A leader in the Seattle business and nonprofit communities, Bob Watt was appointed to the Casey Family Programs board of trustees in April 2008. Watt retired in December 2007 as vice president of State & Local Government Relations and Global Corporate Citizenship for The Boeing Company. Previously, he was president and CEO of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Watt’s career history includes leadership positions with PhyCom Corporation, five years as president of Family Services of Seattle/King County and more than 12 years at Youth Eastside Services, the last five as executive director. He was also Seattle’s deputy mayor under Mayor Norm Rice.
Watt has served as board chair of the Alliance for Education, the Group Health Foundation, the Children’s Alliance and SEAFAIR. He is currently vice chair and chair-elect of The Seattle Foundation and chair of the White Center Making Connections Partners Group. He is also a member of the Washington State P-20 Council and a board member of the Seattle Rotary Service Foundation. Early education is a special interest of Watt’s. He serves as a board member of Thrive by Five (Washington state’s public/private partnership for early learning) and the Business Partnership for Early Learning. He is a member of the Department of Early Learning’s Advisory Council and has served as a member of Governor Chris Gregoire’s Washington Learns Steering Committee and as a co-chair of the Washington State Early Learning Council.
Watt is a recipient of Leadership Tomorrow’s Edward E. Carlson Outstanding Alumni Award, CityYear‘s Lifetime of Idealism Award, and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s Edwin T. Pratt Award.
Watt holds a B.A. in sociology from Portland State University and a teaching certificate in special education from Western Washington University. He and his wife Juanita have two grown children and four beautiful grandchildren.