Pramila Jayapal is the Congresswoman representing Washington’s 7th District. The first Indian-American woman in the US House of Representatives, Jayapal has spent the last 20 years working internationally and domestically as a leading national advocate for women’s, immigrant, civil, and human rights. She is the Vice Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee and also serves on several Committees including the Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, as numerous Caucuses, including those on immigration, LGBT equality and for Asian Pacific Americans. She was first elected to public office as a Washington State Senator in 2014, becoming the first South Asian American ever elected to the State Legislature and the only woman of color in that body. Prior she was the founding and longtime Executive Director of Hate Free Zone (now OneAmerica) and led the national coalition We Belong Together. Jayapal came to the US by herself at the age of 16 to attend college at Georgetown University and later received her MBA from Northwestern University.
Jayapal, Pramila