Research Council Selects New President

    On June 6th, the Washington Research Council  announced the selection of Alan C. Ralston to become its new president.  Mr. Ralston will replace former WRC President Richard S. Davis, who left the Council in late 2006 to become vice president of communications for the Association of Washington Business.

    For more than 20 years, Mr. Ralston has served as a public affairs advisor to Boeing senior leadership and is currently The Boeing Company’s Northwest Regional Director of government relations.  In that position, he is responsible for program advocacy before state and local governments in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Hawaii.  Mr. Ralston brings broad public affairs leadership to the Washington Research Council.  He has worked extensively with the business community and numerous organizations in the Northwest to foster a vibrant and productive business climate and economy.  Mr. Ralston has been an officer of the Council for many years and served as the group’s chairperson for the past two years. 

     “The Council is delighted that Al has accepted this position,” said Maureen S. Frisch, current chairperson of the Council.

"Al’s background, knowledge of the public policy process, strong ties to the business community, and passionate commitment to the work of the Washington Research Council make him the right person to lead our organization,” Frisch added.

    Mr. Ralston has traveled on many trade missions to Asia and Mexico on behalf of The Boeing Company and has played key roles in numerous policy-setting organizations in the state, including the Association of Washington Business, the Washington Roundtable, and the Washington Council on International Trade.

    Prior to his work with Boeing, Mr. Ralston worked for Blue Cross of Washington and Alaska from 1983-1986 as senior representative of government relations.  He served as the government relations manager of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations for the City of Seattle from 1979 to 1983.

    Mr. Ralston will join the Washington Research Council in August of 2007.

    The Washington Research Council grew out of the 1954 merger of the Washington State Taxpayers Association and the Washington Bureau of Governmental Research, Inc., both having been founded in 1932.   The Council examines how public policy issues will affect business, government and the community and conducts extensive research on such policies.  The Council celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.