IAS Circle of Recognition - 2021
Every year, the University of Washington recognizes the extraordinary achievements and contributions of IAS students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community partners — as scholars, civic leaders, and professionals — to the campus, university, and region. As a school, IAS is proud of each and every notification we receive that “one of ours” has received an award.
For a second year, we are unable to gather together in person to celebrate. However, in our current context, our recognition and gratitude for the contributions and achievements of these new members of our circle is that much greater. For the IAS Hall of Alumni Excellence inductees, and the IAS Outstanding Community Partner award, be sure to check out the video tributes we collected.
Read about the IAS students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community partners who were recognized in the past year in the following categories:
Husky 100
Each year, the Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW students who are making the most of their UW experience. Of the twelve UW Bothell students selected in 2021, six are IAS students!
Jorge R. Azpeitia Pacheco
Media & Communication Studies;
Culture, Literature & the Arts
"My time at UW Bothell has given me the opportunity to build trust in myself as a proud, first-generation Latino, and to discover my privilege of self-actualization. I have been able to challenge myself creatively and gain a deeper understanding of my intersecting identities, while advocating for underrepresented communities through my on-campus positions and coursework in Media & Culture Studies. In the future, I hope to continue being a visionary in order to empower myself and those around me."
Bryanna Bui
Media & Communication Studies;
Culture, Literature & the Arts
"As an Asian-American woman, I had always doubted whether I belonged in higher education. My time as a Husky has enabled me to break boundaries and achieve change through my passions in media, communication, and outreach. With my identity as a first-generation student and daughter of immigrant parents, I wanted to ensure access to educational opportunities for students from marginalized communities. UWB taught me I have the power to create social change and empower others."
Chris Hays
Law, Economics & Public Policy
"As a person with Cerebral Palsy, finding that voice wasn’t just metaphorically difficult, but physically difficult. My UW path enabled me to find and develop my voice and helped me define what it means to have capacity for leadership, the ability to be the change I want in the world; for me, that is enabling others to reach success with the tools they need, just as that was done for me. A few of my highlights at UW have been participating in the DC Seminar and interning at the Washington State Legislature."
Phoenix Horn
M.A. in Policy Studies
"I’m a Husky 100 because I study how policies affect different identities within our community and how to adjust policy to create greater equity. I emphasize the intersectional approach to public policy because it incorporates an understanding of race, identity, privilege, gender expression, systems of oppression, power, etc.; these must be taken into account if one truly wants to create equitable policy. I’m also a compassionate Army veteran that wants nothing more but to serve my community."
Kristina Jorgensen
M.A. in Policy Studies
"As a Person of Color and first-generation American citizen that has survived domestic violence and various punishment systems, UWB gave me a safe space to reflect on my experiences of harm, racism and oppression; and strengthened my leadership and community engagement skills. I am a passionate system disruptor and I believe that people directly impacted should be centered in decision making spaces. I plan to continue my education and research focused on gender-based violence and incarceration."
Tay Verville
Society, Ethics & Human Behavior;
American & Ethnic Studies
"My undergraduate journey has been focused on effecting change, which I plan on bringing to community. By passion, I am a community political organizer who is deeply committed to an expansion of American Democracy that is inclusive of all Americans. I believe that through art and conversation we can create a space of vulnerability where we actively dismantle oppressive structures. A community where we mutually empower and supports each other’s fight for justice is one of healing and growth."
Mary Gates Research Scholars
Mary Gates Research Scholarships enhance the educational experiences of UW undergraduate students while they are engaged in research guided by faculty. These competitive scholarships allow students to focus more attention and time, deepening their inquiry into a discipline or project with a reduced financial burden.
Abbie Kinaro
Mathematical Thinking & Visualization
"High Impact Practices"
Mentor: Caleb Trujillo
High Impact Practices (HIPs) are optional learning opportunities that higher education students can take part in to enhance their learning experience and create opportunities for future careers. Studies show HIPs, including first-year seminars, community-based learning, internships, undergraduate research as well as many others, have positive effects on student success as measured by final grade point average (GPA), time to degree, and increases in graduation rates. Recently, HIP implementations in higher education settings, including at UW Bothell (UWB), have skyrocketed. By participating in these practices, students retain more of their learning experience by gaining practical comprehension compared to those who do not partake. To understand more about HIPs, UWB has chosen to analyze how HIPs interact with student success on their campus. Kinaro’s role in this study is to analyze and visualize student success (GPA and graduation rates) depending on the types and frequencies of HIPs taken during their time at UWB. She is creating an interactive data dashboard to demonstrate the relationships between HIPs and past UWB students.
