University of Washington Magazine - Winter 2023

Wounds to Lands, Bodies Returning to Vietnam p.26 University of Washington Magazine

4333 Brooklyn Ave NE Campus Box 359508 Seattle, WA 98195

Transplants and Cancer A dangerous connection p.30 Delivering Hope Improving maternal health p.34

WINTER 2023

Certificates, degrees and courses for busy adults, with flexible options in the evening and online.

DISCOVER WHAT MAKES YOU SHINE

The Gold Standard | est. 1936 |

How an Olympic victory propelled the UW rowing program to greatness

magazine.uw.edu

OF WASHINGTON BLOEDEL RESERVE

Forest Chorus Last year, musician Byron Au Yong, ’96, developed his performing arts project “Forest Aeternam” while in residence as an artist at the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. Surrounded by 175 acres of woodland terrain, Au Yong was dazzled by the life cycle of the forest around him. His composition reflects on ecological crisis and affirms a commitment to living with nature and honoring woodland areas during a time of environmental emergency.

Au Yong returned to Bloedel this fall for an outdoor, participatory research event with soprano Eun Ju Vivanna Oh, ’20, whom he met in University of Washington music theory classes when they

were undergraduates.

During the performance, audience members walked through the forest listening and singing with trees, engaging in a contemplative musical practice designed to strengthen their bond with the environment.

Au Yong hopes to bring “Forest Aeternam” to other forested areas where it can be performed with singers, instrumentalists, and Indigenous and immigrant populations. Known for creating works that engage with social issues, Au Yong recently returned to his hometown of Seattle to head the Arts Leadership programs at Seattle University.

—By Shin Yu Pai. Photo by David Ryder WINTER 2023

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OF WASHINGTON BLOEDEL RESERVE

Forest Chorus Last year, musician Byron Au Yong, ’96, developed his performing arts project “Forest Aeternam” while in residence as an artist at the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. Surrounded by 175 acres of woodland terrain, Au Yong was dazzled by the life cycle of the forest around him. His composition reflects on ecological crisis and affirms a commitment to living with nature and honoring woodland areas during a time of environmental emergency.

Au Yong returned to Bloedel this fall for an outdoor, participatory research event with soprano Eun Ju Vivanna Oh, ’20, whom he met in University of Washington music theory classes when they

were undergraduates.

During the performance, audience members walked through the forest listening and singing with trees, engaging in a contemplative musical practice designed to strengthen their bond with the environment.

Au Yong hopes to bring “Forest Aeternam” to other forested areas where it can be performed with singers, instrumentalists, and Indigenous and immigrant populations. Known for creating works that engage with social issues, Au Yong recently returned to his hometown of Seattle to head the Arts Leadership programs at Seattle University.

—By Shin Yu Pai. Photo by David Ryder WINTER 2023

1

More than a house, a community for life F I N D Y O U R P L A C E AT

SUNNYSIDE VILLAGE Your home, your community. Sunnyside Village Cohousing offers individual homes in a connected community.

Life at Sunnyside Village celebrates shared values, mutual support, and the recognition that we all have a role to play in making our world thrive.

Located thirty miles north of Seattle, Sunnyside Village is a family-friendly community of individually owned twoand three-bedroom cottages. Shared features include a common house, gardens, workshop, open space, meals, and activities.

F I N D M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N AT S U N N Y S I D E V I L L A G E C O H O U S I N G . C O M

The bluest water views from the greenest community on the lake.

Inspired by the heritage of the 1936 UW Olympic rowing team and the spirit of innovation around us, Aegis Living Lake Union is the world’s first assisted living community built to meet the rigorous sustainability building standards of the Living Building Challenge.

SCHEDULE A TOUR! Call 206-590-3079 or visit AegisLakeUnion.com

Offer valid through December 31, 2023.

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UW MAGAZINE

WINTER 2023

3

More than a house, a community for life F I N D Y O U R P L A C E AT

SUNNYSIDE VILLAGE Your home, your community. Sunnyside Village Cohousing offers individual homes in a connected community.

Life at Sunnyside Village celebrates shared values, mutual support, and the recognition that we all have a role to play in making our world thrive.

Located thirty miles north of Seattle, Sunnyside Village is a family-friendly community of individually owned twoand three-bedroom cottages. Shared features include a common house, gardens, workshop, open space, meals, and activities.

F I N D M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N AT S U N N Y S I D E V I L L A G E C O H O U S I N G . C O M

The bluest water views from the greenest community on the lake.

Inspired by the heritage of the 1936 UW Olympic rowing team and the spirit of innovation around us, Aegis Living Lake Union is the world’s first assisted living community built to meet the rigorous sustainability building standards of the Living Building Challenge.

SCHEDULE A TOUR! Call 206-590-3079 or visit AegisLakeUnion.com

Offer valid through December 31, 2023.

2

UW MAGAZINE

WINTER 2023

3

V O L U M E

3 4

N U M B E R

4

W I N T E R

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ONLINE magazine.uw.edu

SUPPORTING UNIVERSITY O F WA S H I NGT O N STUDENTS AND ATHLETIC S S I NC E 1 9 00 ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

FOOTBALL LEGEND

APRIL HONG

22 Against the Odds

How nine men and a boat from the Pacific Northwest took on the world, stole our hearts and inspired our dreams.

By Hannelore Sudermann

After serving in Vietnam decades ago, Dr. Michael Fey made peace with his past and brings dental education to Hanoi.

By Rachel Gallaher

30 Transplants and Cancer Dr. Chris Blosser aims to solve one of medicine’s vexing problems: when organ transplants lead to cancer.

By David Volk

34 Delivering Hope

A new UW program works with local midwives and clinics to reduce maternal health disparities in communities of color.

