Have: A Brown Woman’s Guide to Politics and Political Change.

She lives in West Seattle with her husband Steve Williamson, a long-time labor leader, and their dog Otis! She is also the proud mother of a daughter and stepson.