Jordan Woltjer
Law, Economics & Public Policy
“Collective Bargaining Agreements and Teacher Wages”
Mentor: Dr. Xiahua (Anny) Wei
Description: This study evaluates the relationship between collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and average teachers’ wages with econometric analysis. The literature suggests that teachers’ pay impacts the quality of educational provision, teacher retention, and quality of educational staff. Hence, understanding the determinants of teachers’ salaries is of critical policy importance. Woltjer collected and analyzed data from 143 school districts in Washington and Idaho and results were consistent with the findings in the literature that a CBA predicts a minor increase in average teachers’ salaries. This information could be useful to educational stakeholders in salary negotiations, budget forecasting, and educational administration.
“Radical Teachers’ Unions in Japan”
Mentor: Dr. Keith Nitta
Description: Teachers’ unions in Japan have had a dual influence. As interest groups, teachers’ unions fought to represent their members’ interests: better salaries, benefits, and working conditions. Japanese teachers’ unions have also fought for fair, egalitarian educational policies and practices. These struggles have been largely successful. Since modern teachers’ unions were founded in the 1940s, Japanese teachers’ salaries have increased dramatically, teachers have enjoyed strong procedural rights, and Japanese education has remained exceptionally egalitarian and equitable across the country. This research focuses on radical teachers’ unions in Japan.
IAS Hall of Alumni Excellence
The IAS Hall of Alumni Excellence recognizes alumni at varying stages of career who are established or emerging leaders in their fields, policy-changing public servants, and devoted and inspiring mentors. They are extraordinary alumni who embody IAS’s mission, values, and goals and demonstrate equity and inclusion in their work and lives.
Woogee Bae
MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics ’19
Woogee Bae is a poet and founding editor with Snail Trail Press, an ecopoetics journal focused on the hope and resilience that the smallest creatures can teach us in the face of climate disaster. She writes on translingualism and waste, and her work can be found in P-QUEUE, Peach Mag, Poetry Northwest, Tagvverk, and elsewhere.
Bae received an M.A. in poetry from SUNY Buffalo before earning her MFA at UW Bothell. She is deeply engaged in the Seattle literary community as a freelance project organizer and Donor Relations Associate for Seattle Arts & Lectures. Bae has played a vital role within the MFA community by building bridges between the program and larger literary world. She is co-founder of the Gamut reading series, which provides a space for current MFA students and alumni to share work both online and at Open Books: A Poem Emporium in Seattle. Bae was also instrumental in coordinating the 2019 &Now Festival of Innovative Writing, a major international conference of experimental literature hosted at UW Bothell.
Video Tribute
From Amaranth Borsuk to Woogee Bae
Maximilian Dixon
Environmental Studies ’11
Maximilian Dixon is the Hazards and Outreach Program Supervisor for the Washington State Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (WA EMD). He manages the Earthquake, Tsunami, Volcano, Public Education, Preparedness and Outreach Programs and represents WA EMD as the subject matter expert and policy advisor on geological hazards, preparedness and outreach issues. Dixon is responsible for coordinating geological hazard risk reduction efforts between international, federal, state, tribal, and local partners. He is on the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program Coordinating Committee and the Advanced National Seismic System Steering Committee. Dixon is a Certified Emergency Manager and a recipient of the Governor’s Award for Leadership in Management. He received his bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from the University of Washington.
Dixon maximized opportunities at UW Bothell, serving as founder and president of the Sustainability Organization of UW Bothell and Cascadia College and as a founding member of the UWB and Cascadia College Commuter Services Task Force. Other notable service roles include co-founding the Shoreline Farmers Market Association and being a founding member for Friends of North Creek Forest.
