Brad Owen
President/Director
 Brad Owen was elected as Washington State’s 15th Lieutenant Governor in 1996 and re-elected in 2000. Lieutenant Governor Owen serves the state as President of the Senate, and is the acting governor in the absence of the Governor. The Lieutenant Governor, first in line of ascension, is elected to a four-year term, which coincides with the terms of the President of the United States.
Born in Tacoma, Washington on May 23rd, 1950, Lieutenant Governor Owen graduated from Frankfurt American High School in 1968. Upon returning to the U.S. after graduation, he moved back to his birth state of Washington and settled in Shelton. During the next 22 years, Owen was a small business owner and became a prominent member of his community. In November 2002 Walla Walla College presented an Honorary Doctorate of Letters to the Lieutenant Governor Owen in recognition of his many years of public service and work for our kids and communities.
Prior to his election as Lieutenant Governor, Owen served as Shelton Finance Commissioner from 1976-1979, as a member of the Washington State House of Representatives from 1976-1982, and in the Washington State Senate from 1983-1996.
The Lieutenant Governor has dedicated his term of service to provide leadership in the field of public health and safety, with an emphasis on substance abuse prevention and child welfare. This includes communication with individuals, groups, and organizations to convey the health and safety needs of our children. Specifically, his office encompasses a strong substance abuse prevention message that includes brain development and early learning, risk and protective factors, community norms and values, economic vitality, media literacy, and anti-drug messages.
Owen is Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Economic Development and serves on the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse. He also serves on several committees, including the Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority, The State Capitol Committee, the State Finance Committee, the Washington Health Care Facilities Authority, the Public Deposit Protection Commission, and the State Medal of Merit Committee.
The Lieutenant Governor also actively supports strengthening the ties between Washington State’s international community and state government. For the past several years he has worked toward fostering international trade and building stronger international connections, as well as becoming a student of the Spanish language.
In addition to his dedicated public service, Owen also founded and is the president of a non-profit organization called Strategies for Youth (SFY). This innovative organization partners with his office to develop and deliver positive messages about drug and alcohol awareness to youth, as well as to the community at large. The Lieutenant Governor travels throughout the state of Washington visiting schools in working to present the program and its message.
Lieutenant Governor Owen is an avid outdoorsman, hunter, and fisherman, and enjoys playing a variety of musical instruments including the guitar, drums, and sax. Owen and his wife, Linda, live in Shelton. They have six children, Shanie, Dana, Sherri, Mark, Adam, and Royce, and ten grandchildren, Elizabeth, Casey, Amanda, Savannah, Joshua, CammiAnn, Seth, Sophia, Naomi and Luke.
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