By Kim Eckart

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12 13 16 18 20 38 39 41 53 54 44 46 48 56

OF WOMEN’S ROWING

RELISHED MEMORIES

A beloved, longtime UW hangout, the Burgermaster near University Village will be closing after serving Huskies since 1952. uwmag.online/burgermaster

FORWARD

Their Extraordinary Story Undergraduate Research Roar of the Crowd

THE HUB

MacArthur Awards State of the Art Research College GameDay Athletics

COLUMNS

Alumni Veteran Award Sketches Media Tribute In Memory

JORDAN NICHOLSON

26 Wounds to Lands, Bodies

6 8 10

116 YEARS

BURGERMASTER

Comedian, actor and purple-and-gold cheerleader Joel McHale, ’95, ’00, joins ESPN College GameDay co-host Lee Corso on Red Square before the Huskies’ nationally televised 36-33 win over archrival Oregon on Oct. 14 at Husky Stadium. Corso delighted the crowd when he picked the boys in purple to prevail on the gridiron.

Jake Kupp, ’64, cracked the steely façade of hard-nosed coach Jim Owens to play both baseball and football. uwmag.online/kupp

CELEBRATING

COMMUNITY VISIONARY

Hoa Hong, ’17, has made her name creating larger-thanlife art. Her work is like a living business card. uwmag.online/hoa

IMPACT

Hometown Health Culture of Learning Fulfilling the Vision

UDUB

Square’s Story

ON THE COVER

A detail of the gold medal from the 1936 Olympic trials in New Jersey. The UW win meant the rowers would represent the U.S. in Berlin. Photo courtesy of the Joe Rantz family.

Photo by Alika Jenner

V O L U M E

3 4

N U M B E R

4

W I N T E R

2 02 3

ONLINE magazine.uw.edu

SUPPORTING UNIVERSITY O F WA S H I NGT O N STUDENTS AND ATHLETIC S S I NC E 1 9 00 ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

FOOTBALL LEGEND

APRIL HONG

22 Against the Odds

How nine men and a boat from the Pacific Northwest took on the world, stole our hearts and inspired our dreams.

By Hannelore Sudermann

After serving in Vietnam decades ago, Dr. Michael Fey made peace with his past and brings dental education to Hanoi.

By Rachel Gallaher

30 Transplants and Cancer Dr. Chris Blosser aims to solve one of medicine’s vexing problems: when organ transplants lead to cancer.

By David Volk

34 Delivering Hope

A new UW program works with local midwives and clinics to reduce maternal health disparities in communities of color.

By Kim Eckart

4

UW MAGAZINE

12 13 16 18 20 38 39 41 53 54 44 46 48 56

OF WOMEN’S ROWING

RELISHED MEMORIES

A beloved, longtime UW hangout, the Burgermaster near University Village will be closing after serving Huskies since 1952. uwmag.online/burgermaster

FORWARD

Their Extraordinary Story Undergraduate Research Roar of the Crowd

THE HUB

MacArthur Awards State of the Art Research College GameDay Athletics

COLUMNS

Alumni Veteran Award Sketches Media Tribute In Memory

JORDAN NICHOLSON

26 Wounds to Lands, Bodies

6 8 10

116 YEARS

BURGERMASTER

Comedian, actor and purple-and-gold cheerleader Joel McHale, ’95, ’00, joins ESPN College GameDay co-host Lee Corso on Red Square before the Huskies’ nationally televised 36-33 win over archrival Oregon on Oct. 14 at Husky Stadium. Corso delighted the crowd when he picked the boys in purple to prevail on the gridiron.

Jake Kupp, ’64, cracked the steely façade of hard-nosed coach Jim Owens to play both baseball and football. uwmag.online/kupp

CELEBRATING

COMMUNITY VISIONARY

Hoa Hong, ’17, has made her name creating larger-thanlife art. Her work is like a living business card. uwmag.online/hoa

IMPACT

Hometown Health Culture of Learning Fulfilling the Vision

UDUB

Square’s Story

ON THE COVER

A detail of the gold medal from the 1936 Olympic trials in New Jersey. The UW win meant the rowers would represent the U.S. in Berlin. Photo courtesy of the Joe Rantz family.

Photo by Alika Jenner

O P I N I O N A N D T H O U G H T F R O M T H E U W FA M I LY beautiful rowing shells he built, I discovered a culture of craftsmanship, a history of working with wood, an obsession with the beauty of wooden boats on water that helped define not just Seattle but the entire Pacific Northwest. As I read in detail about the history of rowing at the University of Washington, I discovered a tradition of strenuous outdoor competition, but competition that was balanced by awareness of cooperation and teamwork that crew demands. As I read about the

Their story is our story in a deep and profound sense.

BY DANIEL JAMES BROWN

An Extraordinary Legacy Writing a book is a bit like taking a voyage of exploration. There’s always a sense of stepping off the familiar ground of your everyday life and venturing forth into territory incognito, not sure what you’ll encounter along the way. It’s exhilarating but also fraught with anxiety.

That’s certainly how I felt 14 years ago as I began to work on “The Boys in the Boat.” Every few days, I slogged across the UW campus in the rain, made my way into Suzzallo Library, sat down in front of a somewhat decrepit microfilm reader, and began to study Seattle newspapers from the mid-1930s. I was worried. Would I find enough material about the 1936 Husky crew to warrant a book? Would this story peter out, as often they do on close

6

UW MAGAZINE

examination? What if the boys in the boat turned out to be a bunch of jerks? And would readers really care about a story built around rowing, anyway?

But my anxiety quickly gave way to exhilaration. There’s a line in a Keats poem that comes to mind: “Then felt I like some watcher of the skies/When a new planet swims into his ken.” Studying those newspapers, I quickly found myself looking upon a world I had little prior knowledge of—the world of Seattle and the University of Washington in the 1930s—and I was utterly entranced. Much more than a book about a crew, I realized, this was going to be a book about a time and a place and some extraordinary people who inhabited it. As I read about George Pocock and the

community effort to raise funds to send the boys to Berlin for the Olympics, I discovered a pattern of civic pride and determination that bound the citizenry together in common cause through some very challenging times.

My excitement only grew in the months that followed as I met with the family members of the boys who sat in that shell and I learned more about who they were, what they believed in, and how they conducted their lives. And as I pulled together the various strands of my research and began to write, I slowly came to understand that their story is our story in a deep and profound sense. It reminds us of who we are and where we have come from, as a university community, as citizens of Seattle and its surrounding communities, as Pacific Northwesterners.

As I sat in front of that microfilm reader 14 years ago, I could never have imagined that one day the story I was trying to capture would entertain and inspire millions of readers. Nor could I have imagined that millions more would see it unfold in movie theaters around the world. But now that we are on the cusp of seeing the movie appear, I remain profoundly grateful to the nine extraordinary young men who learned to pull together so beautifully and powerfully and in doing so showed us how to be our own best selves.

—Author Daniel James Brown wrote the New York �imes bestseller, “�he Boys in the Boat,” which has been adapted into a major motion picture. It will be released on Dec. 25.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANTHONY RUSSO

Sign up for our free health and wellness newsletter.

O P I N I O N A N D T H O U G H T F R O M T H E U W FA M I LY beautiful rowing shells he built, I discovered a culture of craftsmanship, a history of working with wood, an obsession with the beauty of wooden boats on water that helped define not just Seattle but the entire Pacific Northwest. As I read in detail about the history of rowing at the University of Washington, I discovered a tradition of strenuous outdoor competition, but competition that was balanced by awareness of cooperation and teamwork that crew demands. As I read about the

Their story is our story in a deep and profound sense.

BY DANIEL JAMES BROWN

An Extraordinary Legacy Writing a book is a bit like taking a voyage of exploration. There’s always a sense of stepping off the familiar ground of your everyday life and venturing forth into territory incognito, not sure what you’ll encounter along the way. It’s exhilarating but also fraught with anxiety.

That’s certainly how I felt 14 years ago as I began to work on “The Boys in the Boat.” Every few days, I slogged across the UW campus in the rain, made my way into Suzzallo Library, sat down in front of a somewhat decrepit microfilm reader, and began to study Seattle newspapers from the mid-1930s. I was worried. Would I find enough material about the 1936 Husky crew to warrant a book? Would this story peter out, as often they do on close

6

UW MAGAZINE

examination? What if the boys in the boat turned out to be a bunch of jerks? And would readers really care about a story built around rowing, anyway?

But my anxiety quickly gave way to exhilaration. There’s a line in a Keats poem that comes to mind: “Then felt I like some watcher of the skies/When a new planet swims into his ken.” Studying those newspapers, I quickly found myself looking upon a world I had little prior knowledge of—the world of Seattle and the University of Washington in the 1930s—and I was utterly entranced. Much more than a book about a crew, I realized, this was going to be a book about a time and a place and some extraordinary people who inhabited it. As I read about George Pocock and the

community effort to raise funds to send the boys to Berlin for the Olympics, I discovered a pattern of civic pride and determination that bound the citizenry together in common cause through some very challenging times.

My excitement only grew in the months that followed as I met with the family members of the boys who sat in that shell and I learned more about who they were, what they believed in, and how they conducted their lives. And as I pulled together the various strands of my research and began to write, I slowly came to understand that their story is our story in a deep and profound sense. It reminds us of who we are and where we have come from, as a university community, as citizens of Seattle and its surrounding communities, as Pacific Northwesterners.

As I sat in front of that microfilm reader 14 years ago, I could never have imagined that one day the story I was trying to capture would entertain and inspire millions of readers. Nor could I have imagined that millions more would see it unfold in movie theaters around the world. But now that we are on the cusp of seeing the movie appear, I remain profoundly grateful to the nine extraordinary young men who learned to pull together so beautifully and powerfully and in doing so showed us how to be our own best selves.

—Author Daniel James Brown wrote the New York �imes bestseller, “�he Boys in the Boat,” which has been adapted into a major motion picture. It will be released on Dec. 25.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANTHONY RUSSO

Sign up for our free health and wellness newsletter.

STA F F A publication of the UW Alumni Association and the University of Washington since 1908 PUBLISHER Paul Rucker, ’95, ’02 ASST. VICE PRESIDENT, UWAA MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Terri Hiroshima EDITOR Jon Marmor, ’94 MANAGING EDITOR Hannelore Sudermann, ’96 ART DIRECTOR Ken Shafer DIGITAL EDITOR Caitlin Klask STAFF WRITER Shin Yu Pai, ’09 CONTRIBUTING STAFF Karen Rippel Chilcote,

Kerry MacDonald, ’04 UWAA BOARD OF TRUSTEES PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS

Chair, Sabrina Taylor, ’13 Vice Chair, Roman Trujillo, ’95 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Derek Belt, Eric Butterman, Kim Eckart, Rachel Gallaher, Diane Mapes, David Volk CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Pamela Dore, Rick Dahms, April Hong, Anil Kapahi, David Ryder, Meryl Schenker, Mark Stone, Dennis Wise, Ron Wurzer CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Olivier Kugler, Haidee S. Merritt, David Plunkert, Anthony Russo

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Rousing Research

8

UW MAGAZINE

Your early years set the stage for life. Children who live in poverty have less access to medical care, nutrition and high-quality early education — the foundations for lifelong health.

EDITORIAL OFFICES

By Jon Marmor

Step inside the many laboratories and research centers at the three University of Washington campuses, and you will find more than 8,000 undergraduate students taking part in research. Come May, more than 1,000 undergraduates will file into Mary Gates Hall to take part in one of the UW’s proudest events: the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

This celebration of cutting-edge research by so many students started in 1997 as a small academic conference. It has grown into a huge, annual event with several thousand attendees in which students, faculty and the public come together to discuss their research and discoveries.

Before the late 1990s, undergraduate students rarely were involved in real-world scientific research. Their lives were filled with classes, clubs, social activities, sports —in other words, college life as we knew it. But UW leaders ventured that inviting even the newest students to do research, conducted under the supervision of faculty mentors, would produce graduates who would be better prepared to take on the future. It became a national model.

The impact: In a recent academic year,

A FUTURE WHERE EVERY CHILD GETS THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A HEALTHY START.

8,299 undergraduates worked with UW faculty mentors, devoting 1,512,617 hours to research projects across the University’s colleges, schools, departments and research centers. Students from all academic disciplines on all three UW campuses—plus other, local invited campuses—presented their research at the annual May capstone symposium.

Kira Rosenlind started doing research as a freshman. Today, she is a senior working on a Fred Hutch Cancer Center project, studying bone marrow failure. While the project doesn’t connect to her major in business, she’s gaining insights about human health and leadership, thanks to her mentor, Dr. Sioban Keel.

Then there is Michael Cho, ’22. When he was incarcerated before coming to UW Bothell, he dreamt of working in computer engineering. At the UW, he performed research in machine learning, exploring how to remove racial bias from software used by law enforcement and other agencies. Today, he’s at Georgia Tech pursuing a Ph.D. in computer engineering.

This is impact. This is what public investment in higher education produces.

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID PLUNKERT

Phone 206-543-0540 Email magazine@uw.edu Fax 206-685-0611 4333 Brooklyn Ave. N.E. UW Tower 01, Box 359559 Seattle, WA 98195-9559 ADVERTISING

SagaCity Media, Inc. 1416 NW 46th Street, Suite 105, PMB 136, Seattle, WA 98107 Megan Holcombe mholcombe@sagacitymedia.com 703-638-9704 Carol Cummins ccummins@sagacitymedia.com 206-454-3058 Robert Page rpage@sagacitymedia.com 206-979-5821 University of Washington Magazine is published quarterly by the UW Alumni Association and UW for graduates and friends of the UW (ISSN 1047-8604; Canadian Publication Agreement #40845662). Opinions expressed are those of the signed contributors or the editors and do not necessarily represent the UW’s official position. �his magazine does not endorse, directly or by implication, any products or services advertised except those sponsored directly by the UWAA. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 CANADA.

Healthier communities make healthier people. The University of Washington is leading the way in addressing the interconnected factors that influence how long and how well we live, from income and education to equity and the environment. In partnership with community organizations, the UW transforms research into concrete actions that improve and save lives across the country — and around the world.

FIND OUT HOW uw.edu/populationhealth

WINTER 2023

9

STA F F A publication of the UW Alumni Association and the University of Washington since 1908 PUBLISHER Paul Rucker, ’95, ’02 ASST. VICE PRESIDENT, UWAA MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Terri Hiroshima EDITOR Jon Marmor, ’94 MANAGING EDITOR Hannelore Sudermann, ’96 ART DIRECTOR Ken Shafer DIGITAL EDITOR Caitlin Klask STAFF WRITER Shin Yu Pai, ’09 CONTRIBUTING STAFF Karen Rippel Chilcote,

Kerry MacDonald, ’04 UWAA BOARD OF TRUSTEES PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS

Chair, Sabrina Taylor, ’13 Vice Chair, Roman Trujillo, ’95 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Derek Belt, Eric Butterman, Kim Eckart, Rachel Gallaher, Diane Mapes, David Volk CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Pamela Dore, Rick Dahms, April Hong, Anil Kapahi, David Ryder, Meryl Schenker, Mark Stone, Dennis Wise, Ron Wurzer CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Olivier Kugler, Haidee S. Merritt, David Plunkert, Anthony Russo

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Rousing Research

8

UW MAGAZINE

Your early years set the stage for life. Children who live in poverty have less access to medical care, nutrition and high-quality early education — the foundations for lifelong health.

EDITORIAL OFFICES

By Jon Marmor

Step inside the many laboratories and research centers at the three University of Washington campuses, and you will find more than 8,000 undergraduate students taking part in research. Come May, more than 1,000 undergraduates will file into Mary Gates Hall to take part in one of the UW’s proudest events: the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

This celebration of cutting-edge research by so many students started in 1997 as a small academic conference. It has grown into a huge, annual event with several thousand attendees in which students, faculty and the public come together to discuss their research and discoveries.

Before the late 1990s, undergraduate students rarely were involved in real-world scientific research. Their lives were filled with classes, clubs, social activities, sports —in other words, college life as we knew it. But UW leaders ventured that inviting even the newest students to do research, conducted under the supervision of faculty mentors, would produce graduates who would be better prepared to take on the future. It became a national model.

The impact: In a recent academic year,

A FUTURE WHERE EVERY CHILD GETS THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A HEALTHY START.

8,299 undergraduates worked with UW faculty mentors, devoting 1,512,617 hours to research projects across the University’s colleges, schools, departments and research centers. Students from all academic disciplines on all three UW campuses—plus other, local invited campuses—presented their research at the annual May capstone symposium.

Kira Rosenlind started doing research as a freshman. Today, she is a senior working on a Fred Hutch Cancer Center project, studying bone marrow failure. While the project doesn’t connect to her major in business, she’s gaining insights about human health and leadership, thanks to her mentor, Dr. Sioban Keel.

Then there is Michael Cho, ’22. When he was incarcerated before coming to UW Bothell, he dreamt of working in computer engineering. At the UW, he performed research in machine learning, exploring how to remove racial bias from software used by law enforcement and other agencies. Today, he’s at Georgia Tech pursuing a Ph.D. in computer engineering.

This is impact. This is what public investment in higher education produces.

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID PLUNKERT

Phone 206-543-0540 Email magazine@uw.edu Fax 206-685-0611 4333 Brooklyn Ave. N.E. UW Tower 01, Box 359559 Seattle, WA 98195-9559 ADVERTISING

SagaCity Media, Inc. 1416 NW 46th Street, Suite 105, PMB 136, Seattle, WA 98107 Megan Holcombe mholcombe@sagacitymedia.com 703-638-9704 Carol Cummins ccummins@sagacitymedia.com 206-454-3058 Robert Page rpage@sagacitymedia.com 206-979-5821 University of Washington Magazine is published quarterly by the UW Alumni Association and UW for graduates and friends of the UW (ISSN 1047-8604; Canadian Publication Agreement #40845662). Opinions expressed are those of the signed contributors or the editors and do not necessarily represent the UW’s official position. �his magazine does not endorse, directly or by implication, any products or services advertised except those sponsored directly by the UWAA. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 CANADA.

Healthier communities make healthier people. The University of Washington is leading the way in addressing the interconnected factors that influence how long and how well we live, from income and education to equity and the environment. In partnership with community organizations, the UW transforms research into concrete actions that improve and save lives across the country — and around the world.

FIND OUT HOW uw.edu/populationhealth

WINTER 2023

9

JOIN THE CONVERSATION EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS TO: magazine@uw.edu (Letters may be edited for length or clarity.)

