Manka Dhingra is the State Senator for the 45th legislative district in Washington and Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. She is Chair of the Law & Justice committee, and a member of the Behavioral Health subcommittee and Ways & Means committee.

She has been a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with King County since January 2000, and is the former Chair of the Therapeutic Alternative Unit. As Chair, she supervised the Regional Mental Health court, Veterans Court and the Community Assessment and Referral for Diversion program. She helped create the 40 hour crisis intervention training for law enforcement and was a trainer at the Criminal Justice Training Commission.

In her professional capacity, she has also served as a member of Shoreline Police Department’s Advisory Group for Response Awareness De-escalation and Referral (RADAR) and participated in the Seattle Police Department’s Muslim, Sikh, and Arab Advisory Council. She led the Coordinated Crisis Intervention Response meetings where she collaborated with all King County law enforcement officers to find creative solutions and coordinate responses to help individuals with mental illness.

Prior to becoming a prosecutor, she interned with the State Attorney General’s Office in their Criminal Division assisting with Sexually Violent Predator cases and also clerked for Justice Barbara Madsen at the Washington State Supreme Court from September 1997 to June 1998.

She holds a JD from the University of Washington School of Law and Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. 

Task Forces and Committees:

• Co-Chair of the Behavioral Health recovery System Transformation Task Force;
• Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force;
• Criminal Sentencing Task Force;
• Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) Statewide Coordinating Committee;
• Work First Poverty Reduction Oversight Task Force; 
• Substance Use Recovery Services Advisory Committee;
• Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee;
• Washington State Task Force Against the Trafficking of Persons; 
• Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) Work Group;
• Sexual Assault Coordinated Community Response Task Force; 
• The Eyewitness Evidence Work Group;
• Informant Reliability Work Group; 
• Jury Diversity Task Force;
• Office of Equity Task Force;
• Select Committee on Quality Improvement at State Hospitals.

Manka is a co-founder of Chaya, a South Asian organization that helps survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and trafficking. She served on the board for 7 years and was President of the board for the last 2 years. (Chaya is now called API Chaya). 

She has been on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Eastside for 12 years and was President for 4 years. She is currently a board member of Hopelink whose mission is to end poverty in our community and on the Honorary Advisory Cabinet for King County Sexual Assault Resource Center.

Manka has volunteered extensively in her children’s schools, running Passport Club, chess and math club. She has been a Destination Imagination coach as well as a Girl Scout Cookie mom.  

Awards:

• Jacob K Javits Public Service Award, the highest award given to a public servant by the American Psychiatric Association Jun 2022
• Behavioral Health Champion, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – Washington · Jan 2021
• Champion for Kids’, Washington Digital Public Schools Alliance · Jan 2019
• Legislator of the Year,  The Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs (WACOPS) · Jan 2019
• Nursing Champion, Washington State Nursing Association · Jan 2019
• Behavioral Health Champion, NAMI – Washington · Jan 2019
• Social Justice Champion, SEIU 775 · Jan 2019
• Rynas Advocacy Award, The highest award for exceptional service for those with serious mental illness, Nami Eastside · Jan 2017
• Golden Acorn Award in recognition of her dedication and service to children and youth, Redmond Elementary School PTA · Jan 2013
• Randy Revelle Award for Mental Health Advocacy, for a lifetime advocacy on behalf of the mentally ill. Washington Psychiatric Association · Jan 2010

Manka brings her experience as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, award winning PTSA mom, advocate against gender based violence, and community leader to the Washington State Legislature. She is running to continue her work to advocate for safe communities for all, access to behavioral health services, responsible investment in transportation, environmental protections, and ensuring our children have the resources needed to be the successful leaders our state needs to continue its tremendous economic growth.

She lives in Redmond, WA with her husband, Harjit and their two children.