Class Notes

AJ STEWART, MS '12, PhD ’14 (mathematics), an instructor in mathematics at Seattle University, was named the 2021’22 American Mathematical Society Congressional Fellow and will spend a year working on a congressional staff or committee, assisting in legislative and policy areas that require scientific and technical input.

MArch ’12, was promoted to associate principal at Portland-based Peter Meijer Architect, and is leading work on historic seismic upgrades of the Fountain Place Apartments in Portland.

KELLY KENOYER, BA ’17 (international studies, journalism), joined the newsroom of WHQR Public Media, Wilmington, North Carolina.

SAMANTHA BENNETT, BArch ’13, was promoted to associate at Portland-based Hennebery Eddy Architects, where she is project architect for the rehabilitation of two facilities in Yellowstone National Park.

JOSEPH VRANAS, MMus ’19, (music composition, music performance), released a collection of experimental poetry, 63 Poems of the Pacific Northwest, capturing the “natural magic” of the region through the mind of a transplanted Texas musician.

SAMANTHA CHIANG, MBA ’18 (general business), a lieutenant commander with the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, was featured by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, which provides media organizations access to US military service members and commanders.

TASH KIMMEL, BS ’18 (journalism), joined radio station KCAW, of Sitka, Alaska, as a community reporter.

SAWYER ALCçZAR-HAGEN, BFA ’20 (product design), was covered in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News for a feature about Vvolt, a Portland e-mobility and electric cycling company.

DANIELA NASSER, BS ’19 (business administration), became assistant coach of women's tennis at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

HANNAH WELLMAN, MS ’16 (anthropology), received a postdoctoral position as a Knauss Fellow to examine national policy decisions affecting ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources with hosts in the legislative and executive branches of government in Washington, DC.

BRITTANY BREITZMANN, BS ’16 (accounting), was hired as an associate at Kernutt Stokes, a CPA and advisory firm in Eugene.

JASMINE MINOR, BS ’15 (business administration), joined WISH-TV Channel 8 of Indianapolis, Indiana, as an investigative reporter.

The Sweetness of Water, written by NATHAN HARRIS, BA ’14 (English), has been selected for Oprah Winfrey's 2021 book club list, former president Barack Obama's summer 2021 reading list, and as a New York Times Book Review editors' choice.

JACOB SIMONSON, MArch ’15, was hired by ALSC Architects of Spokane, Washington, and is working on projects including the White Salmon Valley Aquatics Center and an aquatics facility for the city of Caldwell.

DIEGO ATENCIO, JD v17, joined San Francisco-based Clean Energy Counsel, a law firm for renewable-energy companies, and will focus on project development in the real estate sector, including site acquisition agreements, options, leases, and title and survey review.

JOY L. RUPPERSBURG, BS '75 (elementary education), MEd '84 (special education), a former teacher, principal, and superintendent in Oregon and California, moved her private practice as an education therapist from San Rafael, California, to her home in Petaluma, where she also enjoys organic gardening and maintaining a wildlife habitat she has dubbed, "Joy's Jungle Petaluma."

JOY L. RUPPERSBURG, BS ’75 (elementary education), MEd '84 (special education), a former teacher, principal, and superintendent in Oregon and California, moved her private practice as an education therapist from San Rafael, California, to her home in Petaluma, where she also enjoys organic gardening and maintaining a wildlife habitat she has dubbed, “Joy's Jungle Petaluma.”

RUBY HAUGHTON-PITTS, BS ’77 (speech: rhetoric and communication), wrote an opinion piece for the Oregonian in which she argued the state must examine workplace biases that sideline women of color.

Erin Watkinson, a proud Duck and At-Large UOAA Executive Committee member, recently took a new role as the VP of Strategic Solutions & Training for Avetta, a fast growing leader in Supply Chain Risk Management software based out of Orem, UT. After adjusting to working from home during the pandemic, this serves as Erin's first completely remote role. She is particularly proud to be one of the only women in an senior leadership position and plans to work alongside her peers and with the Leadership team to push for continued opportunities for women and POC.

Dr. Howard Wang, B.A., Biology ('71 Oregon), MA and Ph.D. Higher Education Administration ('92 UCLA), retired in 2018 from high education after many years of dedicated services in Student Affairs. Currently, he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of the West, a liberal arts university that provides a whole-person education informed by Buddhist wisdom and values to facilitate cultural understanding and appreciation between East and West. Previously, having served as a consultant to numerous universities in China since 2005, Dr. Wang was appointed by Duke University in 2014 to serve as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Duke Kunshan University (Kunshan, China). He also served as an adjunct professor in Higher Education at Beijing Normal University, as well as at Duke Kunshan University. He also served as an Assistant VP, and then as an Associate VP of Student Affairs for over 20 years at two California State University campuses, after having served, for 11 years, as the Executive Officer to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Development and Health Division at UCLA Student Affairs. Dr. Wang has been a frequent presenter or co-presenter at international conferences in Asian and S.E. Asian countries; and most recently in 2019, also presented a paper at the Annual Conference of the Australia and New Zealand Student Services Association. He frequently published research papers on student affairs, and served as authors, co-authors, as well as Associate Editors in various journals related to student programs and services. Briefly from 1974 to 1976, Dr. Howard Wang served as a Research Associate conducting mycology research and as a teaching assistant in clinical microbiology at the Mayo Clinic Medical School. He is currently devoting most of his time in serving several Asian American community organizations, as well as a part-time consultant on international student services and leadership development.