Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business, commonly referred to as AWB. AWB is Washington’s oldest and largest state-wide business organization and is our state’s Chamber of Commerce. Its 4,500 members employ more than 600,000 workers in our state’s private sector.

Don is a native of Walkerville, Montana, and a graduate of the University of Montana, Missoula. He started his career in journalism while a college student and went on to become a writer and editor for two Montana daily newspapers (The Montana Standard and Missoulian) and the University’s information services. In 1973 Don went to Washington, D.C., as a press aide to Western Montana Congressman Richard Shoup.

In 1975 he started lobbying for an association of forest products companies in western Montana and northern Idaho and served as the organization’s liaison with the media on sensitive issues. In 1978 he became Washington public affairs manager for Crown Zellerbach in Olympia. He was elected to the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Association of Washington Business. In 1986, Don became vice president of Governmental Affairs for AWB and was named president in 1988.

In 1986, Don led last major successful liability insurance reform effort resulting sweeping changes to Washington’s tort laws. He and former Washington Governor Booth Gardner currently co-chair the state’s grassroots efforts to pass federal class action fairness legislation and coordinates Washington’s efforts on asbestos fairness and medical malpractice reforms.

Don was appointed by former Gov. Lowry to the School-to-Work Commission and the Salary Commission for State Elected and Appointed Officials and by former Gov. Locke to the Commission on Early Childhood Learning and the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. In addition, he serves on the Accountability Task Force for the Commission on Student Learning, the Washington News Council, and the Executive Committee for the Foundation for Private Enterprise (Business Week).

In 1999, Don was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and as chair of the state associations group of the National Industrial Council. Currently, he is vice chair of the Council of State Chambers. He has been an adult leader in the Boy Scouts of America and was active in Governor Locke’s Computers for Kids program.

Don served in the U.S. Army and retired as a major in the Washington Army National Guard. He and his wife, Jeri, have six children and seven grandchildren.