About:
Jim Kastama is a strategy and technology consultant serving the greater Pacific Northwest Region. He served in the Washington State Legislature for sixteen years and was the first legislator in the state to become an Examiner for the Washington State Quality Awards, specializing in criteria established by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards. He is also the author of Washington State's four-year balanced budget requirement, regarded as one of the the nation's most fiscally responsible budgeting practices.
Jim has taught at the both the university and community college level in organizational assessment, strategic planning, and political science. He served as a member of the Governor Inslee’s transition team on Lean, GMAP and regulatory reform. In 2012, he was selected by Seattle Magazine as one of the Most Influential People in Washington State. In addition to consulting, Jim is a Senior Policy Strategist at the Center for Accelerating Innovation, located in Seattle.
As a Senator, Jim chaired the Senate Economic Development, Trade and Innovation Committee. In this role, he established Washington State’s Economic Development Commission, with its ten-year strategic focus on innovation; sponsored legislation creating nationally recognized Innovation Partnership Zones; and enhanced the state universities’ commercialization efforts by developing the Strategically Targeted Academic Researchers (STARS) program and the Entrepreneur In Residence program. In 2011, he authored legislation establishing Washington’s first virtual university, WGU Washington.
Jim is known for managing complex relationships and reaching desirable outcomes. Before entering politics, he spent over ten years in the private sector. He was responsible for restructuring state agencies and helped negotiate two of the most bipartisan legislative budget agreements in recent history.
Jim is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He resides in his hometown of Puyallup with his wife and five children. He is a past Board Member of Washington First Robotics, past member of the Economic Development Commission and a member the National Ski Patrol.
Jim Kastama is a strategy and technology consultant serving the greater Pacific Northwest Region. He served in the Washington State Legislature for sixteen years and was the first legislator in the state to become an Examiner for the Washington State Quality Awards, specializing in criteria established by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards. He is also the author of Washington State's four-year balanced budget requirement, regarded as one of the the nation's most fiscally responsible budgeting practices.
Jim has taught at the both the university and community college level in organizational assessment, strategic planning, and political science. He served as a member of the Governor Inslee’s transition team on Lean, GMAP and regulatory reform. In 2012, he was selected by Seattle Magazine as one of the Most Influential People in Washington State. In addition to consulting, Jim is a Senior Policy Strategist at the Center for Accelerating Innovation, located in Seattle.
As a Senator, Jim chaired the Senate Economic Development, Trade and Innovation Committee. In this role, he established Washington State’s Economic Development Commission, with its ten-year strategic focus on innovation; sponsored legislation creating nationally recognized Innovation Partnership Zones; and enhanced the state universities’ commercialization efforts by developing the Strategically Targeted Academic Researchers (STARS) program and the Entrepreneur In Residence program. In 2011, he authored legislation establishing Washington’s first virtual university, WGU Washington.
Jim is known for managing complex relationships and reaching desirable outcomes. Before entering politics, he spent over ten years in the private sector. He was responsible for restructuring state agencies and helped negotiate two of the most bipartisan legislative budget agreements in recent history.
Jim is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He resides in his hometown of Puyallup with his wife and five children. He is a past Board Member of Washington First Robotics, past member of the Economic Development Commission and a member the National Ski Patrol.