Stew's Bio

As a husband, father, small business owner, activist, and former manager in state government, Stew Henderson knows how to listen, how to involve the right people in solving problems, and how to get things done.  His professional career has focused on helping government function more efficiently:  helping people cut bureaucracy, promote innovation, increase inter-agency and public/private collaboration, and improve systems by listening to what front-line workers have to say.  

Stew is an experienced bridge-builder, who is skilled at resolving conflict and breaking down barriers.  He’s the kind of leader who brings people together, makes sure everyone gets their say, and works hard to find creative solutions so that everyone can get their needs met.  

Stew had worked in management consulting in the private sector for over 10 years before being recruited to be Assistant Director for Management Consulting Services at the Department of Labor & Industries during the Locke administration in 1999.  He stayed on during the changeover to the Gregoire administration.  

In 2006, Stew started his own private business, Third Way Consulting Group.  Through Third Way, Stew helps organizations become more efficient and effective, particularly when they are faced with serious performance challenges.  His clients are primarily organizations with service-oriented missions in the healthcare, environmental, and education sectors.      

In 2008, Stew became a volunteer leader in the local Obama campaign. His blog from the Democratic Convention in Denver was carried daily in the Olympian.  (To read his convention blog, click here)  After the convention, he spearheaded a fundraising effort in Olympia (called “Thurston County is the Well”) that brought in $60,000 for the Obama campaign in a single day – the largest grass-roots Obama fundraiser in the state.

Stew and his wife of almost 22 years, Kathy Cox, live in unincorporated Thurston County, just outside of Lacey and Olympia (near Spooner’s Berry Farm).  They met when they served together in the Peace Corps in the West African nation of Mauritania from 1981 to 1983.  

Their two sons went through the Olympia public schools, both graduating from Olympia High School.  Their oldest son, Nat, is a senior at Middlebury College in Vermont; their youngest, Josh, just returned from spending a year on a Rotary Exchange in Argentina, and is currently a freshman at Kenyon College in Ohio.  

Stew is currently active with the Thurston Climate Action Team (TCAT), a non-profit group that is working locally to jumpstart bold, creative, and innovative actions to reduce global warming emissions and halt climate change.  Stew was part of the team that recently won a $1 million dollar grant to support the rapid retrofitting of Thurston County homes and businesses to dramatically improve energy efficiency.  (Read the article in the Olympian)