Julia Metzker
Director for the Washington Center
Julia '94 (she/her) received her bachelors degree from Evergreen where she learned first-hand the value of a transformative liberal arts education and has since obtained her doctorate in inorganic chemistry. Prior to her role as the Director for the Washington Center Julia worked for many years in higher education teaching and creating community around student success and course design.
Julia has worked on many projects including co-founding of the Innovative Course-Building Group, a grass-roots social network for learning that supports teaching faculty and staff across disciplines; co-designing Course Design for Essential Learning, which helps faculty build courses using dilemmas, issues, and questions to inspire students and facilitate transformative student learning; and co-authoring Learning That Matters: A Field Guide to Course Design for Transformative Education.
Jaime O'Connor
Assistant Director for the Washington Center
Jaime (she/her) joined the Washington Center in 2022, bringing higher-ed experience spanning instructional and administrative roles from academic advising to general education curriculum design to program assessment to institutional accreditation. Jaime thrives in collaborative environments and enjoys the challenge of unravelling complex problems to discover core issues and propose solutions that simplify, clarify, and lighten paths to more meaningful teaching and learning engagement. She believes in the essential role of public education in the preservation of democracy and in the power of education to inspire personal transformation and social progress.
Jaime’s teaching philosophy has been shaped by the thinking of Paulo Freire, Nel Noddings, John Dewey, and Parker Palmer and infused with contemplative practices gained through the completion of her M.A. in Contemplative Education from Naropa University. Jaime remains fascinated with alternatives to traditional grading, such as Evergreen’s narrative evaluations, that provide a more holistic record of student learning and development.
Ashley Hilton
Program Coordinator for the Washington Center
Ashley Hilton (she/her) is passionate about education’s ability to change lives and empower individuals. She is dedicated to creating inclusive, engaging, and student-centered learning environments that inspire growth and confidence. She earned both her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and her master’s degree in Special Education from Arizona State University. As a teacher in Mesa, Arizona, she especially loved working in kindergarten English Language Development classes, fostering curiosity and confidence through play, exploration, collaboration, and culturally relevant teaching. She prioritized creating a safe and supportive classroom environment where students felt empowered to advocate for themselves and connect their learning to the real world. She explicitly integrated Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into her teaching and incorporated mindfulness practices to support both her students and herself.
Her fascination with human behavior and motivation extends beyond the classroom, fueling a love-hate relationship with reality television. She enjoys making soaps, perfumes, and skincare products using sustainable and ethical materials, as well as hiking, trail running, and collecting—rocks, vinyl records, and more. She also has a deep appreciation for music, cartoons, and any form of art.
Ashley is excited to be part of a team that truly cares about others and is dedicated to improving education. She firmly believes that education is power and that it should be accessible to all.