R O A R F R O M T H E C R O W D

That’s a nice picture of an exercise bike on the cover of the Fall 2023 University of Washington Magazine (“The Shape of Things to Come”). Did you know that the exercise treadmill (precursor to the bike) was invented in our School of Medicine

by Robert Bruce and Wayne Quinton, ’58, in 1952? Cardiologist Dr. Robert Rushmer, founder of the UW Department of Bioengineering, was also a major player in that development, using treadmills to assess heart health.

Buddy D. Ratner, UW professor of bioengineering, Seattle

Honoring Women

As a female athlete, I reveled in Hannelore Sudermann’s article on UW women’s crew (“Making Waves,” Fall 2023). Great to know that Hiram Conibear was such an ally, and I didn’t know George Pocock’s big sister Lucy coached! I’d love to see a movie made of that story. ... As a scholar of sport, feminism and social change, I also wanted to commend the current crew for honoring intramural sport administrator Kit Green with the name of a recent shell. In my dissertation research into women’s sport history at University of Texas at Austin, a similar unheralded PE employee played this role, quietly evolving the limited participation-based programs into the varsity competitive powerhouse we see today. As we continue to protect Title IX and women’s sport equity, Betty Thompson (at UT) and Kit Green (at UW) deserve their share of credit, and what a way to do it on the Montlake Cut. Meredith Bagley, ’05, West Hartford, Connecticut

Something Special

What a great story finally brought to light (“Making Waves,” Fall 2023). Jan Harville, ’74, and Eric Cohen, ’82, are both treasures of Washington Rowing. I came to Husky rowing the same fall that Jan was brought in by Bob Ernst, and her attitude and passion didn’t only have a positive impact on the women’s team. My memories are all positive of the interactions between the men’s and women’s teams, both on and off the water. I remember being as much in awe of the women’s Varsity 8 as the men’s.

The Washington rowing community is something special, and the contributions of all members are valued. Thanks for the history lesson and the memories.

John Barth, ’84, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Inspiration and Hope

Congratulations to public health visionary George Counts, ’65 (“A Passion for Public 10

UW MAGAZINE

Health,” Fall 2023). A pillar in the battle against HIV/AIDS, he deserves the gratitude of millions. Thanks to his work, along with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, millions can now live ordinary lives. I saw this change during my time in Zambia, with hope and gratitude for these programs that transformed the country from a place of death by deadly diseases to one where everyone has a future. Of course, more work is still to be done, especially with tuberculosis, on the rise for the first time in decades because of the resources shifted to battle the COVID pandemic. But with the inspiration of George Counts and the global health initiatives America supports, there is hope.

Willie Dickerson, ’73, ’94, Snohomish

Dr. George Counts

“A Passion for Public Health” was a wonderful article about an amazing doctor and leader in the public-health arena. However, as a physician who graduated from the UW, I was disheartened to see that Dr. George Counts was never labeled as a doctor by the writer. In the first sentence, he should have been introduced to the reader as Dr. George Counts and not casually as George Counts. The only time his proper name was given was in the last sentence when they discussed the conference room that was named after him. I can only imagine the struggles he had to endure to become an African American physician in 1965 as I know the difficulties I faced in 1998, so to not name him as Dr. George Counts minimizes the extraordinary accomplishments he has attained. I hope in the future someone on the editing staff will recognize the importance of how an oversight such as this is perceived especially to other physicians of color.

Dr. Lori Seibert Matthews, ’98, Frisco, Texas

Peace Corps Payoff

Reading the article about the UW’s success in sourcing volunteers for the Peace Corps brought back many memories from 1961, when I was a junior at the UW (“Top Score for Peace Corps,” Fall 2023). It began when I heard President Kennedy’s inaugural address in which he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” I was too young to vote in that election, but his words stayed with me. Later that spring, when he created the Peace Corps, I immediately wrote to offer my services, and soon received an application. In early June, I received a telegram from Sargent Shriver telling me that I was one of the

first 10 volunteers to be selected and would be part of the first group of 65 male volunteers going to Colombia to work on a rural community-action project for two years. Later that morning, to my amazement, newspaper reporters showed up for an interview, and I entertained them by doing handsprings and backflips on the lawn as I told them about my time on the UW gymnastics team. What an amazing experience that day was for a 20-year-old. My time in South America changed my life in so many ways. Over the years, I worked as an economist for the UN in Argentina, taught as a Fulbright professor in Mexico and had many other jobs, all made possible because I could speak Spanish.

Bruce Richardson, ’64, Lopez Island

HUSKY PICKS PRESENTS

COLLECTION

Happy Traveler

OneBusAway is one of my favorite, mostused, proficient apps for Metro riders period (“Happiness is Just One Bus Away,” Fall 2023). Nothing compares.

I’ve tried the imitation crab, I can only work with the real OneBusAway. Please keep the dream alive.

Ben Kordash

A program of the UW Alumni Association

ADVOCATE

Medicine Inventions

Higher Education Needs Your Voice

Become an advocate today UWimpact.org

Go for gold with vintage-look apparel and gifts from The Crew collection, inspired by the UW’s legendary 1936 rowing team. The epic story of their Olympic win, immortalized in the bestselling book “The Boys in the Boat,” was made possible by the loyal Husky fans who pulled together to support their hometown heroes. Share in that legacy of community spirit—just in time to catch the upcoming film adaptation.

The Crew collection is available at University Book Store: ubookstore.com. realdawgswearpurple

wearpurple

real_dawgs

WINTER 2023

11

JOIN THE CONVERSATION EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS TO: magazine@uw.edu (Letters may be edited for length or clarity.)

R O A R F R O M T H E C R O W D

That’s a nice picture of an exercise bike on the cover of the Fall 2023 University of Washington Magazine (“The Shape of Things to Come”). Did you know that the exercise treadmill (precursor to the bike) was invented in our School of Medicine

by Robert Bruce and Wayne Quinton, ’58, in 1952? Cardiologist Dr. Robert Rushmer, founder of the UW Department of Bioengineering, was also a major player in that development, using treadmills to assess heart health.

