CIVIC BACKGROUND
Mr. Wright’s extensive community involvement has centered on two of his passions — his hometown of Seattle and Latin America. He is widely recognized for his commitment to community and ability to bring together groups on all sides of an issue. A recognized consensus builder, his ability to bridge divides through his extensive network has helped advance numerous public initiatives.
In Seattle, Mr. Wright is deeply involved in regional business, arts, and education issues. He regularly weighs in on public policy and events for the Puget Sound Business Journal in his column, Wright on Center.
As a board member of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce of Seattle, he co-chaired the City of Seattle's Income Inequality Advisory Committee, which crafted the city’s phased-in $15-per-hour minimum wage law in 2013. In that position, Mr. Wright successfully educated other stakeholders on the importance of balancing wage growth with the need to keep all businesses viable and maintain Seattle’s image as a pro-business city.
The bill signing ceremony for Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law.
A hardhat tour at Washington State University
During Mr. Wright’s tenure on the Washington State University Board of Governors, he helped lead the university’s first $1 billion capital campaign. Mr. Wright has also raised funds for PATH and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. He previously served on the boards of the Amigos de las Américas Foundation, the Seattle Symphony Foundation, Intiman Theatre, the U.S. Foundation for Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Vermont Academy, the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, and The Children’s Discovery Foundation, which operates The Funhouse Commons on Orcas Island.
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 area for the past 40 years.
Mr. Wright has a longstanding commitment to Guatemala and to the University del Valle in Guatemala City (UVG). He co-chaired the capital campaign for the Amigos de las Américas Foundation and served on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Foundation of UVG where he has nurtured collaborative programs between UVG and Washington State University, his alma mater where he received a B.A. in Latin American Studies.
In 2019, Mr. Wright helped facilitate the creation of a public health study in Guatemala supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by bringing together officials from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and his alma mater, Washington State University.
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 up and down the West Coast.
The Spring Board Meeting in Guatemala for the U.S. Foundation of the University del Valle de Guatemala.