Born in Bremerton, WA, Judge Galván grew up in the Yakima Valley where her father picked fruit for a living. From these humble beginnings, Judge Galván became the first member of her family to graduate college earning her degree from Western Washington University.

After graduating from the University of Washington School of Law, Judge Galván became an assistant city attorney for the city of Seattle. There, she specialized in the prosecution of domestic violence cases including elder and child abuse matters.

Judge Galván took the bench in 2001, and was appointed to a full time judicial position as an Administrative Law Judge in 2002. In 2007, Judge Galván was appointed to the Des Moines Municipal Court where she served with distinction, earning the Juez Excepcional award from LBAW in 2014, On December 19, 2014, Governor Jay Inslee appointed Judge Galván to the King County Superior Court.

A tireless advocate for access to justice, Judge Galván implemented the only Spanish-language Court in the state of Washington granting hundreds of litigants the opportunity to address the court directly in Spanish. She was recognized by her alma mater with the Dean's Leadership Award in 2015.

A thoughtful legal mind, Judge Galván is a faculty member for the Washington State Judicial College where she has taught courses from budgeting to working with interpreters. In 2013 she was selected by her colleagues as President of the District and Municipal Court Judges' Association. Judge Galván also teaches Spanish for lawyers at Seattle University School of Law and has spoken on the issue of multilingual legal education.