Fall 2024 - Winter 2025 Class Notes

Paul Redekop, M.Ed., a retired elementary school teacher and administrator in the Abbotsford, British Columbia, area, celebrated his 100th birthday in September.  

George Gleason, PE-exercise and sport science, is a retired middle school teacher and coach and has been the official scorekeeper for WWU men's basketball games for more than 27 seasons. 

Wayne Lee, B.A., English, M.A., speech communication, has two books coming out in early 2025. His memoir, "Service Husband: A Caregiver’s Journey Through Disability, Suicide and Recovery," is forthcoming from Mercury HeartLink Press in late January, and his sixth poetry collection, "Dining on Salt: Four Seasons of Septets," is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press, in April.

Lynn Sordel, B.A., recreation, recently retired as Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts director of the city of Lynnwood, where he oversaw the renovation and expansion of the Lynnwood Recreation Center. He'll continue as the president of the Lynnwood Parks and Recreation Foundation and on the board of the Sound Foundation for Public Health, but hopes to spend more time with his family, traveling, and writing a book about his experiences in Lynnwood. 

Brian Ross Fairbrother, BAE, social studies - elementary, retired after 32 years of teaching and coaching in the Shelton School District and six years in North Thurston Public Schools. Brian was inducted into the 2024 Shelton School District and Community Hall of Fame for starting the Shelton High School Soccer Programs, and for coaching the varsity teams for 27 years (boys program) and 15 years (girls program).

Robert King, M.A., English, recently retired from the English faculty at Utah State University's Tooele campus, where he spent more than four decades teaching English and American studies. 

Laura Arntson, B.A., Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration and music performance, recently completed a Ph.D. in public health from Oregon State University. Laura worked in international development for over 20 years. A chapter of her dissertation on child fever care-seeking in The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea is published in the recent Malaria Journal. She also holds a Masters in Music, a Ph.D. in folklore/ethnomusicology, and a Master of Public Health.

Catherine Rucker, B.S., visual communication, served Washington state agencies for 30 years in media production, design, illustration, photography, and journalism (public information). Her work promoted natural resources, ecology, and parks, as well as traffic safety, and the welfare-to-work initiative. She also served as a youth literacy and restorative justice volunteer, and a senior fitness instructor in Olympia.

Eric Johnson, B.A., recreation, recently retired as executive director of the Washington State Association of Counties, which he led since 2008.  

Genét Simone, BAE, English, recently published “Teaching in the Dark,” a memoir recounting her experiences as a first-year teacher in the tiny Arctic village of Shishmaref, Alaska. She obtained a master’s degree in women’s studies from Minnesota State University in 1994 and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2004, and continued as a teacher educator for 24 years, including 15 with WWU’s Teacher Education Outreach Programs. Genét lives in Seattle, and is teaching high school again, and gearing up to write a sequel to her first book. It will be titled “Teaching in the Light.”

Mike Hylland, B.S., geology, recently retired after a 35-year career. Mike worked as a geologist for the U.S. Forest Service on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, an engineering geologist with GeoEngineers in Redmond, and spent 30 years with the Utah Geological Survey in Salt Lake City, retiring as deputy director.

Rick Sherman, BAE, physical education - secondary, is a Farm to School analyst for the Oregon Department of Education and the co-host of the "Farm to School" podcast, exploring locally grown food pathways into schools and all things related to school gardens. 

Norihiko Shirouzu, B.A., journalism, a reporter with Reuters, worked on a team who won a Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting earlier this year for a series of stories about Elon Musk's automobile and aerospace businesses. 

Jon Sortland, B.A., business administration, recently purchased majority ownership of the Tri-City Americans, and serves as president and head of all sales, marketing, finance and business functions of the Western Hockey League franchise.  

Eric Lewis, B.A., psychology, was recently appointed to serve on the Blaine City Council. He is also a member of the Blaine Community Theatre and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 9474 in Custer. 

Paul Wickline, BAE, English and theatre, is an administrator at College of the Canyons, a community college in Santa Clarita, California, and recently became the associate vice president for the college's Canyon Country campus. 

Regina Maria Castillo, B.A., political science, is representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Uzbekistan. Previously, Regina represented UNICEF in Croatia and Paraguay, and she directed UNAIDS in the countries of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.  

