About Claire
Claire Wilson’s legislative work has built on her 25 years at the Puget Sound Educational Services District, where she was an administrator in early education and family involvement. Prior to that, Claire taught pregnant and parenting teens at Mt. Tahoma High School and was a senior grants and contracts manager for the City of Seattle’s teen parent programs. Most recently, she served as an elected school board director for Federal Way Public Schools for eight years.
Elected to the Senate in 2018, Claire quickly rose to the ranks of Senate leadership as Assistant Majority Whip — one of two lawmakers responsible for knowing whether key legislative proposals have the support to pass out of the Senate and when to move bills to the floor for a vote.
In the 2022 legislative session, Claire will serve as chair of the Senate Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee after serving on that committee since 2018. During the 2020 legislative session, at the request of the state Attorney General, Claire sponsored legislation ending the use of solitary confinement as punishment for youth as well as a bill providing post-secondary education opportunities in the Department of Corrections.
As vice chair of the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee, Claire’s extensive experience with education and families has informed a wide range of legislation. She has worked on legislation to improve and expand access to childcare and early learning services, including the landmark Fair Start for Kids Act in 2021. She also sponsored 2020 legislation that requires comprehensive, medically accurate sexual health education to be offered to students in public schools across Washington.
Claire also serves on the Senate Transportation Committee, where she provides a voice for the considerable transportation concerns in her district and its numerous intersecting major highways.
Throughout her career, Claire has volunteered for and served on numerous organizations and boards including the PTA, Citizens for Federal Way Schools, the Building Better Futures Board, the Advisory Board of the Washington Family Engagement Trust, and The Sidekick Collective.
Claire identifies as a lesbian woman and mother and is one of seven LGBTQ lawmakers in the Washington State Legislature. A longtime resident of the 30th Legislative District, she has lived in South King County since 1999. Her district includes Federal Way, Algona, Pacific, Milton, Des Moines and Auburn.
Currently, Claire also serves on the following task forces, work groups, and committees:
- Professional Educator Collaborative Task Force
- Child Care Collaborative Task Force
- Early Learning Advisory Council
- Improving Institutional Education Programs and Outcomes (IIEPO) Task Force
- Washington State LGBTQ Commission
- Washington State Leadership Board
- Office of Education Ombuds Appointment Committee
- Child Support Guidelines & Report Review Work Group
- Children and Youth Behavioral Health Task Force
- Reentry Services Work Group
- NCSL State Policy and Research in Early Education (SPREE) Working Group
- Department of Children, Youth & Families Early Learning Strategic Plan Committee
- Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission
- University of Washington Center for Early Childhood Policy and Equity Advisory Committee