Representative Mia Gregerson shares her journey from being adopted as a baby from Taiwan and raised in South King County, Washington, to becoming a Chinese American representative at the Washington State Legislature.
Before entering politics, Representative Gregerson was deeply engaged in community service: she worked with Special Olympics, King County Emergency Search and Rescue, and Harborview ER, driven by a desire to give back as a single mother who valued public education. That volunteerism naturally overflowed into civic engagement. After earning a history degree from the University of Washington and working as a dental assistant for many years, she entered politics almost accidentally, encouraged by a neighbor to fill an opening on the SeaTac City Council. Soon, she became the first woman and person of color to serve.
As the former mayor of SeaTac, Representative Gregerson helped implement the nation's first $15 minimum wage and later focused on equity, helping establish the state's first Office of Equity. Her policy work emphasizes fairness for vulnerable populations, education funding, and housing solutions for homelessness rather than criminalization.
On civic engagement, Representative Gregerson stresses the importance of understanding real community needs and seeing tangible impact from one’s involvement. She encourages young people to start locally- through city councils and school boards- where they can directly engage with decision-makers to create lasting change.
