George R. Nethercutt, Jr.

George practiced law in Spokane between 1977 and 1994, specializing in estate planning, probate and adoption law. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, defeating then Speaker of the House, Tom Foley. It was the first time a sitting Speaker had been defeated since 1860.

George served in Congress for 10 years, between 1995 and 2005. While serving in the U.S. House, he was a member of the House Committee on Appropriations and the House Science Committee. While a member of the Science Committee, George was able to secure the initial funding for famed shock physicist, Yogi Gupta, at WSU. The Shock Physics Lab (now known as the Applied Science Lab or ASL) in Spokane is a direct result of George’s efforts.

George is a member of the Board of Directors of Hecla Mining Company, a NYSE corporation headquartered in Coeur d’ Alene, ID and Arcadis NV, an international environmental corporation headquartered in Arnhem, Netherlands. He is also the current U.S. Chairman of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, U.S./Canada (PJBD), which is a 40 member board of military and civilian officials/individuals that was created right after World War II to advise both the President and the Canadian Prime Minister twice each year on security issues in North America. In addition to the PJBD, George was recently appointed by the current Congress to serve on a select advisory group that advises the current administration and Congress on specific issues of National Security.

In the non-profit sector, George currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International. He co-founded the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery for the prevention of child abuse in Spokane, Washington. He is founder and chairman of the George Nethercutt Foundation, a nonpartisan, charitable organization that is dedicated to developing in young adults an understanding of government, business, public policy issues and civics.

George is chairman of Nethercutt Consulting LLC and Of Counsel to BlueWater Strategies in Washington, D.C., both of which provide regulatory, business and government relations advice for U.S. and international corporations.