Faith
Pettis

PARTNER
P. 206.245.1700

In addition to serving as bond counsel to numerous state and local governments, Faith Pettis is active in housing policy and education, receiving the Senator Scott White Regional Leadership Award in recognition of her contributions.

Faith Pettis serves as bond counsel and outside counsel to state and local governments, with a primary focus on housing, education and nonprofit finance. Her clients include state agencies, housing authorities, local school districts, cities and counties. She is bond and general counsel to the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, the issuer of nonprofit, multifamily, and single-family bonds and the allocating agency for federal low-income housing tax credits in Washington state. She also represents the Washington State issuer of bonds for private colleges and universities.

Prior to Pacifica, Faith practiced for 18 years with Preston Gates & Ellis and its successor firm, K&L Gates, where she served as the coordinator of the firm-wide public finance practice group.

Faith was appointed in 2018 by Governor Inslee to a six-year term on the Board of Trustees of Western Washington University. The Mayor of Seattle appointed Faith in 2014 to co-chair the City’s Housing Affordability and Livability task force, which was charged with delivering a ten-year plan to address housing affordability. She previously served two terms as chair of the statewide Affordable Housing Advisory Board. Faith has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Bond Lawyers (“NABL”), and as a Trustee for College Spark Washington, an education grant-making organization.

