Joseph Williams selected as interim director of the Washington State Broadband Office

Joseph Williams will lead the Washington State Broadband Office until a permanent director is appointed. Williams was previously Commerce’s Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness Information and Communications Technology sector lead. Williams steps in for Aaron Wheeler, who left the agency in June 2025. In his role as sector lead for Commerce, Williams worked closely with the state’s tech sector to both recruit new business and support those already here. Williams was also a tech policy advisor to former Washington Governor Jay Inslee. He left state service in 2019 to be the Seattle director for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, then joined Commerce in 2023. He also led the state's semiconductor working group and regularly contributed expert testimony and industry group coordination.