Class Notes

Sabrina Villanueva, B.A., political science, is the senior director of Property Management at Clise Properties in Seattle and performed as a "celebrity dancer" for Plymouth Housing's annual fundraising gala, Seattle Dances on March 8. 

Michael R. Grigoni, B.A., philosophy, recently became assistant professor of religion at Wake Forest University after completing his Ph.D. in religion at Duke University. Since graduating from Western, Michael has also earned a master's degree in ethnomusicology from University of Washington and a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. At Wake Forest, he teaches courses in religion, politics and Christianity and is working on a book about guns in relation to American Christianity. 

Anneliese Cousineau, B.S., kinesiology - movement studies, was recently promoted to executive director of Experience International, a non-profit that sponsors J-1 visas for foreign nationals seeking work training and cultural immersion opportunities in the U.S. Anneliese earned an M.S. in global studies and international relations from Northeastern University in Boston in 2020. 

Matthew Konsa, B.A., student-faculty designed major, is a philanthropy portfolio lead for Mass Mutual and the MassMutual Foundation and recently led the creation and launch of a $25 million initiative focused on driving the growth of community development financial institutions across the country. 

Lena Miltemore, BFA, studio art, is a painter and fiber artist whose work was recently featured at the Inn at Lynden and the Olympia Arts Walk.  

Patricia Fulton, B.A., political science, was recently sworn in as a superior court judge in Walla Walla County, and the first woman to hold the position. Previously, she served as a court commissioner and defense attorney. 

Peter Hallson, B.A., biology, is a bicycle advocate in Edmonds and recently received the Doug Walker Award from the Cascade Bicycle Club for his 25 years of work promoting bicycling in the community, including working with the Edmonds School District to designate safe bike routes to schools. At 89, Peter still cycles thousands of miles each year, though mostly on an e-bike these days. 

Michael Hemphill, B.S computer science, is a principal engineer at SpaceX helping bring Starlink internet access to people around the world.

Justin Neal, B.A., interdisciplinary concentration, is a playwright and founder of Holy Crow Arts, which last year staged his most recent work, "Keepers of the Salish Sea" at The Cultch Historic Theatre in Vancouver, B.C.

Renee Noelle Cheesman, BA, BFA, studio art, is an installation artist, painter and interdisciplinary artisan whose work was recently featured in the Cordata Gallery in Bellingham. 

Eric Silvey, BAE, history - secondary education, recently retired after 35 years of teaching in the Vancouver Public Schools. Beginning his career teaching social studies at McLoughlin Middle School, Eric finished after 27 years at Skyview High School in the social studies program. While at Skyview, Eric coached football, baseball, softball and bowling. His bowling teams finished in the top four in state four times, winning state in 2022. Now, Eric plans to spend retirement traveling the world.

Timothy Ohms, B.A., English, recently retired after 33 years as a federal prosecutor in Eastern Washington. During his career as an Assistant US Attorney, Ohms was known as an expert in complex cases and prosecuted several significant crimes involving drug trafficking, violence, wildlife and Native American artifacts.

Deb Krishnadasan, B.A., communication, was recently appointed to serve in the Washington State Senate representing the 26th Legislative District, which covers parts of Kitsap and Pierce counties. She'll fill the seat vacated by Emily Randall, who was elected to Congress. Sen. Krishnadasan is a former member of the Peninsula School District board and the founder and co-chair of Stand Up for Peninsula Schools. 

David Swanson, B.A., sociology, was named as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California Riverside. In addition to his 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, among other reasons for this recognition, ScholarGPS identified Swanson as 56th among the world’s 60 most Highly Ranked Scholars in the field of Demography.

Darrell Newcomer, B.S., geology, retired in 2024 after a 35-year career as a hydrogeologist. After completing his master's degree from Montana Tech in 1988, Darrell worked for 30 years for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. He then spent five years working with the Central Plateau Cleanup Co. in Richland. His work has included hydrogeologic characterization, groundwater remediation research, and groundwater monitoring activities at the Hanford Site and at government sites across the country.

Jennifer Louie, B.Mus., music performance, was selected by The Recording Academy to serve as a GRAMMY U mentor for 2024-25. Her first holiday solo violin album, "Snow in Alabama," received two iTunes chart awards in Sweden. And her new album, "The Cherry Tree Carol" was released in November. 

Lainie Pennington, BFA, dance, is a dancer and collaborator with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Co. in San Francisco. 

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. 

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. 

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.