Councilmember 1/1/26-12/31/29
Naren Briar was elected to the City Council in November 2025. Affordability, safety and expanded mobility are priorities for her. Naren is council liaison to the Parks & Community Services Board and Bellevue Youth Link Board.
Councilmember Briar represents the council on the King County Eastside Transportation Partnership and the Sound Cities Association Public Issues Committee.
Naren resides in Lake Hills, which she considers one of Bellevue’s most walkable and charming neighborhoods. The daughter of Kurdish refugees from Iraq, Briar was born and raised in Dallas, Texas.
Briar earned a bachelor's degree in political science and government from Boston College. She was a product manager with Stacker, then with Meta, focused on artificial intelligence, privacy and ethics.
In 2016, Naren founded the Genocide Education and Human Rights Initiative, an organization dedicated to providing education and humanitarian support to communities impacted by conflict. She collaborated with Col. Myles Caggins, spokesperson for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, to expand access to education for survivors of war. Her work and analysis of geopolitical conflicts have since been recognized by Harvard, Yale, and other academic institutions.
Naren graduated from the Bellevue Essentials program in 2025. She frequently tutors and mentors high school students in Bellevue.
In her free time, Naren volunteers at the Armenian Orthodox Church in Redmond and at the Salsaymotion Dance Academy. She speaks Spanish, Russian and Kurdish.
Council Assignments and Appointments
- Parks & Community Services Board Liaison
- Bellevue Youth Link Board Liaison
- King County Eastside Transportation Partnership
- King County Lake Sammamish Kokanee Interlocal Agreement Management Committee
- Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed Water Resource Inventory Area 8
- Sound Cities Association Public Issues Committee
Community Service
- Genocide Education and Human Rights Initiative - Founder, 2016-present
- Bellevue Essentials
Employment
- Meta, Product Manager, 2022-24
- Stacker, Product Manager, 2020-23
Education
- Boston College, Bachelor of Political Science and Government