I’m so glad to have wonderful staff helping me in my office manage bills, take calls, and respond to questions.

Jordan Kronen is my Legislative Assistant. He has been a Washington resident for most his life, but has lived in many other places around the world. In Thailand, he worked with a legal education nonprofit to expand access to justice for vulnerable communities. He spent a year in a rural town in Malaysia as a Fulbright Scholar teaching English to ­­­­schoolchildren. As a Schwarzman Scholar the following year, he earned a Master of Management Science in Global Affairs with a concentration in Public Policy from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Having traveled to more than 35 countries, he is happy to settle in his beautiful home state of Washington. After working in the U.S. Senate, the Democratic National Committee, and here in the Washington State Legislature as an aide to Sen. Reuven Carlyle and Casework Coordinator for the Senate Democratic Caucus. Jordan is excited to contribute to working on behalf of the 40th District.

Erika Boyd is my Session Aide. Born and raised in beautiful Whatcom County, she is a lifelong Washingtonian. As a Session Aide, she is fulfilling a lifelong dream of public service. She is a first generation graduate of Whitworth University where she was an active participant in student government. She is currently obtaining a Master of Arts in Public Administration from The Evergreen State College. Her research in the program focuses on the accessibility of telework options within Washington State agencies. As an AmeriCorps volunteer with Communities in Schools of Whatcom County, Erika worked with a variety of local stakeholders at the school district, nonprofit, and community organization level to mitigate the drop-out risk of high school students in Bellingham. She also served as an intern for the Federal Transit Administration in Region 10 (Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska). There, she worked to ensure full telework capability for increased organizational resilience and continuity in the event of an emergency. In her personal life, she enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing, and spending time with family.

Highland Edelman is in her final year in the Law, Economics, and Public Policy program at the University of Washington Bothell. Through this program, she is able to work full-time as an Intern for my office. Before coming to the Legislature, she worked as a community organizer for nearly a decade, tackling environmental and labor issues, as well as other work. She recently championed a research project exploring the impact of political polarization on environmental policy and communications. After graduating, she hopes to work toward bridging the political divide on climate change as an environmental policy advocate.