Harriet Ljungkvist Bagdade was born and raised in Sweden. With a degree in sociology and economy from University of Göteborg she worked in the area of preventive health for the Skaraborg County Council in Sweden. After immigrating to the US in 1980 Harriet was a Research Associate at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and later, after moving to Chicago in 1985, she worked in a variety of positions in the Swedish-American business community and as Project Manager and Assistant Comptroller for the Swedish Trade Council.
In 1996 Harriet and her family relocated to Eugene where she has enjoyed teaching Swedish at University of Oregon and from 2002 to 2005 was president for Friends of Scandinavian Studies.