Mary Lou Dickerson (born September 3, 1946) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

, representing the 36th district from 1995 until 2013.

Early life and education

Dickerson was born in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

. She earned a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and Bachelor of Science in journalism from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. She also completed post-graduate work in Business and Public Administration.

Career

In addition to being an author, Dickerson worked as executive director for the

Bellevue Schools Foundation Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

and North Seattle Youth Services. She also worked as Program Development Director for the National CASA Association and as Program Manager for Echo Glen Treatment Center.Washington State Legislature - Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson
Dickerson was elected to the

in 1994, representing the 36th legislative district as a Democrat. She served nine terms in the House and served as the chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations committee. She also sat on the Ways and Means committee and the Early Learning and Human Services committee.

Personal life

Dickerson resides in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

with her husband, John Birnel. They have two children.

References

External links

Washington State Legislature - Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson
official WA House website
Project Vote Smart - Representative Mary Lou Dickerson (WA)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Mary Lou Dickerson
Finding aid to the Mary Lou Dickerson papers, 1995-2012 at the University of Washington Labor Archives

2006200420022000199819961994
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Mary Lou 1946 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature Politicians from Salem, Oregon Women state legislators in Washington (state) 21st-century American women politicians