CIVIC BACKGROUND

In Seattle, Mr. Wright is deeply involved in the region’s business, arts and education issues. He regularly weighs in on local policy and events for the Puget Sound Business Journal in his regular column, Wright on Center.

Mr. Wright is a former member of the Washington State University Board of Governors. During his tenure, he helped lead the school’s first $1 billion capital campaign. He is also a former WSU Foundation Trustee. Howard Wright’s non-profit leadership experience also includes stints on the boards of the Amigos de las Américas Foundation, which he also served as a trustee, the U.S. Foundation for Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, the Third Door Coalition and The Children’s Discovery Foundation, which operates The Funhouse Commons on Orcas Island.

 Mr. Wright's extensive involvement with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra encompasses service on the symphony’s board and the Benaroya Hall Music Corporation Board of Directors. Benaroya is the public-private partnership entity that operates the symphony’s home facility. He has also helped lead fundraising campaigns for the symphony.

His interest in Latin America dates to his time as a high school exchange student in the region. Mr. Wright went on to major in Latin American Studies at Washington State and has worked and traveled extensively in the region for the past 40 years. He co-chaired the capital campaign for the Amigos de las Américas Foundation and served on the board of the U.S. Foundation of the University del Valle in Guatemala City.

Howard Wright lives in Seattle with his wife and son. In his leisure time, he pursues his passion for flight, piloting vintage airplanes to fly-ins along the West Coast.