Vanessa Kritzer

Vanessa Kritzer is in her second term on the Redmond City Council, where she most recently served as Council President and now is the chair of the Council’s Finance, Administration, and Communications Committee. Outside of city work, Vanessa leads as Executive Director of the Washington Association of Land Trusts, which unites more than 35 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. As a mom of two young kids, she loves volunteering in our local schools and with nonprofits that support thriving communities. She has served on the boards of numerous nonprofits, including currently as a board member of Hopelink and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition.