Andrew J. Villeneuve is an American political activist and entrepreneur. He is the founder and executive director of the Northwest Progressive Institute and the Second Vice Chair of the King County Democrats, as well as a columnist for Reporter Newspapers.

Villeneuve also serves on the board of the NWroots Fellowship, a network of activists working to elect more and better Democrats.

A lifelong Washingtonian, Villeneuve was raised by his parents in Redmond, Washington, where he attended public schools 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.

At Redmond High School, Villeneuve was instrumental in helping to form the Eastside Liberal Students group, which he led 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 the Technology officer (2003-2004) and Public Relations officer (2004-2005).

Villeneuve’s interest in politics began in 1999 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 schemes to wreck government. Permanent Defense subsequently became a key project of the Northwest Progressive Institute when NPI was launched in August 2003.

Villeneuve has helped organize opposition efforts to a long list of statewide initiatives, beginning with Initiative 776. Since 2002, his perspective has been sought by many of Washington State’s best-known newspapers, television, and radio stations.

Under Villeneuve’s leadership, the Northwest Progressive Institute has grown from a simple idea to a nimble political startup influential in the politics of the Pacific Northwest, with a strong presence on the Internet.

NPI’s principal publication, The Advocate, is indexed by Google News, syndicated by Newstex, and listed as one of The Washington Post’s Best State Political Blogs.

Villeneuve has long been active in his community; he twice participated in the City of Redmond’s Youth in Government Day and worked on the city’s Transportation Master Plan. For his community involvement, he received the Mayor’s Circle of Leadership Award from past Mayor Rosemarie Ives in 2005.