Seattle mother, daughter announced as State of the Union guests. Here are others attending
The White House released the list of invited guests who will sit in the First Lady’s Box during Tuesday evening’s State of the Union Address. Two of them, a mother and daughter, are from Washington.
According to the White House, the more than 20 individuals invited “personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people.”
State of the Union WA guests
Kristin Christensen and her daughter Averie Christensen from Seattle are attending Tuesday’s event in the U.S. Capitol. Christensen cares for her husband, a Navy veteran who is retired due to combat-related injuries. Christensen and her daughter are a part of The Elizabeth Dole Foundation, an organization that empowers and honors U.S. military caregivers.
The foundation appointed Christensen as an organization fellow in 2021. She and Averie advocate for military and veteran children in caregiving homes. Christensen also supports caregivers in the foundation’s Hidden Heroes Cities and Counties Program.
Both Kristin and Averie Christensen met the First Lady in October 2022 during an event in Seattle where people celebrated the children who care for wounded or ill military family members.
Dr. Biden met Kristin & Avarie in Seattle in October when she joined a panel hosted by us, @WWP, @PattyMurray, & #JoiningForces.
Having a military caregiver family at #SOTU shows that military caregiver support & recognition are a national priority. Thank you, @FLOTUS! pic.twitter.com/noZ3SHl3ZJ— Elizabeth Dole Foundation (@DoleFoundation) February 7, 2023
White House guests
Other individuals sitting in the First Lady’s Box include:
Oksana Markarova, ambassador of Ukraine.
RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols, an unarmed Black man who was beaten by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop and later died as a result of the injuries.
Brandon Tsay, the man who disarmed the mass shooter at a Lunar New Year celebration on Jan. 21 in Monterey Park, California.
Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who was attacked by an intruder in 2022 by someone who supposedly intended to harm the former speaker.
Lynette Bonar, a member of the Navajo Nation and former medic in the U.S. Army.
Ruth Cohen, a survivor of the Holocaust and volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Bono, lead singer of U2 and activist against HIV/AIDS and poverty.
You can view the address live online at the White House website. The event starts at 6 p.m. PST.
