Bassem Bejjani

Bassem Bejjani is the past chair of the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA). He also serves as vice president of the board of CARAVAN, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building peace through the arts between the creeds and cultures of the East and West. Bejjani is also chief medical officer of Metis Genetics, a company dedicated to telegenetic medicine and genetic counseling. He is interested in arts and science education and the role of art in enhancing creativity, scientific learning, and critical thinking. A pediatrician and medical geneticist by training, Bejjani is a longtime patron of the arts who retired as chief medical officer of Signature Genomics, a company he co-founded in 2003 and sold to PerkinElmer, Inc. in 2010. He also served on the board of the Spokane Symphony, where he was executive vice president. A native of Lebanon, he has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a doctor of medicine degree from the American University of Beirut. He has earned board certifications in pediatrics, medical genetics, clinical molecular genetics, and clinical cytogenetics.