Video Tribute
From Warren Gold to Maximilian Dixon
Morgan Mentzer
Global Studies ’04
Morgan Mentzer is co-founder of Lavender Rights Project, a by-and-for legal services and community organizing nonprofit. Lavender Rights Project provides 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. As a lead attorney, Mentzer specializes in employment law and family law focusing on intersections of gender identity and racism.
Prior to pursuing a career in law, Mentzer was an auto mechanic. Rooted in the trades, she is the co-founder of the Reckoning Trade Project, an organization committed to increasing representation and retention of QTIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) tradesworkers.
Community Lawyering is a critical element of Mentzer 's practice. In New York, she worked directly with homeowners facing foreclosure during the Subprime Mortgage Crisis in community clinics, while interrupting courthouse foreclosures through song. Mentzer 's legal practice and community organizing prioritizes introspection as to how her identity as a white, cis, queer femme intersects with her organizing, knowledge and pedagogy.
Video Tribute
From Ron Krabill to Morgan Mentzer
Alejandra Pérez
American & Ethnic Studies; Society, Ethics & Human Behavior ’16
Alejandra Pérez is the College & Career Manager at Community Center for Education Results, where she leads college and career readiness initiatives through the Road Map Project. Pérez’s passion for educational equity comes from her advocacy with and for undocumented students and their families in Washington State and around the nation. Pérez served as Co-Director for the Beyond HB 1079 Conference, a member of the Dream Educational Empowerment Program (DEEP) National Advisory Council, and is a community organizer with the Washington Dream Coalition (WDC).
Through WDC, Pérez is a co-founder of the COVID-19 Relief Fund for Undocumented Individuals in Washington State, a grassroots effort that raised $7.1 million and played an essential role in advocating for the Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund.
While at UW Bothell, Pérez served as a Social Justice Organizer and President of the Latinx Student Union. She was a key advocate for the creation of the Diversity Center and selected as an inaugural member of the Husky 100 in 2016. Pérez also holds a master’s in Education from UW Bothell.
Video Tribute
From Janelle Silva to Alejandra Pérez
Ben Wiselogle
Global Studies ’12
Ben Wiselogle is a Foreign Affairs Officer with Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State where he is responsible for developing anti-human trafficking policies for 13 Sub-Saharan African nations.
Wiselogle’s passion for global service was cemented by his experience as a disaster response volunteer in Haiti following a devastating earthquake in 2010. Since then, he has worked with various international non-profits, including the microfinance organizations, Fonkoze (Haiti) and SEWA (India), and served for three years as co-lead of Oxfam America’s Seattle Action Corps. Wiselogle is also a board member for the Congolese Integration Network and a member of the Truman National Security Project Defense Council.
Wiselogle is a six-year veteran who served as president of UW Bothell’s Student Veterans Association and co-chaired the campaign to fund the Veterans Archway. In 2016, he earned a master of public administration degree from the UW Evans School of Public Policy & Governance and was selected as a Presidential Management Fellow, which became the portal to his work at the State Department.
Video Tribute
From Rosa Liu to Ben Wiselogle
UW Bothell Distinguished Alumni
The UW Bothell Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes outstanding alumni who have exhibited distinguished professional achievements and/or community service since graduation. This year, two stalwart members of the UW Bothell Alumni Council, have been selected for the award, Mary Howisey and Curtis Takahashi.
Mary Howisey
Society, Ethics & Human Behavior ‘02
Mary Howisey is a founding member of the UW Bothell Alumni Council, and since 2017, has led the council’s annual Husky 5K as fundraising and events chair. The Husky 5K has raised more than $185,000 to support student scholarships and emergency funds, and Howisey has volunteered for each of its 16 years, helping to secure sponsors, rallying people to participate, and managing race-day logistics.
“Mary Howisey is one of UW Bothell’s greatest champions and has demonstrated as much in the nearly 20 years she has been an alumna,” said Tiffany Kirk, interim director of alumni engagement. “Quite frankly, many of our successes in alumni engagement can be credited to Mary’s hard work and care. I’m so grateful for her extraordinary support.” Read about Mary Howisey.
