Jon Tunheim currently serves as the elected Prosecuting Attorney for Thurston County in Olympia, Washington. A career prosecutor, Mr. Tunheim joined the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office as a legal intern in 1988 and rose through the ranks to be elected Prosecuting Attorney in 2010. He has been recognized for his leadership in establishing a regional child advocacy center and the Thurston County Family Justice Center, advocating for therapeutic courts, and forming his First Look Team, an intake unit focused on proactively diverting cases from the criminal justice system at screening. Currently in his third term, Mr. Tunheim’s priorities include continual modernization of prosecution practices, expanding therapeutic diversions, and improving victim services to ensure a fair, just, transparent, and compassionate justice system.

Mr. Tunheim serves as the President of the Washington State Association of Drug Court Professionals, co-chair of the Washington State Task Force on Sentencing, and a member of the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission. He is a past president of the Washington Government Lawyers Bar Association and the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. He also serves the community as a board member and past president of the United Way of Thurston County, and a member of the Board of Regents for Leadership Thurston County. For his work, Mr. Tunheim was named the 2012 Lawyer of the Year by the Thurston County Bar Association, a Local Hero by the Washington State Bar Association, and most recently, the Elected Official of the Year by the Foster Parents Association of Washington State.

Originally from South Dakota, Jon earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from South Dakota State University and relocated to Washington to pursue his law degree at the University of Puget Sound School of Law.