Manka Dhingra is Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She brings two decades of experience as a prosecutor and behavioral health expert to her roles as chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee and vice chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. Dhingra was first elected to the Senate by the constituents of the 45th Legislative District in November 2017, the first Sikh legislator elected in the nation. Since then, she has sponsored and passed legislation addressing a wide range of issues, including: curbing domestic violence and sexual assault, preventing firearm violence, providing property tax relief for seniors and people with disabilities, prosecuting financial fraud, and reforming the criminal justice system with an evidence-based approach. She has also helped pass legislation and funding to transform the Washington State behavioral health system, reorienting it around prevention rather than crisis response. Dhingra continues to serve as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Outside the courtroom, Dhingra is a community leader and anti-domestic violence advocate. She co-founded Chaya, an organization that assists South Asian survivors of domestic violence and led the organization’s work toward ending systemic violence through education and prevention.