Alumnus of the Year Winner – Gordon McHenry
Jr., ’79
Gordon
McHenry, Jr.
is the 28th Annual Alumni of the Year Award Winner! Gordon holds a bachelor’s degree in political
science from
Seattle University and earned his juris
doctorate from
the Georgetown University Law School.
This past July McHenry was named president and chief executive of Solid Ground, a
Seattle-based nonprofit social-services organization. Prior to this role, McHenry held the position of executive director for Rainier Scholars. According to the organization, his unique blend
of private and public sector experience in the Seattle Community make for an ideal leader. A Seattle native and father of three, McHenry
has developed a strong commitment to his community, which led him to the Rainer
Scholars. His commitment to community has led him to serve on the
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust Board of Directors as well the governing
boards of the United Way of King County and Seattle Public Library.
Prior to his appointment as executive director at Rainier Scholars, McHenry
served as the director of Global Corporate
Citizenship for Boeing’s Northwest Region and worked as an attorney with
Perkins Coie in Seattle. McHenry was raised with a strong
respect for education, his father being the first in his family to graduate
from college and the first African American to be promoted to a management role
at Boeing.
McHenry’s
connection and commitment to Seattle University is vast. He has served as
a trustee to Seattle University since 2002. Prior to becoming a trustee he
was also a member and the chair of the Board of Regents, and a member of the
Alumni Board of Governors. While a student at SU he was ASSU
president. His wife Dorina Calderon-McHenry is also an SU alum.
Please visit our Alumni Awards event page for event information.