Lauren Davis represents the 32nd Legislative District in the Washington State House of Representatives, which includes Shoreline, Lynnwood, northwest Seattle, south Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Woodway. She was the founding Executive Director and is the current Strategy Director of the Washington Recovery Alliance. The WRA is a grassroots movement of individuals and families impacted by addiction and mental health challenges driving large-scale change in public policy and public understanding.
Prior to serving in public office, Lauren led efforts to pass 2016’s Ricky’s Law, named after her best friend, which created an unprecedented crisis treatment system for youth and adults with life-threatening addiction. She received her bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies from Brown University and began her career teaching Head Start preschool at a transitional housing facility.
She then spent several years researching education access as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana, West Africa. While there, Lauren started a small textile business that provides job training for adolescent girls and sustainable revenue for a Ghanaian-run educational NGO. Upon her return to the US, Lauren worked as an international development consultant for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She then helped to launch Forefront, a suicide prevention nonprofit, where she directed school-based mental health programs. She has also taught mental health policy in the Masters program at the UW School of Social Work.
In the legislature, Lauren’s work centers on behavioral health treatment and recovery and criminal legal system reform.