Class Notes

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

María A Sigüenza, B.A., psychology, the executive director of the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs, recently became a member of Western's Board of Trustees. In September she was appointed as acting executive director of the Washington State Women's Commission. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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

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. 

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

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.  

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

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