News from the School of IAS
Category: Alumni
New graduate Aatqa Azhar launches global development career
Passionate about human rights and international development, recent alum Aatqa Azhar maximized her time at UW Bothell. She majored in both Global Studies and Law, Economics & Public Policy while actively supporting the Muslim Student Association on campus and serving as a digital communications intern for the Pakistan - US Alumni Network (PUAN), an association with the U.S. Embassy Pakistan for U.S. government-sponsored ...
October 1, 2019
Michele Orr advances gender equity in the outdoors
IAS Alum Michele Orr (’94) is REI’s general merchandizing manager for apparel, and one of her most exciting projects is championing their Force of Nature campaign, a public effort to advance gender equity in the outdoors. Orr and her team are working within the co-op and with brand partners to level the playing field by offering more sizing options for more women. As a co-op, REI is in the unique position of harnessing member feedback to influence brands and expedite change. For example, in 2018, REI doubled its sales of apparel in extended sizes, and in 2019, increased clothing choices for core activities like hiking, swimming, running and yoga by ...
September 13, 2019
Jayne Swift earns Ph.D. in Feminist Studies
Jayne Swift (’10), a member of the Master of Arts in Cultural Studies’ inaugural cohort, graduated with her Ph.D. in Feminist Studies from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies in August 2019. Swift’s dissertation, Lusty Ladies: Sex Work and Sex-Positive Politics, 1970-2013, analyzes the history and politics of sex-positivity through a cultural history of sex ...
September 10, 2019
Librarian Kaijsa Calkins values her interdisciplinary education
Alum Kaijsa Calkins is Assistant Dean of Education & Research Services at University of Wyoming Libraries where she leads the division that includes special collections, digital collections, digital scholarship and scholarly communication, and library instruction and liaison programs. It’s the career she envisioned while a UW Bothell undergraduate planning to attend library school.
August 26, 2019
IAS grads offer career guidance
Through Mentor Chats, IAS alumni regularly meet with students to discuss how interdisciplinary skills are valued in the professional world and lead to rewarding careers. Alumni Javier Carrasquero (’17) and Jaime Fajardo (’12) are two alumni who recently spoke with students in Jennifer Atkinson’s Portfolio Capstone course.
August 15, 2019
Priya Frank named to Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40
The Puget Sound Business Journal recently unveiled the 2019 40 Under 40 honorees, putting a spotlight on individuals who are among the business community's brightest and most innovative leaders under the age of 40. Among them is M.A. in Cultural Studies alum Priya Frank (’11), Associate Director for Community Programs at Seattle Art Museum (SAM), where she focuses on partnerships, programming, and equity-related initiatives. Frank is also ...
August 15, 2019
Cary Westerbeck invests his talents in Bothell’s revitalization
Cary Westerbeck remembers when Bothell was a smaller town and the North Creek Wetlands were a working cattle ranch. A lifelong resident, Westerbeck takes pride in his north Lake Washington roots and the bustling region it’s become. Today, he is the principal of westerbeck|architecture, based in downtown Bothell and specializing in modern works of architecture including remodels, custom homes, multi-family, and mixed-use commercial projects. An early IAS alum ...
August 13, 2019
Morgan Mentzer advances queer and trans rights
Morgan Mentzer is co-founder and executive director of Lavender Rights Project, whose mission is to advance a “more just and equitable society by providing low-cost civil legal services and community programming centered in values of social justice for trans and queer low-income people and other marginalized communities.” Last spring Mentzer and Lavender Rights Project (LRP) collaborated with students in Julie Shayne’s “Histories and Movements of Gender and Sexuality” course to chronicle the organization’s history as part of the ...
August 12, 2019
Laura Halpin credits interdisciplinary education for her success as international policy consultant
IAS Early Grad Laura Halpin (’93) enrolled at UW Bothell with set her sights on an international career. Today she draws heavily from her Liberal Studies foundation to address complex social policy issues as a development consultant and lecturer to European institutions. “No matter which courses I took,” she recalls, “we were always discussing across disciplines ways in which to achieve social justice and effect ethical change. I’ve built it in to everything I do to this day.”
July 25, 2019
Alumni Shout Out!
Whitney Corthell (’16) begins graduates studies at the UW School of Social Work this fall with plans to work as a counselor serving populations with low access to mental health care. Byron Dill (’10) opened The Dill Agency, an Allstate agency in Woodinville. Marvin Eng (’15) is district representative for Congressman Adam Smith in Washington’s 9th Congressional District. David Gantz (’10) has established Gantz Law, which specializes in real estate and property law. Samantha Penjaraenwatana (’15) is graduate coordinator for First-Generation College Student Initiatives at Seattle University.
July 1, 2019