About Jenny Durkan

Jenny Durkan was elected mayor of Seattle in 2017. After earning her J.D. degree from University of Washington School of Law in 1985, Durkan began practicing law as a prosecutor, and had many prominent cases both on behalf of the government and for private parties. During this time she also worked for many nonprofits and advocacy groups, and was briefly Governor Mike Lowry’s chief lawyer. In October 2009, President Barack Obama appointed her United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington. She held that position until September 2014. Durkan is the city’s first female mayor since the 1920s and its second openly LGBT elected mayor.