Tom Venable, B.A., political science, has announced he will leave his position as Methow Valley School District Superintendent at the end of the school year and will become the executive director of the Methow Housing Trust in July. Before moving to the Methow Valley, Tom was a teacher, principal and deputy superintendent for Bellingham Public Schools. 

Brenda Crabtree (Xyolholemo:t), B.A., and '97, M.A., anthropology, was recently honored with the Order of British Columbia for her work and leadership in Indigenous arts and for her advocacy of Indigenous artists. Crabtree is the former director of Aboriginal Programs at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, 

The next book by Fred Poyner IV, B.A., art history, will be published in January by McFarland & Co., Inc., "Native American and First Nation Figures in Sculpture: North American Monuments, Memorials and Statuary of 50 Artists." An author and art historian who has published several books about Northwest history, he includes 21 interviews with contemporary artists and explores Native American and First Nation figures in public sculpture throughout North America. 

Julie Sarich, BAE, English - secondary and special education - K12 + secondary, recently became an instructional systems specialist for autism with Department of Defense schools in the Western Pacific region. 

Eric Hill, B.S., chemistry, was recently named CEO of Kwik Lock Corporation, which produces bag closures. Previously, Eric was regional vice president and general manager of Graphic Packaging International. 

Bill Wilson, M.Ed., school administration, became the superintendent of the Florence-Penrose School District in Fremont County, Colorado.

Katherine O’Meara Reynolds, B.A. history, recently moved to London from Dublin, where she lived for 22 years and where she attained her M.Phil. in medieval history from Trinity College Dublin in 1997 and an M.Sc. in climate change from Dublin City University in 2022. Katherine also recently passed her GRI Sustainability Reporting exam.

Rebecca (Vicars) Chapman, B.A., political science, has worked for the Pierce County Council for the last seven years, after spending almost 10 years in the UK. She is a policy analyst, focusing on budget. She and her supervisor, also a WWU grad, like to reminisce about Bellingham. Rebecca has dual citizenship and hopes to retire in the U.K. with her British husband.

Nicholas Bley, B.S., business administration - finance, was recently selected as the new executive vice president and chief operating officer of Heritage Bank. 

Attorney Peter Dworkin, B.A., political science, recently joined the board of directors at Pacific Financial Corporation and the board of Bank of the Pacific. 

Andrew Tsao, B.S., biochemistry, is the chief product and analytics officer for Audible, a global audio entertainment company. 

Christopher Barnes, B.A., English, became the principal of Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 

Marshall Van Beurden, B.S., industrial technology, B.A., economics, and '98 MBA, is the chief technology officer of myTomorrows, a global healthcare company that connects patients and doctors with clinical trials. 

Dana Robinson Slote, B.A., communication, became the director of media relations for the University of Washington. Previously, Dana led communications for the Seattle City Council and state Senate Democratic Caucus. 

Steven Millman, M.A., political science, is global head of Research and Data Science at Dynata and hit several career milestones this year. His work using AI to drive data quality in the survey industry was an Overall Winner of the I-COM Data Creativity Awards. Steven was also the recipient of the Market Research Council Hall of Fame Change Maker Award and was named chair of the Advertising Research Foundation's Workstream on Artificial Intelligence. 

Todd Burley, B.A., Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration, is the Sustainability advisor for Seattle Parks and Recreation. 

Cameron Miller, B.S., industrial technology, is the chief executive of Business Strategy and Innovation at the Non-GMO Project, which offers a verification program for foods that contain no genetically modified organisms. Nichole Oleson, '06, B.S., PE: pre-physical therapy, is also on the non-profit's executive team as the chief executive of People and Finance.  

Teresa Wharton, B.A., human services, retired in 2015 as chief administrative officer for Puget Sound Kidney Centers and continues to serve on the PSKC Foundation board. 

DJ Brimer, BAE, English-elementary, is a science teacher at Tumwater Middle School and was recently elected president of the Tumwater Education Assocation after serving in several roles with the labor union. 

J.J. Jensen, B.A., journalism, was recently appointed principal at Vista Middle School in Ferndale. He was previously an assistant principal at Ferndale High School.

Anna-Karin Roo, B.S., biology - marine emphasis, completed her Ph.D. in language literacy and technology at Washington State University in 2018 and has worked for several years with the University of Science and Technology, China, to help graduate students develop English fluency. She recently joined the State Department's English Language Specialist Program for a six-week project in teaching and curriculum development at Cochin University of Science and Technology in India. 

