John McDonald was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Los Angeles. He received his B.A. in Geology from UCLA, was awarded a certificate from the Executive Program at the UCLA Graduate School of Business, and earned his J.D. is from Western States University School of Law. He is still a member of the California State Bar Association. In 1967, he joined Mullikin Medical Centers, became CEO of Mullikin Medical Enterprises and led its expansion from Southern California to Northern California, Washington, and Oregon. In 1995, he negotiated the sale of MME to Caremark RX and retired. John’s husband, Rob Wright, is also a member of the Williams Institute Founders Council, and together, they endowed the first Chair of Law at the Institute. They are also supporters of the LA LGBT Center and the LGBT Center of the Desert in Palm Springs.