Jennifer Dunn Thomson

Born: July 29, 1941

Education: Bellevue High School Stanford University: B.A. in English Literature, 1963

Marriages: Dennis Dunn, April 3, 1965; Sons: Bryant Dunn, Reagan Dunn Keith Thomson, November 16, 2003, stepson Angus Thomson

Career: 1964-1969 IBM Systems Engineer
1978-1980 King County Department of Assessments
1981-1992 Chair, Washington State Republican Party
1993-2005 U.S. Representative 8th Congressional District, state of Washington
Areas of Interest & Leadership: Tax relief and reform, the estate tax, technology, trade, welfare reform, business, AMBER Alert

Notably:

• First woman to chair the Washington State Republican Party
• Appointee to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 1984 & 1990
• Member of the transition team when the Republicans took the majority in 1994
• Co-Chair, Bipartisan Congressional Working Group on Youth Violence
• Trusted by The Republican Party to spearhead efforts to close the gender gap
• In 1997, appointed to the Commission on Presidential Debates
• First woman of either party to run for House Majority Leader
• Delivered the Republican Response to the 1999 State of the Union Address
• Highest ranking woman in the United States Congress as Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference
• Fifth woman in history to serve on the Ways & Means Committee
• First and only woman to sit on the Joint Economic Committee
• Vice Chair of the Select Committee on Homeland Security
• First woman to receive the Tax Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award
• Small Business Power Thirty, Fortune Magazine
• Attendee, World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
• One of “America’s 100 most Important Women, Ladies Home Journal
• Member, Exploratory Committee for then-Governor George W. Bush
• Deputy Co-Chair, 2000 Republican National Convention
• W Stands for Women, 2004
• Bush-Cheney '04
• Member, HELP Commission, Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People around the Globe
• Advisor, DLA Piper
• Consultant, The Sterling Group
• Romney for President

Death: September 4, 2007, Alexandria, Virginia, pulmonary embolism