Ezra Alexander, M.Ed., school administration, became head of school at North Jakarta Intercultural School in Indonesia. 

Matthew Metsker, B.A., biology, recently became president of St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood. Matthew has nearly 20 years of experience as a hospitalist physician assistant and most recently lead Virginia Mason Franciscan Health's Mission Control and Virtual Hospital operations. 

Sarah Mouriño, B.A., planning and environmental policy, is the senior director of Sustainability for the Americas for DP World, a multinational logistics company. 

Pat Connally, B.A., political science and French, wrote and directed "Christmas Mittens," a holiday-themed children's play at his local community theatre. 

Elisabeth Jarrard, B.A., psychology, recently became the executive director of Jubilee Women's Center in Seattle, which provides programs and services to empower women experiencing poverty. Previously, Elisabeth held several leadership roles at Compass Housing Alliance. 

Cameron Miller, '99, B.S., industrial technology, is the chief executive of Business Strategy and Innovation at the Non-GMO Project, which offers a verification program for foods that contain no genetically modified organisms. Nichole Oleson, B.S., PE: pre-physical therapy, is also on the non-profit's executive team as the chief executive of People and Finance.  

Jonathan Diggs, B.A., accounting and business administration - finance, became finance director of Reveler Development in Portland, Maine. 

Joseph Hattrick, B.A., human services and '07, principal's certificate, recently became superintendent of the Ashland School District. Joseph has served as a teacher, social worker, principal and superintendent in public, private and online schools and was most recently superintendent of the Rainier School District in Oregon. 

Maggie Macdonald, B.A., English literature, became vice president at Orchestra, where she's in charge of legal operations across eight public relation agencies. 

"It Never Rained This Much in England," a solo play produced and performed by Aurora Rupert, B.A., theatre, and co-written with Maria Santiago, will be part of the Vancouver Fringe Festival in September. With six performances at The NEST, the show draws from Rupert's experience moving back to Bellingham after completing a master's degree in the U.K.

Christine D. Hayes, B.A., sociology, was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to the new seat on the Clark County Superior Court. She's the former city attorney and prosecuting attorney for the city of Battle Ground and was a Clark County Superior Court commissioner at the time of her appointment. 

Jennifer Spidle, B.A., accounting, recently became the finance director for the city of Blaine. 

Lexie Tom, B.A., anthropology, was recently appointed interim president of Northwest Indian College. She has a doctoral degree in Indigenous studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a master's in public administration from Evergreen State College. Before becoming president of Northwest Indian College, she led the Lummi Nation Educational System. 

Nick Quinlan, B.A., business - management, was recently named the executive director of Washington Business Week, which hosts programs for high school students to learn business and professional skills. Previously, Nick was the chief operating officer of Major League Hacking, which runs programs for high school and college students learning technical skills. 

Liz Blackman, M.Ed., environmental education, became the executive director at Methow Recycles. Liz is also the co-founder of Root.ED Nature School, an immersion program in the Methow Valley. 

Jesse Nichols, B.A, visual journalism, a video producer at Grist, recently won an American Association for the Advancement of Science Kavli Science Journalism Award. He received a Gold Award for two video stories, "This enzyme is responsible for life on Earth. It's a hot mess," an exploration of an enzyme called RuBisCO, which helps turn carbon dioxide into energy, and "The Gulf Coast is home to one of the last health coral reefs. It's surrounded by oil," which brings viewers up close with Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico.  

Alex Halverson, B.A., journalism-news/editorial, recently became a business reporter for the Seattle Times. Previously he worked at the Puget Sound Business Journal and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 

Taylor Nichols, B.A., journalism - news/editorial, is in graduate school at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, studying data journalism. She won a 2024 SPJ Dateline Award for business reporting at a weekly paper and is now a Howard Center for Investigative Journalism fellow. 

Maggie Wang, B.S and '20, M.S., chemistry, is a Ph.D. student at University of Texas Southwestern, where her work in cancer immunotherapy research was honored with the 2024 Ida M. Green Award. Maggie is studying nanoparticle-based cancer immunotherapies; as a student at Western, she studied the properties of gold nanoparticles, which inspired her to explore potential applications of nanoparticles in improving human health. 

