Olympia, WA – The Washington State Supreme Court welcomed their first openly LGBT, Latina, and Asian-American woman to the high court last week – Mary Yu. Yu, a 57-year-old lesbian, worked for the past 14 years as a King County Superior Court justice, reelected to the seat four times in a row.

A Chicago native whose parents came from Mexico and China, Yu is the first openly gay person to sit on the state’s highest court, in addition to being the first Latina and the first Asian-American.

“Judge Yu has distinguished herself throughout her career as someone of great intellect, dedication and compassion,” Governor Jay Inslee said in an announcement on Thursday. “She has brought to her work and to her life a never-wavering commitment to ensuring justice for everyone. Her appointment today is a moment all Washingtonians can be proud of.”

Yu says that she will never forget where she came from, and will do all that she can to make sure that justice served.

“Trial court judges, at every level of court, are the workhorses of our system of justice,” said Yu in a press release. “I am proud to come from their ranks and will do all that I can to remember that the trial court remains the place where the law is actually applied to everyday life.”

Yu is scheduled to be sworn in later this month.