Pramila Jayapal

Pramila Jayapal (pronounced ; born September 21, 1965) is an American politician and activist from the State of Washington who currently serves as the U.S. Representative for Washington's 7th congressional district, which encompasses most of Seattle as well as outlying parts of King County. As a member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2017. She is the first Indian-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives., the first woman to represent the 7th District in Congress, and the first Asian-American to represent Washington in Congress. As a sitting State Senator, Jayapal endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President of the United States in the 2016 Democratic primary. Before entering electoral politics, Jayapal was a Seattle-based civil rights activist, serving until 2012 as the executive director of OneAmerica, a pro-immigration advocacy group. Jayapal founded immigrant advocacy group, Hate Free Zone, following the 2001 September 11 attacks. The organization successfully sued the Bush Administration's Immigration and Naturalization Services to prevent the deportation of over 4,000 Somalis across the country. Described by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as a "rising star" in the Democratic caucus, Jayapal currently serves as the First Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and serves on both the Judiciary and Budget committees. 2Early life and education Jayapal was born in Chennai, India, to an Indian family and was raised in Indonesia and Singapore. She immigrated to the United States in 1982, at the age of 16, to attend colleg