Bar Admissions:
  • Washington
  • Oregon
Education:
  • University of Washington, B.A., Russian language and Russian/East European area studies, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
  • Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude
  • National Taiwan Normal University, Mandarin Training Center, 1989-1990
Honors:
  • Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Senator Scott White Regional Leadership Award, October 2018
  • Elected Fellow, American College of Bond Counsel, October, 2017
  • Washington State Housing Finance Commission, Friend of Housing Award, 2015
  • Selected to Washington Super Lawyers, multiple years, 2007-2023
  • Selected to Washington Rising Stars, 2005-2007
  • Named Lawyer of the Year for Public Finance Law, Seattle, in 2014 and 2018 by Best Lawyers
  • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Public Finance Law, 2010-2024
  • Selected as a leading lawyer in the Puget Sound region for 2012, as determined by her peers (Seattle Business Magazine)
  • Top 50: Washington Women Super Lawyers, 2014–2016, 2018, and Top 100: Washington Super Lawyers, 2014 and 2016
Speaking:
  • Pacific NW Regional Council Annual Conference, Turnkey Tax Credit Development, April, 2023
  • Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys Conference, Affordable and Workforce Housing: Zoning Impacts and Financing Options, April, 2023
  • American Bar Association, Real Property Trust & Estates Spring Conference, Home is Where the Work Is: Regulating and Incentivizing Work Force Housing, April 2021
  • Housing Development Consortium, Learn at Lunch: Federal Pro-Housing Legislative Update, March 2021
  • sea.citi, Beyond the Build: Investing Our Way Out of the Housing Crisis, February, 2021
  • Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys Conference, Past is Prologue: Lessons from the Great Recession and Tools for Addressing COVID, October, 2020
  • Pacifica Webinar, Funding and Disclosure in the Time of COVID, May, 2020
  • Association of Washington Housing Authorities Meeting, Refusing the Right of First Refusal, November, 2019
  • Housing Washington Annual Conference, Refusing the Right of First Refusal, October, 2019
  • Association of Washington Housing Authorities, Finance Officers’ Conference, Bonds 101, September, 2019
  • ABA Housing Forum, Going Local: Bold Strategies Tried by Local Governments, May, 2019
  • Mortgage Bankers Association Lunch Presentation, Leveraging Transit to Address Housing Affordability, September, 2018
  • Washington Association of School Business Officials, Minding Your P’s & Q’s with the PDC, May, 2018
  • ABA Housing Forum, Tax Reform Teleconference, November, 2017
  • NABL, Bond Attorneys Workshop, Moderator, General Plenary Session, In the Trenches of Securities Fraud Cases, October, 2017
  • University of Washington Runstad Center Leadership Class, Speaker, October, 2016 and October, 2017
  • Urban Land Institute Spring Meeting, Affordable/Workforce Housing Council, Seattle’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, May, 2017
  • Washington Association of School Business Officials Conference, Bond Voyage: Sailing the Stormy Seas of Securities Enforcement, May, 2017
  • NABL, Bond Attorneys Workshop, Multifamily Housing Panel, October, 2016
  • Forterra, Seed and Feed, The HALA, May, 2016
  • The Seminar Group, Mixed Use Development in Washington, Maintaining Momentum: Implementing the HALA, March, 2016
  • Urban Land Institute Fall Meeting, Housing Affordability, October, 2015
  • Housing Washington, Data to Policy: The State Housing Needs Assessment & The HALA, October, 2015
  • National Association of Health and Educational Facilities Finance Authorities, National Association of Bond Lawyers Update: Initiatives and Efforts Over the Last Year, September, 2015
  • CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Luncheon, Seattle’s Affordable Housing Vision, June, 2015
  • Housing Washington, Washington State’s Housing Needs Assessment: Framework, Findings and Moving Forward, October, 2014
  • ABA Affordable Housing Forum, Tax Exempt Bonds 101, May, 2014
  • Housing Washington, Get Shorty (How Short Term Bonds with FHA Financing Can Enhance Your Bottom Line), October, 2013
Publications:
  • Pro Mandatory Housing Affordability: Help Working Families Find a Home, Seattle Times Op-Ed, November 30, 2018, with Greg Smith
  • Housing Will Become Even More Unaffordable if Seattle Doesn’t Act Now, Seattle Times Op-Ed, July 26, 2015, with David Wertheimer
Community Involvement:
  • Chair, Board of Trustees, Western Washington University, July 2023-Present
  • Board of Trustees, Western Washington University, October, 2018-Present
  • Steering Committee, Sound Communities, current
  • Advisory Committee, Evergreen Impact Housing Fund, current
  • Steering Committee, Seattle for Everyone, current
  • Member, City of Seattle Affordable Middle Income Housing Advisory Council, 2019-2020
  • Co-Chair, City of Seattle Housing Affordability and Livability Task Force, 2014-2015
  • Chair, Affordable Housing Advisory Board, Washington State Department of Commerce, 2012-2015
  • Trustee, College Spark Washington, 2010-2016; and Chair, Grants Committee, 2014-2015
  • Trustee, Seattle Children’s Theatre, 2005-2011; and Past Chair, Development Committee
  • Past Board Chair, Seattle Academy of Finance
  • Class of 1998, Leadership Tomorrow
Professional Organizations:
  • Board of Directors, American College of Bond Counsel, 2021-2024
  • Steering Committee Member, NABL Bond Attorney’s Workshop, 2017-2019
  • Board Member, NABL, 2012-2015; 2010-2011
  • Chair, 2011; Vice-Chair, 2010; Second Vice-Chair, 2009, NABL Bond Attorney’s Workshop
  • Multifamily Housing Panel Chair, 2006-2008; 2018; 2019, NABL Bond Attorney’s Workshop
Representative Matters:
  • Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority, $23 million Revenue Bonds (Gonzaga University Arena Project)
  • Washington State Housing Finance Commission, $24.625 million Multifamily Revenue Note (Building 9 Apartments Project) (Mercy Housing)
  • Washington State Housing Finance Commission, $143.865 million Nonprofit Housing Revenue Bonds (Transforming Age Projects)
  • Washington Economic Development Finance Authority, $30 million Variable Rate Demand Nonprofit Revenue Bonds (Seattle Goodwill Project)
  • Evergreen School District, $112.725 million Unlimited Tax General Obligation Bonds
  • Bainbridge Island School District, $38.475 million Unlimited Tax General Obligation Bonds
  • Snohomish County Housing Authority, $70 million Revenue Note (Carvel Apartments)