FOUNDER ANDREW VILLENEUVE
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
Andrew J. Villeneuve (born January 12th, 1987) is a prominent American political activist and entrepreneur. He is the founder and owner of the privately held Villeneuve in Washington Association (TVIWA), which he created in 1996. Villeneuve is also the founder and executive director of the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI), launched in August of 2003.
A lifelong Washingtonian, Villeneuve was raised by his parents Denis and Carol in Redmond, Washington, where he attended Norman Rockwell Elementary, Redmond Junior High, and finally Redmond High School before graduating from the Lake Washington School District in June of 2005.
While at Redmond Junior High, Villeneuve was a member of the National Junior Honor Society and served as leader of the school's web team, responsible for designing and managing the school's website. Villeneuve received the Webmaster 2002 Award in recognition for these efforts, as well as a Presidential Scholar Award for academic performance.
At Redmond High School, Villeneuve was instrumental in helping to form the Eastside Liberal Students group, which he served as President of during his senior year (2004-2005). Villeneuve was also a member of Redmond High School DECA, an active chapter of the national business and marketing association, where he served on the Executive Board as Webmaster (2003-2004) and Public Relations Officer (2004-2005). During his junior year he was also the Chief Financial Officer of the Redmond Affinity Group, a Junior Achievement Company.
An honors student, Villeneuve holds a AP Scholar with Distinction Award from the College Board for exemplary college level achievement on Advanced Placement examinations.
He is currently attending Bellevue Community College.
Villeneuve's interest in politics began in 1999 (while he was at Redmond Junior High) when he first became concerned with the consequences of Initiative 695, a ballot measure sponsored by Tim Eyman which sought to dramatically cut Washington's motor vehicle excise tax (MVET).
Three years later, in February of 2002, Villeneuve formed Permanent Defense to publicly oppose Eyman's initiatives, which continues to fight against senseless tax cuts to this day. Permanent Defense subsequently became a key part of the Northwest Progressive Institute when NPI was launched in 2003.
Villeneuve has led or worked on opposition efforts to several major Washington state initiatives, including campaigns against Initiative 776 (2002), Initiative 892 (2004), Initiative 900 (2005) and Initiative 912 (also 2005).
He has appeared in or on almost all of Washington State's major media outlets, including guest columns in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Everett Herald (both published in 2005) among dozens of other radio, television, and newspaper appearances to his credit.
Under Villeneuve's leadership, the Northwest Progressive Institute's network of websites (including its flagship website, Pacific Northwest Portal) has become one of the largest and most well known in the region.
Villeneuve is an active and proud member of the Democratic Party. In February of 2006, the King County Democrats honored him with their Rising Star of the Year award to recognize his accomplishments.
Villeneuve has long been active in his community; he twice participated in the City of Redmond's Youth in Government Day and has worked on the city's Transportation Master Plan. For his community involvement, he received the Mayor's Circle of Leadership Award from Redmond Mayor Rosemarie Ives in 2005.
Villeneuve is also the nephew of Kim Villeneuve, the President & CEO of Villeneuve Associates, Inc., a boutique firm specializing in officer-level, retained executive search in the retail, e-commerce, and foodservice industries.
REACH ANDREW VILLENEUVE
You can contact Andrew Villeneuve through NPI's contact form.
© 2006 Northwest Progressive Institute.
