David C. Lee

RESUME: Partner, Peterson Sullivan LLC

WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE ON THE BOARD? Special Olympics has always been interesting to me because I’ve always been involved in sports and my kids have always been involved in sports and I think everybody should get to feel the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in their life because there are so many life lessons that can be learned through sports. Sports always lead to so much more, you build lasting relationships with other competitors. Sports is a vehicle for getting out and doing the more important things in life.

WHAT SPORTS HAVE YOU PLAYED? I played a lot of baseball in high school in Las Vegas. After that I played softball. I played competitive rec league basketball until I was 40. Now I golf.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM SPORTS THAT YOU’VE APPLIED TO YOUR CAREER? There’s so much you learn from sports about teamwork, cooperation, and leadership. If you’re one of the leaders on the team and it’s time to take credit for success you give it to the team and when it’s time to take responsibility for a loss you take that on yourself as a leader. I’ve found that plays well in my business life.

WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR SEATTLE TO HOST THE GAMES? What I’m really loving as an offshoot to the games coming to Seattle is all the talk about Seattle being a City of Inclusion. Seattle is a great place for that. This will be the biggest sporting event of its’ kind since the Goodwill Games in 1990 and I hope lots of people come out who are not already connected to Special Olympics. I think the games will be very well received.

WHAT SHOULD ATHLETES SEE WHEN THEY VISIT SEATTLE? My daughter and I love to attend the symphony and the opera. You can take a hike. There’s so much to do.