Judge Helen Whitener

Judge Whitener was born and raised in the beautiful Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Educated in the British system, Judge Whitener arrived in the United States at the age of 16 to attend college where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and International Marketing from Baruch College, City University of New York in 1988. She entered law school in 1995 at Seattle University School of Law where she obtained her J.D. degree in 1998. On January 13, 2015 she was appointed by Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee to the Pierce County Superior Court, and (the highest Trial Court in the State of Washington). Prior to her appointment Judge Whitener had a combined six and a half years of judicial experience. She was a former Washington State Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals Judge and a former pro-tem judge in Pierce County District Court and the City of Tacoma Municipal Court. Judge Whitener has also been a Prosecutor and a Defense Attorney. She is very active locally, nationally and internationally in various community service activities. Judge Whitener speaks often on Human Rights, Access to Justice, and the rights and responsibility of the judiciary in ensuring the rights of all that appear before them to basic dignity and respect in judicial proceedings. She is a member of the International Association of Women Judges Association, the American Judge Association, the National Association of Women Judges, the Washington Courts Superior Court Judges Association and the Washington State Bar Association.