McKenna Mathis, B.S., psychology, became a regional sales manager for Certis Biologicals, which serves commercial agriculture. 

Rondi Nordal, B.S., environmental science, just finished a Master's of Marine Affairs degree at the University of Washington and received a Washington Sea Grant Hershman Fellowship to work with Puget Sound Partnership on supporting the social and ecological well-being of Puget Sound. 

Mariah Sebastiani, English - creative writing and literature, recently completed her graduate degree in literary studies with a specialization in teaching at Central Washington University. Mariah was president of the Graduate Student Association at Central, taught English 101 as a graduate assistant, and spoke at the graduate commencement ceremony. 

Jered Bocek, B.A., business administration, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and executive director of Growing Veterans, a non-profit organization that supports veterans through its farm, counseling, peer support and other programs.  

Erin Howard, B.S., math/computer science and physics, is a research scientist at the University of Washington, where they work on the Data Management Team for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, a massive telescope expected to come online in 2025. 

Reagan Ritzer, B.A., economics, recently became an officer with the Blaine Police Department. 

Iris B. King, 100, a 75-year resident of Bainbridge Island, on June 14, 2024. 

Eleanor Lycan Ward, 93, a retired teacher in the Tumwater School District who later operated a deli and coffee shop with her husband for several years, on April 19, 2024. 

Gary Radliff, 89, a retired counselor and basketball coach at Enumclaw High School, on May 24, 2024. 

Lois French Alexander, 93, a painter, illustrator and commercial artist, on May 13, 2024, in Green Valley, Arizona. 

Gary Wayne "Gus" Fumano, 84, retired president of the recruiting firm Chapman & Associates and a member of the British Columbia Rugby Hall of Fame, on June 23, 2024.  

Jack Terry Cole, 82, professor emeritus of education at New Mexico State University, on Nov. 2, 2024. 

Thomas Michael King, 88, who taught mathematics at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, on Jan. 21, 2024 in Sparks, Nevada.

Rueben Oster, 87, a retired math teacher and football coach in the Bellingham School District, on Sept. 9, 2023. 

Barbara Jean Nasman Folkestad, 78, a retired middle school teacher and community volunteer, on Feb. 7, 2024, in Bothell. 

Ronald James Marshall, 82, a longtime teacher at Nooksack Elementary School who also refereed many games for Nooksack teams, May 21, 2024, in Bellingham. 

Alice Hale, 77, a retired elementary school teacher in Ferndale who spent a year teaching in China, on Feb. 13, 2024, in Bellingham. 

William Hodder, 76, a longtime track coach and teacher of history and drafting at White River High School in Buckley, on Sept. 9, 2024. 

Harry Thomas Miller, 77, a refinery inspector in Ferndale who designed and built two houses, on May 6, 2024. 

Mary Lafond, retired CEO of the Child Study and Treatment Center who later worked in child advocacy services with Brigid Collins Family Services, on Feb. 5, 2024, in Neptune Beach. 

Ralph Benton Sorstokke, 77, who spent his career with Georgia Pacific,  on May 10, 2024. 

Dan Bunten, 74, a retired teacher and football and track coach in Washington, California and at Cornell University, on Nov. 11, 2023. 

James Robert Deal, a real estate attorney and broker and a environmental policy activist, on April 10, 2024, in Everett. 

Peter Hallgrimson, 76, on Feb. 3, 2023. 

Jay Miles Nelson, 74, a retired letter carrier, organic farmer, and a longtime resident of New Paltz, New York, on July 11, 2024. 

Raymond Leo Hallenbeck, 94, a landscape gardener and longtime Anacortes resident who was active in his faith communities, on April 9, 2024. 

Thomas Howard, 76, a Coast Guard veteran who later worked in accounting and finance, on April 30, 2024, in Mount Vernon. 

Roy Pedersen, 89, a longtime teacher and school administrator in the Richmond School District in British Columbia, on Sept. 2, 2024. 

James "Jimbo" Palmer, 68, who worked for the Barrick Goldstrike Gold Mine, on June 2, 2024, in Greenwood, Mississippi.  

Evelyn Esther Bredeson, 81, co-founder of EquiFriends, a non-profit therapeutic horse-riding organization in Snohomish County, on April 26, 2024. 

Julie Bowers, 59, a longtime preschool teacher in Everett and an active volunteer with health and community organizations, on June 14, 2024. 

