I’m Whitney Stevens.
I grew up in Enumclaw where I spent many days tagging along with my father who was always involved in local organizations from Rotary to the Chamber of Commerce. A first generation college graduate, I was lucky enough to go to University of Washington Tacoma, where I fell in love with grit city.
After I graduated, I started community organizing around community gardens and then started writing about our city on Exit133, a blog that was unabashedly pro-Tacoma. The Tacoma City Council became my writing focus. I felt that the people needed a distillation of what was happening in the halls of power that can sometimes be far away from the community. As a team, we wrote about development, history, neighborhoods, art, and all of the amazing things that make Tacoma great.
But writing alone was not enough. I co-founded my first business at 24 and served as the youngest President ever of the Downtown Merchants Association. I leveraged my college education by serving on the Pierce County Planning Commission, advisory boards for Sound Transit projects, Pierce Transit campaigns, and economic development projects.
My next chapter took me into the inner workings of government, first working for Pierce County Councilmember Tim Farell doing constituent relations and policy support and next working for Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson in the Auditors Office. These roles brought opportunities to work on diverse projects - from budget development to public relations to elections administration. I earned my Certified Public Records Officer credentials and was elected President of the Washington Association of Public Records Officers.
Most recently, I founded The Viability Project, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to helping women and underrepresented candidates navigate the complexities of running for political office. I also have the privilege of serving as Chair of the 27th LD Dems.
While these experiences may seem diverse, they all have a common thread - working to make government more transparent, more accountable, and work better.
Life isn’t only about professional accomplishments. My husband Matt and I met doing a Tacoma scavenger hunt and we got married at the Chapel at UPS. I took several years off of professional work to have children and care for my family. My mother died from cancer and it was the greatest honor of my life to be her caretaker through that journey.
My family currently lives in the UPS neighborhood with our two rescue kitties. In my spare time, I love to work in my garden, enjoy our amazing parks, and travel.
