The Washington Research Foundation today announced Orin Levine as its new president and CEO, effective Oct. 6.
Levine has worked for more than 30 years in public health, innovation and philanthropy. He was most recently with the Gates Foundation for a decade, leaving the organization in 2022 as the director of global delivery programs where he oversaw initiatives in immunization and primary healthcare.
Levine is taking over leadership from Tom Daniel, a former chairman of the University of Washington’s Department of Biology, who has led WRF for nearly three years.
WRF launched in 1981 to help universities and other nonprofits in the state commercialize and license their technologies. The organization has granted more than $182 million since its creation, issuing nearly $16 million to nonprofit research institutions in its most recent fiscal year.
The foundation also supports innovation and entrepreneurship through WRF Capital. The latter has provided funding for 132 local startups over three decades and recycles its returns on investment back into the organization.
Brooks Simpson, WRF’s board chair, noted in a statement that Levine joins “at a time when state and federal budgets are being challenged.” That includes a revenue shortfall and spending cuts from Washington leaders, as well as Trump administration efforts to withhold and cancel funding from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, among others.
“[Levine’s] experience and exceptional leadership on the global healthcare stage will serve WRF and the region well as we navigate these uncharted waters,” Simpson said.
She also thanked Daniel for his stewardship, noting that “WRF has become a widely recognized philanthropic organization in the region’s life sciences space” during his tenure.
Prior to his work at the Gates Foundation — the world’s largest private philanthropy — Levine was the executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for more than 10 years. He began his career as an epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I love innovation and WRF has a remarkable legacy of helping researchers turn bold ideas into innovations that improve lives,” Levine said. “I’m excited by the organization’s ambition and for the opportunity to work with the team and our partners to help Washington’s life sciences ecosystem reach even greater heights.”
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