Vanessa Kritzer, Position #5

City Council President

In addition to her work on Council, Vanessa Kritzer serves as Executive Director of the Washington Association of Land Trusts, which represents over 30 environmental conservation groups across the state that work to protect and steward our beautiful lands and waterways. Before joining the Council, Vanessa served on the City of Redmond’s Planning Commission. She brings experience from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Vanessa spent years working in D.C. for environmental and international human rights organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters and the Latin America Working Group. She has also worked at Microsoft on smart city and healthcare technology that helps make communities healthier, safer, and more sustainable.

Vanessa holds MBA and MPA degrees from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. During graduate school, she was appointed by Governor Inslee to serve as the sole student member of the University of Washington Board of Regents. She loves volunteering and has served on the boards of numerous nonprofits.

Council President Kritzer lives with her husband and two young kids in Education Hill. She also lived for years in Downtown Redmond and loves spending time with her family in both our urban centers and residential neighborhoods. An avid outdoor enthusiast, you’ll often see Vanessa walking around Redmond’s trails with her toddler in a hiking backpack in her spare time. And, if she’s not outside, she is probably indoors playing a strategic board game.

Boards/Committees: Community Facilities District Board of Supervisors, Eastside Transportation Partnership, OneRedmond Board of Directors, Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8 Salmon Recovery Council, Lake Sammamish Kokanee Interlocal Agreement Management Committee, King Conservation District Advisory Committee