Strickland, Marilyn, 1962-

Marilyn Strickland (born September 25, 1962) is a South Korean-born American politician and businesswoman who is the U.S. Representative for Washington's 10th congressional district since 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Strickland and her family moved to Tacoma, Washington where she attended Mount Tahoma High School. Strickland went on to earn a degree in business from the University of Washington. After graduating, Strickland took a job opportunity at Northern Life Insurance doing clerical work before going on to earn a Master of Business Administration from Clark Atlanta University. After years in the private sector, Strickland was elected to the Tacoma City Council. She served as a council member for two years before being selected to serve as mayor from 2010 to 2018; Strickland was the first Asian-born elected mayor of Tacoma, as well as the first African-American woman in that office. Following the end of her mayoral term, Strickland served as president of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Strickland left the Chamber early in 2020, declaring her candidacy for Washington's 10th congressional district in the 2020 election. Finishing first in a field of nineteen candidates in the August jungle primary, she advanced to the general election where she defeated Democratic State Representative Beth Doglio. She is the first member of the United States Congress who is of both Korean and African American heritage, and the first African-American member elected from Washington. Strickland is also one of the first three Korean-American women ever elected to Congress.