Jeannie Hines Clinton, 53, a middle school music teacher and performer in Rochester, New York, who also owned her own jewelry business and helped found a non-profit organization to empower new Americans, on April 19, 2024. 

Michael Nelson, on March 13, 2024, who worked in the wine industry in Washington for over 20 years, in Galveston, Texas. 

Mignonne Yda Wood, 76, a retired teacher and principal in Penticton and Burnaby, British Columbia, on May 28, 2024, in Penticton.

Jodie Louise Fisher, 55, a Coast Guard veteran and swim coach and instructor, on May 5, 2024, in Kearneysville, West Virginia. 

Gerald Allen Kehr, 77, a U.S. Army Vietnam War combat veteran, market research analyst, teacher, author and a retired analyst for the Department of Education, on July 24, 2024. 

Robert D. Schroeder, 76, a Vietnam War combat veteran who worked at television stations throughout the Pacific Northwest, winning an Emmy award in 1985, and later serving as a television production teacher in Moses Lake, on Jan. 6, 2024. 

Bridget Teresa Doherty-Adams, 46, who worked in logistics, on May 6, 2024, in Tacoma. 

Mark Kifowit, 50, a records information manager for Freedoc, on May 20, 2024, in Olympia.  

John Belafonte Newmon III, 58, who worked for the Bellingham Herald, for KGMI-radio, and as a DJ in Bellingham-area pubs, on May 23, 2024, in Bellingham. 

Angela Dice, 45, who worked as a reporter and editor at the Kitsap Sun and in communications with the Central Kitsap School District, on Dec. 12 2023, in Silverdale. 

Erik Tucker, 45, an artist and naturalist who was happiest outside and on the water, on July 5, 2023. 

Emily Johnson, 34, a counselor who helped young children with behavioral health issues and people with developmental disabilities, on May 17, 2024, in Hillsboro, Oregon. 

Marlise Smaalders "MarMar" Dole, 30, a voracious reader, talented writer and fervent advocate for finding a cure for Friedreich's ataxia, on April 2, 2024. 

Walter Schwede, 75, emeritus professor of music who helped shape Western's string music program, on June 19, 2024. 

Rudi Weiss, 82, professor emeritus of German and linguistics, recipient of Western's Outstanding Teaching Award, and a 1963 WWU graduate who taught at Western from 1970 to 2008, serving as chair of the Language, Literatures and Cultures Department and director of the Linguistics Program, on Aug. 22, 2024.

Tim Bollenbaugh, 64, a 1999 graduate who worked at WWU as an animator in the 1990s and most recently as a volunteer faculty member in graphic design, on June 18, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colorado. 

David Kincaid, 89, retired assistant director of Fiscal/Business/Program Services at Western, on July 17, 2024, in Bellingham. 

Dorothy Sherwood, 86, a former staff member with Western Libraries, on May 4, 2024. 

Jim Korski, 77, who retired from Western in 2008 after serving as a theatre technician, assistant to the dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of Space Administration, on Jan. 13, 2024, in Bellingham. He was also a 1969 WWU graduate in speech communication. 

Jo Ann Collinge, 85, retired assistant director of University Communications on June 15, 2024, in Shoreline. Before her work at Western, she covered the Vietnam War for the Detroit News and worked for the U.S. State Department. In Bellingham, she served on the board of directors for the YWCA and worked with the League of Women Voters and the Whatcom County Democrats. 

Jane Whitehill Fraser, 78, a 1970 graduate of WWU who worked for several years in Western's Office of University Communications, on Aug. 8, 2024, in Sedro-Woolley. 

Richard Honstein, 89, a retired maintenance supervisor at WWU, on July 30, 2024, in Lynden.

Ryan Bonilla and Lacy Christison, '15, B.A., human services, on May 17, 2024, in Spokane. 

Grace Ermi, '16, B.S., and '17, M.S., computer science, and Daniel Johnston, '16, B.A., environmental studies, on June 8, 2024, at Camp Kirby in Bow. Grace and Daniel met as freshmen at Western.   

Grace Ermi, '16, B.S., and '17, M.S., computer science, and Daniel Johnston, '16, B.A., environmental studies, on June 8, 2024, at Camp Kirby in Bow. Grace and Daniel met as freshmen at Western.