Buddy D. Ratner, UW professor of bioengineering, Seattle

Honoring Women

As a female athlete, I reveled in Hannelore Sudermann’s article on UW women’s crew (“Making Waves,” Fall 2023). Great to know that Hiram Conibear was such an ally, and I didn’t know George Pocock’s big sister Lucy coached! I’d love to see a movie made of that story. ... As a scholar of sport, feminism and social change, I also wanted to commend the current crew for honoring intramural sport administrator Kit Green with the name of a recent shell. In my dissertation research into women’s sport history at University of Texas at Austin, a similar unheralded PE employee played this role, quietly evolving the limited participation-based programs into the varsity competitive powerhouse we see today. As we continue to protect Title IX and women’s sport equity, Betty Thompson (at UT) and Kit Green (at UW) deserve their share of credit, and what a way to do it on the Montlake Cut. Meredith Bagley, ’05, West Hartford, Connecticut

Something Special

What a great story finally brought to light (“Making Waves,” Fall 2023). Jan Harville, ’74, and Eric Cohen, ’82, are both treasures of Washington Rowing. I came to Husky rowing the same fall that Jan was brought in by Bob Ernst, and her attitude and passion didn’t only have a positive impact on the women’s team. My memories are all positive of the interactions between the men’s and women’s teams, both on and off the water. I remember being as much in awe of the women’s Varsity 8 as the men’s.

The Washington rowing community is something special, and the contributions of all members are valued. Thanks for the history lesson and the memories.

John Barth, ’84, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Inspiration and Hope

Congratulations to public health visionary George Counts, ’65 (“A Passion for Public 10

UW MAGAZINE

Health,” Fall 2023). A pillar in the battle against HIV/AIDS, he deserves the gratitude of millions. Thanks to his work, along with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, millions can now live ordinary lives. I saw this change during my time in Zambia, with hope and gratitude for these programs that transformed the country from a place of death by deadly diseases to one where everyone has a future. Of course, more work is still to be done, especially with tuberculosis, on the rise for the first time in decades because of the resources shifted to battle the COVID pandemic. But with the inspiration of George Counts and the global health initiatives America supports, there is hope.

Willie Dickerson, ’73, ’94, Snohomish

Dr. George Counts

“A Passion for Public Health” was a wonderful article about an amazing doctor and leader in the public-health arena. However, as a physician who graduated from the UW, I was disheartened to see that Dr. George Counts was never labeled as a doctor by the writer. In the first sentence, he should have been introduced to the reader as Dr. George Counts and not casually as George Counts. The only time his proper name was given was in the last sentence when they discussed the conference room that was named after him. I can only imagine the struggles he had to endure to become an African American physician in 1965 as I know the difficulties I faced in 1998, so to not name him as Dr. George Counts minimizes the extraordinary accomplishments he has attained. I hope in the future someone on the editing staff will recognize the importance of how an oversight such as this is perceived especially to other physicians of color.

Dr. Lori Seibert Matthews, ’98, Frisco, Texas

Peace Corps Payoff

Reading the article about the UW’s success in sourcing volunteers for the Peace Corps brought back many memories from 1961, when I was a junior at the UW (“Top Score for Peace Corps,” Fall 2023). It began when I heard President Kennedy’s inaugural address in which he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” I was too young to vote in that election, but his words stayed with me. Later that spring, when he created the Peace Corps, I immediately wrote to offer my services, and soon received an application. In early June, I received a telegram from Sargent Shriver telling me that I was one of the

first 10 volunteers to be selected and would be part of the first group of 65 male volunteers going to Colombia to work on a rural community-action project for two years. Later that morning, to my amazement, newspaper reporters showed up for an interview, and I entertained them by doing handsprings and backflips on the lawn as I told them about my time on the UW gymnastics team. What an amazing experience that day was for a 20-year-old. My time in South America changed my life in so many ways. Over the years, I worked as an economist for the UN in Argentina, taught as a Fulbright professor in Mexico and had many other jobs, all made possible because I could speak Spanish.

Bruce Richardson, ’64, Lopez Island

HUSKY PICKS PRESENTS

COLLECTION

Happy Traveler

OneBusAway is one of my favorite, mostused, proficient apps for Metro riders period (“Happiness is Just One Bus Away,” Fall 2023). Nothing compares.

I’ve tried the imitation crab, I can only work with the real OneBusAway. Please keep the dream alive.

Ben Kordash

A program of the UW Alumni Association

ADVOCATE

Medicine Inventions

Higher Education Needs Your Voice

Become an advocate today UWimpact.org

Go for gold with vintage-look apparel and gifts from The Crew collection, inspired by the UW’s legendary 1936 rowing team. The epic story of their Olympic win, immortalized in the bestselling book “The Boys in the Boat,” was made possible by the loyal Husky fans who pulled together to support their hometown heroes. Share in that legacy of community spirit—just in time to catch the upcoming film adaptation.

The Crew collection is available at University Book Store: ubookstore.com. realdawgswearpurple

wearpurple

real_dawgs

WINTER 2023

11

A N D

R E S E A R C H

F R O M

T H E

STATE OF THE ART

N E W S

U W

UNION

MACARTHUR FOUNDATION (2)

Two Good

The MacArthur Foundation recognizes U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón and environmental scientist Lucy Hutyra for their life-affirming work

By Jon Marmor Lucy Hutyra, left, and Ada Limón have at least two things in common: �hey both earned their UW degrees in 1998, and they received MacArthur “genius” grants this year.

12

UW MAGAZINE

It may seem the 2023 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowships (AKA “genius grants”) that were awarded to two University of Washington graduates recognize their work in disparate fields.

Ada Limón is a poet. Lucy Hutyra is an environmental ecologist.

But look a little deeper and you will find that both awardees deal with life’s connections. “My obsessions,” Limón explains in a video from the MacArthur Foundation, “really are all about how we are interconnected. I think there is a certain amount of suffering in poetry because there’s a great deal of suffering in living.” Hutyra, who worked as a UW research scientist from 2007 to 2009, says in another video, “That nexus between climate and health is incredibly important. The temperatures in cities around the world are terrifying. The impacts don’t impact everybody equally.

We need to think about solutions that

improve the livability of communities.”

Connections. Community. Striving to understand how the world around us— spiritual, physical—affects our lives, and how humankind can thrive. That is at the core of Limón’s and Hutyra’s work.

