September 16, 2020
Bill Gates Sr. holding the Global Hero award, presented by Global Washington on December 10, 2015.
My deepest condolences go out to the Gates family this week and in the days to come. Bill Gates Sr. was instrumental in the founding of Global Washington nearly 14 years ago. In fact, our founding Board Chair, Bill Clapp, met with him around a dinner table, together with Akhtar Badshah, who was then leading Microsoft Philanthropies, to muse about the growing significance of global development expertise in the Seattle area. Centering and promoting global health and development became the mission of Global Washington thanks to the support of visionaries such as Bill Gates Sr. Ours is just a small part of the enormous legacy he leaves behind in our community and around the world.