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Two years ago, the people of the 26th District decided they wanted a change. They wanted a leader who could get real results on our real priorities. They decided Derek Kilmer was the person who could get things done on the issues we care about.
Since then, Derek Kilmer has served as State Representative for the 26th District. Derek is a member of the Transportation Committee, the Economic Development, Agriculture, and Trade Committee, and is the Vice Chair of the Technology, Energy, and Communications Committee. Derek also serves on the Joint Committee on Military and Veterans’ Affairs, on the Board of the Washington Economic Development Finance Authority, and on the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Trade Policy. To learn more about what he’s accomplished for our community, click here.
 When not in Olympia, Derek is an accomplished economic development leader. Serving as the Business Retention Manager for the Economic Development Board (EDB) for Tacoma-Pierce County, Derek has worked with hundreds of employers, focused on growing and keeping good, high wage jobs in our community. Serving on the board of the Gig Harbor-Peninsula Area Chamber of Commerce, Derek helped develop the organization’s business and economic development strategy, playing an active role in efforts to recruit and retain jobs in the Greater Gig Harbor Area. Derek is also a member of the Bremerton and Port Orchard Chambers of Commerce as well as the Key Peninsula Business Association.
Prior to his work at the EDB, Derek was a management consultant for McKinsey & Company, helping several major Washington State businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies function more efficiently, effectively, and strategically.
Derek, the son of two school teachers, believes a strong educational system is fundamental to Washington State’s success. He was appointed by Governor Gary Locke and Governor Christine Gregoire to serve as a Trustee on the Board of Tacoma Community College, which has a campus in Gig Harbor. Derek is the former Vice Chair of Communities in Schools of Peninsula, a nonprofit organization focused on helping the kids of Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula succeed in school and in life.
Derek was born and raised on the Olympic Peninsula. He received a doctoral degree from the University of Oxford in England where he studied economic development policy, and received his bachelors’ degree in public policy from Princeton University. Derek and his wife Jennifer, the Executive Director of the Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society, live in Gig Harbor. He has been an active leader in the Gig Harbor community, serving as a member of Gig Harbor Rotary and of the Gig Harbor United Methodist Church.
Derek and Jennifer have a newborn daughter named Sophie and a golden retriever named Abby.
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