Spokane County Commissioner, District 2
Term: 2023-2026

Newly elected Spokane County Commissioner, Amber Waldref, has engaged local community members and state/national leaders for more than 20 years in designing community solutions and helping organizations invest in people and places to create measurable, positive change.

Amber has deep experience in the non-profit sector, advocating for cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, building partnerships at The Lands Council to support clean water and healthy forests, and developing the capacity of The ZoNE initiative at Northeast Community Center to remove barriers to economic opportunity for all children and families.

During her eight years as a Spokane City Councilmember, Amber led efforts to clean up the Spokane River, to improve streets and utilities, and to support small business growth and public safety through targeted investment in the East Sprague District, the Hamilton Street Corridor, and in Downtown Spokane. Amber championed a property crime supervision program for vehicle thefts and state funding toward a Regional Mental Health Stabilization Center. In 2016, Amber led the ballot campaign to increase Spokane Transit service and was instrumental in creating the new all-electric rapid transit City Line, opening in 2023.

Born and raised in Spokane, Amber graduated from Gonzaga Prep and Georgetown University and earned her M.A. from Antioch University, Seattle. She is married to high school and collegiate science teacher, Tom Flanagan. They have two daughters and are longtime residents of the Logan neighborhood.

Amber has a long history of volunteer and community service. She served on the Governor’s 2020 Census Counts Committee and was responsible for activating Spokane County’s successful Census Count. She currently serves on the Washington State University Spokane Advisory Council, the Holy Names Music Center Board of Trustees, the Hanford Advisory Board and the Spokane County Human Rights Task Force.