The Western campus viewed from the air looking out towards the islands and Bellingham bay

Class Notes

Class Notes include professional accomplishments, awards, retirements, weddings, obituaries and other news about Western Washington University alumni; they’re gathered from published reports and communication from alumni themselves.

If you have an update you’d like us to share in Class Notes, please email it to window@wwu.edu. Tell us what’s new with you, and we’ll publish it in the next edition and online.

Class Note

Dan Legard - 1998

Dan Legard, B.A., accounting, recently became the chief financial and risk officer for Chelan County PUD. Previously, Dan spent 21 years as the deputy manager and finance director for the city of Kennewick. 

Duncan James - 2019

Duncan James, B.A, business and sustainability, is a manager with Hardware Sales Rentals in Bellingham and is a board member with the American Rental Association Washington state chapter. 

David Wain Coon - 1990

David Wain Coon, M.Ed., student personnel administration, will retire in January as president of College of Marin in California, which he has led since 2010. 

Michael Taggart - 1988

Michael Taggart, BAE, mathematics - secondary, plans to retire soon from the Everett School District after teaching math in middle and high schools for 36 years. 

Sydney Taggart - 2021

Sydney Taggart, BAE, mathematics - elementary, is a teacher in the Snohomish School District. 

Shaun S. Nichols - 2010

Shaun S. Nichols, B.A., history, is an assistant professor of history at Boise State University. His most recent book, "Manufacturing Catastrophe: Massachusetts and the Making of Global Capitalism, 1813 to the Present," will be published in January by Oxford University Press. The book tells the economic history of the U.S. through the experiences of two Massachusetts towns, Fall River and New Bedford, with the rise and fall of the whaling, textile, garment, electronics and high-tech industries. 

Chuck Lennox - 1983

Chuck Lennox, B.S., environmental education, traveled to Saudi Arabia in November 2023 to work with the AlUla region on sustainable tourism. As a member of the Experts Narrative Panel for the Royal Commission for AlUIa, Chuck reviewed interpretive sites and visitor experiences as the commission works to develop the area as a sustainable tourism destination. 

Riley Starks - 1972

Riley Starks, B.A., political science - secondary education, is a lifelong commercial fisher as well as the founder and executive director of the Salish Center for Sustainable Fishing Methods, which focuses on raising awareness about the reefnet fishing industry and the sustainability of the Salish Sea. 

Jackie Carel - 1985

Jackie Carel, BAE, elementary education, recently retired after 36 seasons as volleyball coach at Enumclaw High School  

Andrew Larson - 2012

Amanda Larson, B.S., environmental science, and B.A., French, is a GIS analyst at the city of Kenmore. She's expecting her second child with her husband, Andrew Larson, '12, B.S., environmental science - freshwater ecology, who is a civil surveyor for Atlas Technical Consultants.  

Roland Behee - 1990

Roland Behee, B.A., geography, was recently named chief operating officer of Community Transit in Snohomish County. Roland has worked for Community Transit for 25 years in a wide variety of leadership roles. 

Megan Duncan - 2017

Megan Duncan, B.A., theatre, is working toward a master's degree in educational technology at California State University Northridge. Megan is also an instructional media technologist at CSUN, working with students and faculty members learning how to use technology, and helps produce CSUN's commencement ceremonies. 

Avis Schwab - 1965

Avis Schwab, BAE, elementary education, and '70, teaching certificate, is retired from a 30-year teaching career in the Edmonds School District. Heroes Cafe Shoreline recently invited Avis to speak about her experience during the Vietnam War as a "Donut Dolly," a non-combatant volunteer who was sent to the front lines by the Red Cross to boost morale among the troops. Avis headed to Vietnam soon after serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela. 

Don Helling - 1991

Don Helling, BAE, English-secondary, is a longtime English teacher in Bellingham at Sehome High School who recently retired from coaching after 38 years of leading the school's swimming and golf teams. 

Sarah Crouch - 2013

Sarah Crouch, kinesiology, is a professional marathon runner and freelance writer whose debut novel, "Middletide," was just published by Simon & Schuster. "Middletide" is an atmospheric murder mystery set in the fictional Puget Sound community of Point Orchards. 

Ryan Henderson - 2009

Ryan Henderson, M.Ed. and principal certification, is principal of Highland Elementary School in Lake Stevens. Ryan is also active in his local church and in the Little People of America, in support of his daughter who experiences dwarfism. 

Margaret Willson - 1979

Margaret Willson, B.A. and '82, M.A., anthropology, has a new book out: "Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain," published in January 2023 by Sourcebooks. The book is a narrative nonfiction account of the amazing life of Thurídur Einarsdóttir, Iceland's most famous female sea captain and a champion for gender equality who solved a notorious robbery. The book follows Margaret's "Seawomen of Iceland," a finalist for the 2017 Washington State Book Award. 

Amanda Larson - 2010

Amanda Larson, B.S., environmental science, and B.A., French, is a GIS analyst at the city of Kenmore. She's expecting her second child with her husband, Andrew Larson, '12, B.S., environmental science - freshwater ecology, who is a civil surveyor for Atlas Technical Consultants.  

Mindy Uber - 1997

Mindy Uber, B.S., environmental science, is the senior director of environmental health and safety for Skanska USA Building and was recently appointed to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration's Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health.

Kristin Beck - 2006

Kristin Beck, MiT, is the author of two historical fiction novels, “Courage, My Love” and “The Winter Orphans.” Her third novel, “The Woman on the Mountain,” releases next year.