Class Notes

1975

Michael Mason, Portland, Ore., is in a band called Beargrass that plays around the Rose City area. One of the band’s songs, “Lark” is about the western meadowlark, the state bird of many of the Oregon Trail states—including Oregon.

1976

Gerald Nelson, Olympia, is retiring after 37 years with the Washington State Department of Transportation in Tumwater. Evergreen set him up for communication skills that are much needed when working with people in businesses and event coordinating. Gerald increased the Motorist Information Highway Sign program from 125 to almost 800 businesses in the last 25 years.

Duncan RyanMann, Troy, N.Y., is a professor of management at SUNY Empire State College’s Troy location. He has been recognized with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

1977

Tom Fleischner, Prescott, Ariz., is the founding Director of the Natural History Institute at Prescott College, where he has taught natural history and environmental studies for 28 years. Through National Science Foundation funding, he recently convened a national working group on the future of field studies in the United States.

Ken Turley, Brighton, Maine, is retiring after 30 years as a parish minister in the Swedenborgian Church with a six-year term as president of the denomination. Ken now devotes himself to composition and all things musical.

1979

Tim Tavis, West Palm Beach, Fla., is a psychologist specializing in autism and forensic psychology. He serves on the board of directors for the Learning Center at the Els Center of Excellence. He believes that his time at Evergreen was pivotal in his life’s path, and continues to advocate for the educational principles Evergreen embodies.

1981

David Mazor, Amherst, Mass., donated $500,000 worth of new children’s books to schools and libraries on the Navajo and Hopi nations through the nonprofit he founded, Reader to Reader, Inc.

Amie Walter, Portland, Ore., moved back after 12 years of living in southern Vermont. Amie’s husband, Julian Baker, is also an Evergreen alumnus and works for Land Rover North America. While in Vermont, Amie worked for six years as art director for BuildingGreen, Inc., a publishing company focused on green building.

1987

Patricia Holm, Olympia, authored The Null Set Remembered, a memoir of a coffee house in Olympia where folk music was accompanied by specialty coffees and old-fashioned sodas. It became a central location for the community to gather and talk about all the disruptions happening in society.

1988

Michael Girvin, Seattle, was named a Microsoft Excel Most Valuable Professional for 2016, an annual award that recognizes 100+ exceptional technology community leaders worldwide who share their expertise of Microsoft Excel with others.

1989

Alicia Marroquin, North Bend, Ore., has a private psychotherapy practice of 27 years. Alicia is the author of both fiction and non-fiction books. She holds a Ph.D. in esoteric religious studies and offers coursework for esoteric studies to private students.

1991

Tamara English, Portland, Ore., is an artist who focuses on the investigation of the personal sense of the divine. She also investigates themes related to the literary genre of Magical Realism, which blends magical or unreal elements with rational elements to create a realistic atmosphere that accesses a broader understanding of reality.

Bonnie Versoza, New Braunfels, Texas, travels about four times a year as a missionary musician in either an orchestra or jazz band. Bonnie travels worldwide to places such as Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, and Africa.

1992

Louise Kornreich, Seattle, graduated from nursing school and is employed as an RN in a memory care unit of a nursing home. Louise is the only RN there who bikes to work. She enjoys the cycling and coffee scene of Seattle, plus getting out on the trail to hike.

Elka Love, Tucson, Ariz., has lived in Arizona for nine years now and enjoys the creativity of downtown.

Tim Williams, Seattle, worked in a biomedical research lab after graduating from Evergreen, and then attended medical school at Flinders University School of Medicine in Adelaide, Australia. He attained his M.D. in 2002. Williams then completed an anatomic and clinical pathology residency program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital in New Hampshire, followed by forensic pathology fellowship training at the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque. Since 2008 Williams has been an associate medical examiner in Seattle, and also has an appointment with the clinical teaching faculty in the department of pathology at the University of Washington. He and his wife and daughter live in West Seattle.

1996

Benita Sager, Matteson, Ill., is currently teaching and posts singing videos on YouTube.

1997

Rebecca Pearl-Martinez, Arlington, Mass., is a recipient of the 2016 Clean Energy Advocacy Award for women in clean energy. Rebecca is a research fellow and head of the Renewable Equity Project Center for International Environment and Resource Policy in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

1999

Westlee Latta, Seattle, is a program manager in the Microsoft Xbox Localization group, which led Westlee to work overseas in Ireland for two years before returning to the United States. He has earned an MS in Resilient and Sustainable Communities from Green Mountain College in Vermont. He also writes and plays music. Westlee is married and has two daughters.

Michelle Downing, Seattle, works at Yellow Wood Academy, where teachers create a curriculum just for the students, who often have multiple talents and challenges. Michelle says Evergreen has prepared her for this position, where there is lots of “thinking on your feet.”

Elizabeth Switaj, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, was promoted to chair of the Liberal Arts Department at the College of the Marshall Islands. Palgrave Macmillan published Switaj’s book, James Joyce’s Teaching Life and Methods.

2000

Molly Robertson, Bellingham, is currently attending the physical therapy assistant program at Whatcom Community College, a natural evolution of her lifelong career in massage therapy. She has a year of schooling to go and made the deans’ list for her first-quarter efforts.

Anthony Airhart, Montesano, is the deputy director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Grays Harbor, serving children and families in both Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. In 2016, he celebrates 11 years of marriage to fellow 2000 Evergreen graduate Laurie Miles Airhart.