The MacArthur Fellowship is an $800,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinary talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential.

Here’s a look at both Limón and Hutyra: Words to live by Ada Limón, U.S. Poet Laureate “Almost everything I write is fueled by the deep knowing that we all leave, that we all end, that there is an end to our story, and so for me, it’s essential to record and report and to do so in a way that emphasizes the song, that emphasizes the wonder. … The act of writing itself is a radical act of claiming a part of this moment in time, even though most light functions with a shadow.

I’m interested in the balance. … I hope my

poetry can help people reconnect to the wonder of the world. I hope they can feel a sense of ease, a wanting to reconnect to the world, to recommit to it.”

Branches of hope Lucy Hutyra, Boston University environmental ecologist “Cities occupy about 3% of the global land and that 3% of land is where about 75% of our fossil fuel emissions occur. … Many models had previously thought of cities as this giant emitting source of greenhouse gases. But plants in cities function differently. … The trees that you have located in cities are in small fragments. They have more light, they are not competing with neighbors, they have more nutrients in the form of reactive nitrogen coming from tailpipes. ... What I have been striving for is to find ways to have the information that city planners need available so that they could make better decisions that improve the livability of our cities.”

Cells of Cedar Taking inspiration from a fallen Western red cedar, Seattle-based artist John Grade created the dynamic sculpture “Union” for the Washington Park Arboretum. The long-term, temporary installation is made of two nets suspended between trees and holding cupped resin forms based on the cedar’s cellular structures. Designed to move with the weather, the netted sections separate under the weight of rainwater.

When dry, the green and blue forms merge. Over several days this fall, a crew of volunteers helped Grade install the work.—Photo by Mark Stone

A N D

R E S E A R C H

F R O M

T H E

STATE OF THE ART

N E W S

U W

UNION

MACARTHUR FOUNDATION (2)

Two Good

The MacArthur Foundation recognizes U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón and environmental scientist Lucy Hutyra for their life-affirming work

By Jon Marmor Lucy Hutyra, left, and Ada Limón have at least two things in common: �hey both earned their UW degrees in 1998, and they received MacArthur “genius” grants this year.

12

UW MAGAZINE

It may seem the 2023 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowships (AKA “genius grants”) that were awarded to two University of Washington graduates recognize their work in disparate fields.

Ada Limón is a poet. Lucy Hutyra is an environmental ecologist.

But look a little deeper and you will find that both awardees deal with life’s connections. “My obsessions,” Limón explains in a video from the MacArthur Foundation, “really are all about how we are interconnected. I think there is a certain amount of suffering in poetry because there’s a great deal of suffering in living.” Hutyra, who worked as a UW research scientist from 2007 to 2009, says in another video, “That nexus between climate and health is incredibly important. The temperatures in cities around the world are terrifying. The impacts don’t impact everybody equally.

We need to think about solutions that

improve the livability of communities.”

Connections. Community. Striving to understand how the world around us— spiritual, physical—affects our lives, and how humankind can thrive. That is at the core of Limón’s and Hutyra’s work.

The MacArthur Fellowship is an $800,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinary talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential.

Here’s a look at both Limón and Hutyra: Words to live by Ada Limón, U.S. Poet Laureate “Almost everything I write is fueled by the deep knowing that we all leave, that we all end, that there is an end to our story, and so for me, it’s essential to record and report and to do so in a way that emphasizes the song, that emphasizes the wonder. … The act of writing itself is a radical act of claiming a part of this moment in time, even though most light functions with a shadow.

I’m interested in the balance. … I hope my

poetry can help people reconnect to the wonder of the world. I hope they can feel a sense of ease, a wanting to reconnect to the world, to recommit to it.”

Branches of hope Lucy Hutyra, Boston University environmental ecologist “Cities occupy about 3% of the global land and that 3% of land is where about 75% of our fossil fuel emissions occur. … Many models had previously thought of cities as this giant emitting source of greenhouse gases. But plants in cities function differently. … The trees that you have located in cities are in small fragments. They have more light, they are not competing with neighbors, they have more nutrients in the form of reactive nitrogen coming from tailpipes. ... What I have been striving for is to find ways to have the information that city planners need available so that they could make better decisions that improve the livability of our cities.”

Cells of Cedar Taking inspiration from a fallen Western red cedar, Seattle-based artist John Grade created the dynamic sculpture “Union” for the Washington Park Arboretum. The long-term, temporary installation is made of two nets suspended between trees and holding cupped resin forms based on the cedar’s cellular structures. Designed to move with the weather, the netted sections separate under the weight of rainwater.

When dry, the green and blue forms merge. Over several days this fall, a crew of volunteers helped Grade install the work.—Photo by Mark Stone

Portrait of an Artist

First Lady Visits Fred Hutch

Jacob Lawrence is celebrated at his namesake gallery

OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER ERIN SCOTT

Jill Biden’s listening tour brings her to cancer center

By Diane Mapes

In a tribute to the legendary artist Jacob Lawrence and to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Jacob Lawrence Gallery, the School of Art + Art History + Design unveiled a portrait of Lawrence created by Seattle-based artist Barbara Earl Thomas, ’77, and commissioned by Allan, ’75, and Mary Kollar, ’65, ’82.

In late September, Thomas’ new work titled “Jacob and the Builders” was installed at the entrance of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery in its new location within the Art Building and closer to the Quad.

Lawrence, a UW art professor from 1970 to 1985, mentored and taught many students, including Thomas and Allan Kollar. “This portrait is a tribute to dedicated educators at the University of Washington and the difference they make in their students’ lives,” Kollar said. “It serves as an important reminder of Jacob Lawrence’s enduring legacy.”

Thomas shared her journey creating the portrait. “It was a gift, after so many years, to sit and think deeply about Jacob and to reflect on who he was for me and so many others,” she said.“I conjured him in my mind’s eye and held his gaze to remember him as a teacher, artist, and friend. The journey was emotional because my goal was to capture not merely his likeness but his essence.”

The first lady, Jill Biden, visited the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center this fall, discussing the Biden Cancer Moonshot with Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Thomas J. Lynch Jr. and other scientists.

