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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.

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Class Notes (General)

Ryan Pike - 2007

Ryan Pike, M.Ed., educational administration, will be the principal this fall at Columbia Middle School in Moses Lake. Ryan was previously the principal of two elementary schools in Moses Lake and has also worked in the Anacortes and Stanwood-Camano school districts. 

Tom Simon - 1998

Tom Simon, M.S. geography, owns Synthos, LLC, a geographic information systems and mapping consulting firm in Seattle. 

Giles Rhodenhiser - 2011

Attorney Giles Rhodenhiser, B.A., politics, philosophy, economics, joined the law firm of Phelps Dunbar LLP in Raleigh, North Carolina. Giles graduated from the North Carolina School of Law and previously served as a judicial law clerk for the state of North Carolina. 

Robin Modlin - 1974

Robin Modlin, B.A., psychology and Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration, has a new memoir out, "Love, Courage, and Miracles," about being the mother of a daughter who was born with cystic fibrosis and later received a lung transplant, and the journey it took her on. 

Lucy Blanco-Maratita - 1995

Lucy Blanco-Maratita, B.A., Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration - law and diversity, is an assistant attorney general in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, serving in the Civil Division. 

Greg Meier - 2008

Greg Meier, B.A., communication, became the head men's basketball coach at Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Arizona. 

Matt Galley - 2003

Matt Galley, M.Ed., secondary school administration, and '05 and '14, administrative certificates, is the superintendent of Nooksack Valley School District in northern Whatcom County. Matt has worked in Nooksack schools since 1999 as a teacher, coach and principal before becoming superintendent in 2021. He was also selected by Whatcom County to serve on the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission. 

Traci Rogstad - 1991

Traci Rogstad, B.A., international business, is returning to Western as the new associate vice president for Facilities Development and Operations in the Renton School District. Previously, Traci was senior facilities program director and deputy executive director for Capital Planning and Construction. She has also worked for the Northshore School District and Washington State Ferries. 

Corey Ashline - 2012

Corey Ashline, B.S., plastics engineering technology, recently became a senior account executive for the equipment finance company Tamarack Technology. 

Lauren Hurst - 2018

Lauren Hurst, B.A., geography, became a survey technician with R&M Consultants in Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Lynn Sordel - 1975

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. 

Landyn Olsen - 2023

Landyn Olsen, B.A., business administration - finance, became the sports development coordinator for the Snohomish County Sports Commission. 

Andrea Entz - 2019

Andrea Entz, B.S., psychology, is a voice actor, podcast manager and stand-up comedian who recently moved to Los Angeles after performing in Seattle and Tacoma. 

Erik Lowe - 2009

Erik Lowe, B.A., history and political science, is the force behind "Spokane Reimagined," an ambitious $1 billion, 20-year  tax levy proposal that would fund pedestrian- and bike-friendly infrastructure in the city. "I've always been the kind of person to swing for the fences," he told the Inlander in March.  

Jory Mickelson - 2009

Jory Mickelson, B.A., English - creative writing, published their second book of poems, "All This Divide," with Spuyten Duyvil Press in May. Their third book of poems, "Picturing," is forthcoming in January from End of the Line Press in Canada. 

Alison Cochrun - 2010

Alison Cochrun, B.A., English literature, writes full-time after teaching high school English for 11 years. Her third book, "Here We Go Again," was released by Atria Books in April. Her first queer romance novel, "The Charm Offensive," won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Romance and Erotica. 

Mateo Messina - 1995

Mateo Messina, B.A., business administration - marketing, is a Grammy-winning composer for films and television. He also writes a symphony each year to benefit Seattle Children's Hospital, and expects to premiere his 25th symphony on Nov. 8, 2024. 

Michael Farmer - 2004

Michael Farmer, M.Ed., was recently selected to be the chief of schools for the Peninsula School District, overseeing the administrators of the district's 17 schools. Michael is the superintendent of Dieringer School District in Lake Tapps and has worked as an administrator with Tacoma Public Schools and the Eatonville School District.  

Adam Lervik - 2006

Adam Lervik, B.A, business administration - finance, recently  became the Whatcom Commercial Banking market leader for Peoples Bank, where he's worked since 2017.

Lani Defiesta - 2020

Lani Difiesta, B.A., interdisciplinary studies, is the director of development and community engagement for Defend Our Health, an organization devoted to environmental public health based in Portland, Maine.