Zachary Pullin, ‘08
Young Alumnus of the Year
Pullin, a citizen of the Chippewa Cree Nation of Rocky Boy, Montana, served with the Peace Corps in Belize after graduation and later became president of the Seattle School Board, where he advocated for LGBTQ+ students and history in the curriculum, strengthened students’ and families’ pathways to construction jobs with the Student and Community Workforce Agreement, and passed a transformative resolution that commits Seattle Schools to 100% clean energy by 2040. Today, Pullin is the communications director for Washington Environmental Council/Washington Conservation Voters.
Kate Gould,’07
Young Alumna of the Year Award
Gould graduated both as a Fairhaven student and with a self-designed major in international development at the College of the Environment. After Western, Gould worked at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, where through her work on Yemen she met U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley in the House of Representatives. Now, Gould is Rep. Khanna’s deputy chief of staff and human rights and national security advisor. While overseeing his entire policy agenda and legislative team, Gould has helped advance his efforts to bolster the U.S. humanitarian response to India’s COVID crisis, free political prisoners in Egypt, prevent civilian deaths and injuries in U.S. airstrikes, and end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
David Woodruff & Family
Legacy Family Award
The Woodruff family affiliations with Western are broad and deep. Grace Olive Fisher Woodruff worked in Western’s office of the president in the 1960s. Her son, David Woodruff, attended Western and received his teaching certificate in 1958. More than a dozen relatives also count themselves as WWU alumni. David later became superintendent of Cape Flattery School District. Haunted by the racism he witnessed as a child growing up near Lummi Nation, he and his wife Jeanette established a scholarship at Western for historically resilient students in memory of his mother.
Gabrielle Kazuko Nomura Gainor, ’10
Distinguished Alumna, College of Fine and Performing Arts
As a dancer and choreographer, Nomura Gainor draws on her background in classical ballet, along with inspiration from her Japanese and Filipina heritage, storytelling, community organizing and racial-justice work. Her work has been funded by grants from the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, the Washington State Arts Commission and others. In 2019, the Japanese American Citizens League toured her work in Seattle-area schools: “Farewell Shikata ga nai,” speaks to intergenerational trauma, healing, and the resilience of Japanese Americans following their forced removal and incarceration during World War II.
Llewellyn Rhys Lawson, ‘01
Distinguished Alumnus, College of Science and Engineering
When Bellingham native Lawson came to Western for his master’s in chemistry, he discovered an interest in patent law. After graduating from Western, he combined his interests at the University of Washington, where he achieved a Ph.D. in chemistry and nanotechnology, as well as a law degree. He is now a partner at the Seattle intellectual property law firm Christensen O’Connor Johnson Kindness PLLC.
Kristi Dominguez, ‘94
Distinguished Alumna, Woodring College of Education
Dominguez began her career as a kindergarten teacher and moved into administration in the Bellingham School District. As assistant superintendent of teaching and learning she was the force behind the district’s Promise K program, which prepares youngsters for kindergarten who haven’t had pre-K education. Now the newly selected superintendent of the Ferndale School District, she continues to advocate for all students to give them the best chance of success.
Ijeoma Oluo, ‘07
Distinguished Alumna, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Oluo’s first book, “So You Want to Talk About Race” was published in 2018 and had a resurgence in 2020 amid our national reckoning with anti-Black racism, reaching No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Her second book, “Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America,” is a history of white supremacy, and her third, forthcoming work, “Be a Revolution,” explores how people can create change in systems of oppression. Oluo has been named one of the Most Influential People in Seattle by Seattle Magazine, and one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle by Seattle Met.
Jonathan Min-Wook Main, ‘94
Distinguished Alumnus, College of Business and Economics
Main is the founder and managing director of Sarame Corporate Holdings, managing partner of Re-Echo Holdings, chairman and CEO of Lensbaby, and CEO of Fundy Software. He also serves on CBE’s international business advisory board and often returns to campus to network with students, providing feedback on projects and taking students to case competitions, angel investment meetings and networking events. “I throw them into high pressure situations and force them to mingle,” Main says. “Whoever ends the day with the most business cards, wins.”
Albert “Bill” Way, ‘79
Distinguished Alumnus, College of the Environment
Way led a stream restoration project as an undergraduate and became a “crusader in hip waders,” restoring compromised streams and wetlands into productive fish and wildlife habitats. In 1982, he founded the Watershed Co. with his wife Nancy, working with local, state and tribal governments, developers, landowners and salmon enhancement groups to protect stream habitats. Now retired, Way’s business continues to flourish with a legacy of miles of completed stream and shoreline restoration and acres of wetland enhancement.
Angelique Davis, ‘95
Distinguished Alumna, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Davis, a graduate of Fairhaven’s Law, Diversity and Justice Program, is a professor of Political Science, African and African American studies, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Seattle University. Her research concentrates on racial gaslighting—a term that is gaining use in popular culture and which she co-originated in an award-winning scholarly article—and other topics related to race and gender. She has received awards at Seattle University for her teaching and mentorship and is a former member of the Seattle Civil Service Commission and the WWU Alumni Board of Directors.
Justin Iwasaki, ‘04
Community Volunteer Recognition Award
Iwasaki is a doctor for Lummi Nation and the tribe’s director of Health System Design and Special Projects. Iwasaki helped lead the Lummi Nation’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts that quickly covered tribal members, then extended to others in the community such as Ferndale Schools, Lighthouse Mission Ministries’ Base Camp, Lydia Place, Whatcom County Jail, Whatcom Transportation Authority, Boundary Bay Brewing and the Mount Baker Ski Area.
Steven Garfinkle
Campus Volunteer Award
In 20 years of teaching at Western, Professor Steven Garfinkle has distinguished himself as a professor, scholar, and an advocate for the History Department and departments and programs across campus, working closely with Advancement staff to secure funding to support inclusion and ensure student success. He is eager to see students gain access to experiences normally out of reach without donor support, and he works hard to see that access granted.
