Gael Tarleton represented Washington's 36th Legislative District in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, covering areas like Ballard, Magnolia, Belltown, Queen Anne, Greenwood, Phinney Ridge, South Lake Union, and nearby parks and beaches. Born Gael Frances Donelan on January 1, 1959, in Beverly, Massachusetts, she grew up in an Irish Catholic family north of Boston with six siblings. She is married to Bob Tarleton and has lived in Ballard for nearly two decades. Prior to politics, she had a diverse career including senior defense intelligence analyst at the Pentagon , work in Russia on nuclear weapons dismantlement, research analyst roles, international business director at a technology company, and positions at the University of Washington since 2004 helping faculty secure research grants, as well as technical advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She served five years as an elected Port of Seattle Commissioner, including as president, where she advanced port consolidation via the Northwest Seaport Alliance and led on stopping human trafficking. Notable achievements include protecting Seattle houseboat owners , strengthening college savings funds , proposing paid vacation mandates , prohibiting suction dredging in salmon habitats , championing health care, career training, environmental protection, and renter rights, and earning the Pentagon's National Intelligence Medal of Achievement in 1989. She ran unsuccessfully for Washington Secretary of State in 2020 against Republican Kim Wyman. Recently, she worked for Seattle's mayor after retiring from an eclectic career spanning over 44 years. She co-founded Women in International Security and the UW Citizen Roundtable on Politics and Democracy.

Education and Political Experience

Education: Earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Political Experience:
- Port of Seattle Commissioner .
- Washington House of Representatives, 36th District .
- Candidate for Secretary of State .
- Northwest Progressive Institute Advisory Councilmember.