Economic Future of the Puget Sound

What is the economy status of the Puget Sound? How will it affect us in our organizations? John Creighton will give us an overview of where we stand and how our future may look.  

Creighton has served on the Port of Seattle Commission since 2006. He came to the commission with broad experience as a lawyer who worked on complex international transactions in the port cities of Singapore, Helsinki and Istanbul prior to returning home to Seattle. Creighton was selected by his colleagues to serve two consecutive years as Commission President in 2007-2008, and has served at various times on the audit and strategic planning committees of the Commission.

John Creighton advocates increasing the Port's role in supporting family-wage jobs in the region and investing in infrastructure that will bolster our economic vitality. During his tenure, he has been a strong advocate for environmental protection. Creighton worked hard during his first term to bring the business and environmental communities together behind the idea that an economically vibrant port is an environmentally sustainable port, and during his first year as Commission President, the Port set the goal to be “the greenest, cleanest, most energy efficient port in North America.” He also has supported a deep social responsibility ethic at the Port, and has worked to build stronger ties with all of the communities in which the Port operates.

Commissioner Creighton has developed significant expertise in regional transportation and economic policy since becoming a commissioner, and in 2006 he was appointed by Governor Gregoire to the State Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board. Since 2010, he has served on the advisory board of Visit Seattle. He has been active in the community as an attorney, past co-president of the Seattle World Trade Club and member of the boards of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s Pathways Initiative, US-Japan Leadership Program and Chief Seattle Council.

Creighton grew up on the Eastside of King County and is a graduate of Interlake High School in Bellevue.