Nearly 25 years of commitment and contributions to the criminal justice system in King County has earned Tricia L. Anderson the 2004 Highline College Distinguished Alumni Award.

The former Tricia Hansen graduated from Highline’s Management Certificate program in 1990, attending classes while working. In 2000, she graduated as a fellow in the rigorous Court Executive Development Program at the Institute for Court Management in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Anderson began her criminal justice career in 1980 as a court clerk for the Roxbury District Court, a part of the King County Court system. Today she is the Chief Administrative Officer for the King County District Court where she is responsible for a $20.5 million budget, annual caseload of 236,000 filings and more than 240 employees in nine locations.

Tricia has made outstanding contributions during her long career in the criminal justice field,” says the Honorable J. Wesley Saint Clair, who has worked with Anderson for the past two years in his role as the presiding judge in King County District Court. "I’ll give you one example. King County had a failure-to-appear rate of 60 percent. A few years ago, Tricia evaluated several techniques and recommended a cost-effective system to reduce failure to appear that we’re still using today. The automated computer-generated reminder call program has reduced the failure-to-appear rate by 20 percent to 30 percent."

Anderson actively volunteers in the field. She served as president of both the Washington State District and Municipal Court Managers Association and the King County District Court Administrators. She is a member of the National Association for Court Management and was a member of the Washington State Board for Judicial Education where she earned an award for personal achievement in 2001. In recognition of her leadership and commitment to justice, she was given the Washington State Court Management Award in 1997. “People often tell me that they’ve served with Tricia on a committee and what a great job she does. She doesn’t just show up, she contributes. She has a can-do attitude," says Saint Clair, who has recently been appointed to the King County Superior Court by Gov. Gary Locke to replace Judge Donald Haley, who is retiring.

Anderson credits Highline’s two-year Management Certificate program with giving her the foundation she needed to launch her successful career in court administration. “The courses had an immediate and direct correlation to my day-to-day challenges,” says Anderson. “The instructors were outstanding and had field experience that gave true credibility to the learners. “I strongly believe that without my certificate I earned at Highline, I would not have had the opportunities and success that I’ve been able to achieve in my field,” she says.

A resident of Burien, Anderson, 45, has deep roots in the community and gives back through volunteer work. She is active on the board of trustees and the scholarship committee of the Highline High School Alumni Foundation. She is also a member of the PTA at Gregory Heights Elementary where her 10-year-old daughter attends fourth grade.