BIOGRAPHY
JEFFREY WRIGHT
Jeffrey Wright has been the Chairman of the
Board of Space Needle LLC for 11 years. The
Space Needle is hailed as the icon of Seattle
and features an observation deck and SkyCity, a
revolving fine dining restaurant.
Mr. Wright has been in the Real Estate
Development Business since 1987. He is a
graduate of the University of Washington,
with a B.S. in Architecture and Construction
Management.
Mr. Wright has been on the Seattle Convention
and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors for seven
years, serving as Board Chair from 2005 to 2007.
He also co-chaired the Century 21 Committee
which was responsible for developing a threeyear strategic plan to ensure the ongoing vitality of the Seattle Center, one of the most dynamic visitor
destinations for Seattle residents and tourists.
He was a board member of the Rainier Scholars which promotes the advancement of children of
color through superior education. Through this organization, 60 children per year are accepted to
independent schools or into advanced placement programs in public high schools. He is also a member
of the World President’s Organization. Mr. Wright served on the Overlake Hospital Foundation Board for
several years and co-chaired their capital campaign in 2003.
Mr. Wright has been a board member of the 10-99 Foundation (2003-2009) which provides support
for families of Washington State police officers who die in the line of duty. He has been instrumental in
the merger of the Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation and 10-99 to become the Behind the Badge
Foundation. This is a comprehensive organization that helps honor fallen officers and support their
families.
Currently Mr. Wright is a partner in Columbia Asia which builds hospitals throughout Indochina and
India.
The Seattle Center Fund and the Seattle Center Advisory Commission awarded Mr. Wright and his wife
Korynne Wright with the Legion of Honor award in April of 2009. The award recognizes individuals who
have contributed significantly of their time and talent to develop and sustain Seattle Center as one of
the region’s leading cultural institutions and destinations.
In addition to all of his achievements, Mr. Wright has been involved in his children’s lives and has
derived great pleasure from coaching his son’s soccer and baseball teams.
CHIHULYGARDENANDGLASS.COM
BIOGRAPHY
DALE CHIHULY
Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly
was introduced to glass while studying interior
design at the University of Washington. After
graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first
glass program in the country, at the University of
Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode
Island School of Design (RISD), where he later
established the glass program and taught for over a
decade.
In 1968, Chihuly was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship
to work at the Venini factory in Venice, Italy. While
in Venice, Chihuly observed the team approach
to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he
works today. In 1971, Chihuly cofounded Pilchuck
Glass School in Washington. With this international
glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the
development of glass as a fine art.
His work is included in over two hundred museum
collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of
many awards, including ten honorary doctorates and
two fellowships from the National Endowment for
the Arts.
Chihuly has created many well-known series of works, among them the Baskets, Persians, and Seaforms,
but he is also celebrated for large architectural installations. In 1986, he was honored by a solo
exhibition, Dale Chihuly objets de verre, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre, in Paris. In
1995, he embarked on the international project, Chihuly Over Venice, which involved working in glass
factories in Finland, Ireland, and Mexico, with the resultant sculptures installed over the canals and
piazze of Venice.
In 1999, Chihuly mounted his most challenging exhibition, Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem; more than
one million visitors attended the Tower of David Museum to view his installations. In 2001, the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London curated the exhibition Chihuly at the V&A. The Chihuly Bridge of Glass in
Tacoma, Washington, was dedicated in 2002. Chihuly’s lifelong affinity for glasshouses has grown into
a series of exhibitions within botanical settings. His garden exhibition was first presented in 2001 at the
Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. In 2005, Chihuly exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
near London, and at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida in both 2006 and 2007.
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BIOGRAPHY
LESLIE JACKSON CHIHULY
President, Chihuly Inc. and Portland Press
Leslie Jackson Chihuly is the President of Chihuly Inc.
and Portland Press and has worked with Chihuly Studio
since 1994. Her first role was that of Project Director
for “Chihuly over Venice”, a five-country, two-year art
project which concluded in 1996 in Venice, Italy, and was
followed by an internationally-aired public television
production. In recent years, she has worked to insure
the organizational and financial health of the Studio, to
strategically position the business for long-term success,
and to help create and support a compelling international
artistic legacy.
Leslie graduated from Vassar College with a BA in English.
She completed a Master’s Degree in International
Studies at the Henry Jackson School at the University of
Washington. Besides her work as Chairman of the Seattle
Symphony Orchestra board, Leslie is on the Board of
Seniors Making Art and the Pilchuck Glass School. She is
also on the national board of an educational mentoring
organization called “Adventures of the Mind.” Leslie
has chaired fundraising campaigns for the University of
Washington Masters of Fine Arts program in glass, The Hope Heart Institute, the Viola Chihuly Fund and
has worked with the Seattle Art Museum and the Seattle Symphony on family-oriented arts events.
Leslie and her husband Dale Chihuly have one son. The Chihuly’s are involved with numerous non-profit
and philanthropic organizations both locally and nationally with a focus on health, education, music and
the arts. Together they founded the Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation whose mission is to inspire and
educate the public regarding all forms of art, and to provide support to artists and arts organizations.
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