Curtis Takahashi
Culture, Literature & the Arts ‘04
Curtis Takahashi has been a member of the UW Bothell Alumni Council since 2010 and has served as council chair and awards & recognition chair. From 2018-2020, Takahashi joined UW Bothell as an advisor for the Career Development Program, which he helped launch. Takahashi focused on employer outreach and engagement, advising students on internship opportunities and professional development, and managing the program’s implementation, growth, and assessment.
“Curtis is, well, incredible,” Kirk said. “He’s doubled down on his commitment to UW Bothell over the years as a donor, former staff, volunteer and council member. For many years, he has led our scholarship award efforts, working diligently to support our students and recognize alumni.” Read about Curtis Takahashi.
IAS Outstanding Community Partner
The IAS Outstanding Community Partner award honors the extraordinary contribution of an IAS partner organization. Recipients advance the IAS values of equity, inclusion, and social justice and link student learning and faculty scholarship to real-life experiences that positively impact our region and world.
Latino Educational Training Institute (LETI)
Latino Educational Training Institute (LETI) is dedicated to strengthening relationships between Latinos and the wider Lynnwood community through services and events, including health fairs, workshops, and other personal and family development activities. A long-standing campus partner, LETI has collaborated with IAS faculty members Jin-Kyu Jung and Raissa DeSmet on several course projects which have had a profound impact on both students and the community LETI serves.
LETI was nominated by Jung, who has worked with LETI on a variety of urban research topics such as fresh food availability in South Lynnwood. Says Jung, “Among various community organizations, cities, and centers I have partnered with, I am deeply touched by their devotion, sincere care, and commitment and attentiveness for the community, as well as for my students and their learnings.”
Last summer, DeSmet and students in her cultural research course partnered with LETI’s women’s health and wellness program, Nuestras Historias (Our Stories), to form a writing collective based on the themes of home, food, memory and identity. Amidst the isolation of the pandemic, participants found intimacy and connectedness. “It was the writers from Nuestras Historias who set the tone for that and who made that emotional presence possible,” said DeSmet.
Video Tribute
From Kara Adams, Raissa DeSmet, Jin-Kyu Jung, and Layla Taylor to LETI
Alyson McGregor Distinguished Professorship of Transformative Research
Karam Dana
IAS faculty member Karam Dana has been approved by the UW Regents as the holder of the “Alyson McGregor Distinguished Professorship of Transformative Research.” He will hold the professorship for the next five years, renewable for another term depending on funding.
Dana's research agenda concerns the history and politics of the Middle East, Palestine, the Palestinian diaspora, Arab Americans, and Muslim Americans. This gift supports an area of research that is difficult to fund through other means for political reasons and will enable him to advance that agenda by funding research assistants and survey research, among other items.
This is the first-ever named professorship at UW Bothell, thanks to a generous gift from Alyson McGregor and the Purple Crayon Foundation. It is a mark of distinction for the campus and IAS — and helps us to advance our mission with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Read more about this Groundbreaking professorship at UW Bothell.
Distinguished Accomplishments Award by an Academic Affairs Staff Member/Team
Sakara Buyagawan and Jung Lee
The Distinguished Accomplishments Award by an Academic Affairs Staff Member/Team recognizes exemplary performance that enhances and supports the Division of Academic Affairs, advances the academic mission of the University of Washington Bothell, and demonstrates values of integrity, diversity, excellence, collaboration, innovation and respect.
IAS staff members Sakara Buyagawan and Jung Lee were honored for their extraordinary work and programmatic innovation to support international students impacted by the pandemic and U.S. immigration politics/policies. By coordinating coursework and campus resources, they built connection and community for international students. They undertook these efforts during huge disruption to their regular duties of managing the time schedule and academic services for all IAS faculty and students under the evolving conditions of emergency remote instruction.
IAS Alumni & Community Relations Manager
Lisa Olason
With immense gratitude IAS recognizes Lisa Olason for her extraordinary service and skillful leadership. Over 13 years in IAS, Lisa has been a community builder, a connector, and convener committed to IAS student and alumni success and campus-community partnership. She has developed key initiatives linking IAS students and alumni, community partnerships and career pathways, including the IAS Circle of Recognition and Mentor Chats.
While Lisa will soon be embarking on new opportunities and challenges beyond IAS, she will always be part of the IAS family. We thank and honor her, and wish her great happiness and success!