Tina Podlodowski is the daughter of two naturalized U.S. citizens who fled post-WWII Europe as refugees. As a first generation American, “union kid”, and lifelong Democrat, Tina has spent her life fighting for equity and equality and gained prominence as a visible leader in both the Democratic party nationally, and the LGBTQ community nationally and internationally.

After a career as an executive at Microsoft, Tina won an at-large seat on the Seattle City Council with 65% of the popular vote. On council, she championed new civil rights legislation including the inclusion of gender identity into all city ordinances, created the first civilian oversight body of the Seattle police department, and pioneered in-neighborhood council meetings to engage a more diverse group of constituents in decision-making.

From there she revitalized and grew two regional non-profit organizations – Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Puget Sound and the Lifelong AIDS Alliance – via marketing and re-branding, multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns, and the training, utilization and appreciation of thousands of volunteers to successfully achieve the mission and goals of both.

Tina won her first term as State Party Chair in 2017, after a year-long and sadly unsuccessful bid for Washington’s Secretary of State advocating for more access to voting. During that year, she traveled to and worked with all 39 Washington counties and 49 Legislative Districts and saw firsthand the decline of the grassroots democratic infrastructure in the state over the last decade.

Nationally, Tina is the Vice-Chair of the DNC Western States Caucus, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of State Democratic Party Chairs. Tina has held leadership roles with Washington Citizens for Fairness, the Pride Foundation, The Human Rights Campaign, The Victory Fund, The Task Force and LPAC. She is a former lecturer and member of the Visiting Committee at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She was the first LGBTQ member of the DNC Platform Committee in 2000, adding “planks” on civil rights and social justice.