2002

Erin Kelly, Detroit, Mich., works as the Innovative Landscapes Program Manager at Detroit Future City, where she has worked largely on the partnered implementation of green infrastructure and land stewardship initiatives. She has worked on a Field Guide to Working with Lots, a tool for land transformation in Detroit.

James Nagle, New York, N.Y., is finishing a Ph.D. in religious studies at Fordham University and is working as a senior writer and researcher at the Pontifical Mission Societies.

Dan Sockle, Vancouver, Wash., wrote and just published the book, America’s Jihad, which is available on Amazon. This book is a collection of 24 individual journeys spanning 9/11 to the present.

2004

Diane Hoffman, Mandan, N.D., recently moved to North Dakota and is pursuing environmental jobs.

2005

Daysha Eaton, Homer, Alaska, began working as news director at KBBI Public Radio in September 2015. She has worked as a reporter and news director at member stations in the Alaska Public Radio Network since 2005.

Cameron Aubernon, Louisville, Ky., is currently a resident artist at OPEN Gallery, an art gallery and performance space under the shadow of Cardinal Stadium. Cameron is also editor-in-chief at a new online publication based in Louisville called Tab’s View.

2006

Tom Bozeman, Grafton, Mass., is in his first year of professional employment after six years of grad schooling and interning. Francisco Fonseca, Tumwater, is currently publishing a novel. Francisco received an MA from American Military University in 2011 and has worked on some political campaigns.

Rashad Norris, Tacoma, won the Rhonda Quash Coats Award for Excellence in Multicultural Student Services. The annual award recognized Norris for local and statewide contributions in creating authentic, meaningful campus and community support for students of color.

2007

Serenity Wise, Seattle, is the director of community engagement at the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle. She creates exhibits and programs centered on social justice and social change.

Graham Golbuff, Seattle, recently graduated from the University of Washington with his Master of Landscape Architecture, a discipline he first discovered while a student in the Sustainable Design program at Evergreen. He lives in Seattle and works as a landscape designer at BCRA, a multidisciplinary design firm with deep roots in the Puget Sound region.

2008

Matthew Reiss, Appalachia, Va., owns and operates a commercial mushroom farm and vegetable fermentation business with his girlfriend Jenna. At Gnomestead Hollow Farm and Forage, they grow more than 10 species of gourmet and nutraceutical mushrooms.

2010

Katrina Olthof, Lompoc, Calif., has been fully immersed in studying and conserving sensitive wildlife and plant resources along the central California coast as well as the many endemic species of the California Channel Islands.

Asa Hurst, Duvall, has been working in IT as a contractor for Microsoft and married Karen Kincy ’10 in 2013.

Ben Anderson, Olympia, became a licensed CPA in 2014 and is the chair-elect of the Olympia Chapter of WSCPA. Ben has been instrumental in organizing events for students and others seeking careers as CPAs. He was first introduced to accounting at Evergreen, which helped him to build a solid foundation for more advanced work.

Betsy Pingree, Newton Heights, Mass., has been accepted to Boston College’s Ph.D. program in history. Her focus includes immigration, labor, industrialization, and the environment in 19th and 20th century America.

Silas Levine, Charleston, S.C., joined the law firm of Hertzmark, Crean & Lahey, LLP as an associate attorney.

2011

Danielle Chiero, Portland, Ore., is an RN at Oregon Health & Science University on 11K/7C, a Cardiovascular Intermediate Care Unit.

2012

Nathan Schuur, New York, N.Y., works as an Associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP. Nathan was admitted to the bar of the State of New York and graduated cum laude from University of Michigan Law School in 2015.

Jake Pirkkanen, Sudbury, Canada, is pursuing a PhD in radiation biology/biomolecular sciences at Université Laurentienne. Jake is researching the biological effects of ultra-low dose radiation environments both on the surface of the planet and underground. Jake works with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory for his research.

2013

Brent Bloomfield, Olympia, works as a financial services specialist at the Community Services Office with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Brent (shown at left) is currently working on a Master of Education–School Counseling degree at the University of Puget Sound and will graduate in 2017.

Francisco Leos, Walla Walla, is a family educator at the Children’s Home Society of Washington. Francisco (pictured) plans and implements comprehensive child development services for parents and children enrolled in the program.

2014

Zach Smithingell, Rochester, is a research analyst at the Washington State Department of Health in the Center for Health Statistics. Zach is happy to have found a position that puts him on his desired career path and follows the interests he studied while at Evergreen.

2015

Jaycie Osterberg MPA (BA ‘11), Olympia, is a case manager and resident advocate at Quixote Village. She works one-on-one with residents and develops human-centered service plans to help residents achieve their goals. She also works on program development, evaluations, data, and analysis. Jaycie (in cap and gown) is grateful the job brings her closer to the Olympia community.

Nick Bense, Seattle, is traveling abroad and plans to return to the Seattle area to finish his master’s degree and start applying to M.D./Ph.D. programs. Nick climbed Mount Kilimanjaro during a study abroad internship while at Evergreen.

Faculty Emeritus

Lovern King, Laguna Woods, Calif., is faculty emerita of Evergreen and has published her third book, Confessions of a Compulsive Traveler, which shares some of her adventures in the over 85 countries that she has visited. This book joins her first two, the Gourmand Award-winning Cooking Up a Provence Vacation and Cooking Up a French Vacation.

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