Executive Director

Josh McDonald is the Washington Wine Institute’s Executive Director and brings to the job 12 years of Government Affairs work at our state capitol in Olympia. In his previous role with the Washington Restaurant Association (WRA), he built their local government program from the ground up, providing restaurants with a voice and influence within city hall and their city and state agencies. He also carried several issues for WRA in Olympia, including tourism, food safety, immigration, the environment, and business taxes and regulations. Josh also has 6 years of campaign experience, running successful campaigns for city, state, and congressional candidates. He is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound and lives in Tacoma with his wife Chelsea Levy and his two boys Liam and Eli.