About Councilmember Jorge L. Barón

Jorge L. Barón was elected to be a member of the Metropolitan King County Council in November 2023 and will serve as the representative for District 4 on the Council from January 2024 to December 2026. 

Previously, Jorge served as the Executive Director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) from 2008 until 2023, and as a staff attorney with the organization from 2006 to 2008.  NWIRP is a nationally-recognized legal services organization dedicated solely to advancing and defending the rights of low-income immigrants and refugees.  

Jorge is originally from Bogotá, Colombia, and immigrated to the United States at the age of thirteen.  He graduated from Duke University and spent five years working in the film and television industry in Los Angeles, California, before pursuing a legal career.  Jorge received his law degree from Yale Law School.  After graduation, he served as a law clerk for Judge Betty B. Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Seattle.  Jorge then served as an Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellow at New Haven Legal Assistance Association in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving back to the Pacific Northwest and starting his position at NWIRP.  

Jorge has served in various civic groups including the transition committees for Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, the Joint Legislative Task Force on Deadly Force in Community Policing, and Governor Gregoire’s New Americans Policy Council. 

In 2017, Seattle Magazine recognized Jorge as one of the most influential Seattleites of the year.  And, in 2009, Puget Sound Business Journal selected Jorge as one of “40 under 40,” business and nonprofit leaders in the region under 40 years of age.  In addition, Jorge has received numerous awards including: the MLK Medal of Distinguished Service from the King County Council (2018); the Man of Integrity Recognition from the UW Women’s Center (2018); the Roberto Felipe Maestas Legacy Award from El Centro de la Raza (2017); the President’s Award from The Washington State Labor Council (2017); the Friend of the Legal Profession Award by the King County Bar Association (2016); the Community Service Award from the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project (LEAP) (2015); the Model of Excellence award from the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (2012); and the Social Justice Visionary Award from Casa Latina (2012).

Jorge has been featured and quoted in numerous local and national publications, including the Seattle Times, the New York Times, and KUOW. He has testified before the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and before state, county and city legislative bodies.   

Jorge lives in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle with his wife Tyler and their three children Isabella, Luna, and Luca.