Debra E. Lekanoff is a Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 40th Legislative District , which includes parts of Whatcom, Skagit, and San Juan counties. A member of the Tlingit tribe , she has served since January 2019, succeeding Kristine Lytton, and is the only Native American woman currently serving in the House. She resides in the Skagit Valley, is a mother to daughter Emma, and previously worked as Governmental Affairs Director for the Swinomish Tribe with over 20 years of experience in government relations across international, federal, tribal, state, and local levels.

Notable achievements include sponsoring House Bill 1725, creating the first nationwide alert system for missing and murdered Indigenous women and people, signed into law in 2022. She has also championed salmon restoration, legislation allowing Native American students to wear traditional regalia at graduations , banning inappropriate use of Native American names, symbols, and images in public schools , and bills addressing violence against Indigenous women.

Education and Political Experience

Specific details on formal education are not detailed in available records. Her professional background includes extensive government relations work, notably as Governmental Affairs Director for the Swinomish Tribe.

She was elected in November 2018 with 67% of the vote against Republican Michael Petrish , sworn in January 2019, and reelected since. Lekanoff serves as Vice Chair of the Health Care & Wellness Committee and member of the Housing, Rules, and Appropriations Committees, leading on issues like environment, natural resources, climate change, education, housing, and agriculture.