Gael Tarleton

Gael Tarleton (born January 1, 1959) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. She is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 36th district.^[1]

Personal background

Gael (née Donelan) Tarleton was born on January 1, 1959 in Beverly, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of John J. "Jack" and Ann-Jean Donelan. She was raised in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts and graduated as Class Valedictorian and Manchester Scholar from Manchester Jr.-Sr. High School in 1977.^{[citation needed]}

She attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where she studied the Russian language and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. She graduated in 1981, with cum laude honors and earned the Karl Landeggar honors certificate in international business diplomacy and membership in Phi Alpha Theta.^{[citation needed]} In 1983, she earned a Masters degree in government and national security studies from Georgetown.^[2] During college, she worked in the office of a US Congressman and at the US Department of Treasury in the National Security Affairs office.^{[citation needed]}

Tarleton is married to Bob Tarleton. They live in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, their home for nearly two decades.

Professional background

Defense Intelligence Agency

Following her graduation from Georgetown University, Tarleton joined the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C., where she worked as a specialist in Soviet strategic issues for nine years. From September 1983 to August 1984, the Defense Intelligence Agency granted her a one-year leave of absence to accompany her husband during his one-year assignment to the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. During that year, she worked part-time as an Adjunct Research Instructor for the Postgraduate School's National Security Affairs Department. In 1984, Tarleton returned to the Defense Intelligence Agency's Washington, D.C. headquarters, where she held various positions supporting defense agencies and the US national intelligence community. In 1989, she was awarded the Director of Central Intelligence's National Intelligence Medal of Achievement.

Science Applications International Corporation

In September 1990, Tarleton and her husband moved to Seattle, Washington, where she worked for 12 years at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), which at the time was a private, employee-owned science and technology company. She developed and led the organization's business in Russia, serving as Director of SAIC Global Technology, and vice president and manager of international business, building collaborative science and technology partnerships between US and Russian scientists and engineers.

National Bureau of Asian Research

In August 2002, Tarleton began serving as the Director of Eurasian Policy Studies at the National Bureau of Asian Research in Seattle. http://www.russialist.org/7183-11.php

University of Washington

In 2004, she was hired as the first Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the University of Washington's College of Arts and Sciences. During her employment with the University of Washington, she helped establish the endowed Herbert J. Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, as well as the Institute for National Security Education and Research. She also served as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs; Manager of Partnerships for the Pacific Rim Visualization and Analytics Center in the College of Engineering; and Strategic Advisor for the Information School's Institute for National Security Education and Research. She has helped raise funding for research and education, on behalf of faculty and students.^{[citation needed]}http://parvac.washington.edu/people/

Port of Seattle

In 2007, Tarleton challenged a two-term incumbent and won her first four-year term as a Commissioner at the Port of Seattle, a King County-wide elected office. This is a part-time position earning $6,000 a year (and $12,800 in per diem) to lead the largest port in the Pacific Northwest with an annual budget nearing $1 billion. The five-member Commission employs a Port executive to manage Sea-Tac International Airport, Fishermen's Terminal, Shilshole Bay Marina, cruise and grain terminals, and four shipping container terminals in Elliott Bay. Gael held various leadership positions, including Chair of the Commission Audit Committee and President of the Commission.^[2]

Tarleton was re-elected in 2011 to serve a second four-year term. During her tenure, the Port of Seattle Commission introduced numerous reforms to expand Commission and staff accountability and transparency; invested in clean air programs; adopted an innovative aviation clean fuels strategy; and spent tens of million of dollars to begin early-action clean-up of the Lower Duwamish River, a Superfund Clean-Up site. The Commission also initiated the "Century Agenda" to help create an additional 100,000 jobs in the maritime, aerospace, fishing, seafood, and manufacturing-industrial sectors in the coming 25 years.^[2]

Washington State House Representatives

In January 2013, Tarleton began serving a two-year term as Washington State House Representative for the 36th District. She serves on the Higher Education, Rules, Technology and Economic Development, and Transportation committees. She introduced three bills during her first session: HB 1647 "Safe Keys", HB 1725 "Tuition Assistance Program", and HB 1819 "Digital infrastructure mapping". HB 1647 and 1819 both passed out of the House of Representatives. HB 1647 was signed into law in April 2013, and went into effect in July 2013. The bill amends language in Washington State's Landlord-Tenant Act requiring landlords to show reasonable care in securing master and duplicate tenant keys from unauthorized users.

Tarleton was appointed to represent the WA House of Representatives on the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Advisory Board, a US-Canadian public and private sector partnership to advance shared economic interests and develop strategies for support cross-border trade and cultural relationships. Tarleton also was selected to attend the Legislators' Energy Horizons Institute (LEHI) in 2013, designed for legislators nation-wide and in Canada who are committed to working on energy-related legislation during their careers as lawmakers.

Board membership

During her career, Tarleton has volunteered for various nonprofit boards including the Pacific Northwest chapter for Women in International Security, Seattle; Foundation for Russian-American Economic Cooperation, Seattle; Earth and Space Research, Seattle; Metropolitan Democratic Club, Seattle; and Northwest Progressive Institute, Redmond, Washington. She has maintained professional relationships with the US Department of Energy's science and technology national laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, including three years on the National Security Directorate's Advisory Committee.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• http://www.voteforgael.org