They also toured the lab of Cyrus Ghajar, a researcher working on an ambitious initiative to prevent metastatic cancer, the only kind that is not curable.

This marked the first visit to Fred Hutch for the first lady, but not for the Biden family. President Joe Biden visited Fred Hutch in March 2016 as part of his listening tour for the just-launched Cancer Moonshot.

“There are 18 million cancer survivors across our country, and thanks to the amazing work being done right here, we’re adding to that number each day,” Jill Biden said in her opening remarks. “I‘ve seen what’s possible when we invest in

Happy Early Birthday, Dubs!

and I reignited the Biden Cancer Moonshot, to build a world where cancer is not a death sentence. Where we stop cancer before it starts. Where we catch it early and help people live longer, happier, healthier lives.

Where we invest in innovative research and help patients and their families navigate this journey.”

At a listening session with the first lady, medical oncologist Dr. Veena Shankaran, co-director of the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, praised President Biden’s plan to ban medical debt from credit reports.

MARK STONE

Get your party hats out! Our lovable Dubs is going to turn 6 years old on Jan. 4. The 14th official live mascot of the UW, Dubs II was born on Jan. 4, 2018. He was adopted by a family of UW alumni and now resides in Sammamish with two human siblings and two furry siblings. This charming and talkative Alaskan malamute, the largest and strongest of all Husky breeds, became the official mascot in 2019 after Dubs I called it a career after 2018.

cutting-edge research. And I’ve seen that there’s so much hope to be found. I saw that hope here today as well. Your work will change lives and save lives.”

In her remarks, Biden asked researchers, clinicians and others at Fred Hutch to embrace the necessary urgency and “lean in a little more” on behalf of all the patients and families affected by cancer.

“Of all the things cancer steals from us, time is the cruelest,” she said. “We can’t afford to wait another minute for better solutions, better treatments, better cures.

That’s why my husband, President Biden,

Fred Hutch/UW/ Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium researchers (from left) Drs. Nancy Davidson, Veena Shankaran, Doug Hawkins, Rachel Yung (second from right) and Scott Baker (far right) met with the first lady, Jill Biden, (center, in green) on Sept. 25 to discuss the Cancer Moonshot at Fred Hutch. Leah Marcoe, a Seattle breast cancer survivor, (beside Biden), was invited to share her story with the first lady.

this day forward, you are “a From Husky. �he next few years are

just the start of that journey but they will form a solid foundation that will support you for the rest of your lives.

”

SPIKE MAFFORD

14

UW MAGAZINE

—Provost Tricia Serio, welcoming the UW’s incoming class and families at the University’s 40th annual New Student Convocation, which was held Sept. 24 in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Of the incoming class of approximately 7,000 students, about 4,450 freshmen are from Washington state. Of the 1,500 transfer students, about 1,250 are from Washington community colleges.

WINTER 2023

15

Portrait of an Artist

First Lady Visits Fred Hutch

Jacob Lawrence is celebrated at his namesake gallery

OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER ERIN SCOTT

Jill Biden’s listening tour brings her to cancer center

By Diane Mapes

In a tribute to the legendary artist Jacob Lawrence and to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Jacob Lawrence Gallery, the School of Art + Art History + Design unveiled a portrait of Lawrence created by Seattle-based artist Barbara Earl Thomas, ’77, and commissioned by Allan, ’75, and Mary Kollar, ’65, ’82.

In late September, Thomas’ new work titled “Jacob and the Builders” was installed at the entrance of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery in its new location within the Art Building and closer to the Quad.

Lawrence, a UW art professor from 1970 to 1985, mentored and taught many students, including Thomas and Allan Kollar. “This portrait is a tribute to dedicated educators at the University of Washington and the difference they make in their students’ lives,” Kollar said. “It serves as an important reminder of Jacob Lawrence’s enduring legacy.”

Thomas shared her journey creating the portrait. “It was a gift, after so many years, to sit and think deeply about Jacob and to reflect on who he was for me and so many others,” she said.“I conjured him in my mind’s eye and held his gaze to remember him as a teacher, artist, and friend. The journey was emotional because my goal was to capture not merely his likeness but his essence.”

The first lady, Jill Biden, visited the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center this fall, discussing the Biden Cancer Moonshot with Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Thomas J. Lynch Jr. and other scientists.

They also toured the lab of Cyrus Ghajar, a researcher working on an ambitious initiative to prevent metastatic cancer, the only kind that is not curable.

This marked the first visit to Fred Hutch for the first lady, but not for the Biden family. President Joe Biden visited Fred Hutch in March 2016 as part of his listening tour for the just-launched Cancer Moonshot.

“There are 18 million cancer survivors across our country, and thanks to the amazing work being done right here, we’re adding to that number each day,” Jill Biden said in her opening remarks. “I‘ve seen what’s possible when we invest in

Happy Early Birthday, Dubs!

and I reignited the Biden Cancer Moonshot, to build a world where cancer is not a death sentence. Where we stop cancer before it starts. Where we catch it early and help people live longer, happier, healthier lives.

Where we invest in innovative research and help patients and their families navigate this journey.”

At a listening session with the first lady, medical oncologist Dr. Veena Shankaran, co-director of the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, praised President Biden’s plan to ban medical debt from credit reports.

MARK STONE

Get your party hats out! Our lovable Dubs is going to turn 6 years old on Jan. 4. The 14th official live mascot of the UW, Dubs II was born on Jan. 4, 2018. He was adopted by a family of UW alumni and now resides in Sammamish with two human siblings and two furry siblings. This charming and talkative Alaskan malamute, the largest and strongest of all Husky breeds, became the official mascot in 2019 after Dubs I called it a career after 2018.

cutting-edge research. And I’ve seen that there’s so much hope to be found. I saw that hope here today as well. Your work will change lives and save lives.”

In her remarks, Biden asked researchers, clinicians and others at Fred Hutch to embrace the necessary urgency and “lean in a little more” on behalf of all the patients and families affected by cancer.

“Of all the things cancer steals from us, time is the cruelest,” she said. “We can’t afford to wait another minute for better solutions, better treatments, better cures.

That’s why my husband, President Biden,

Fred Hutch/UW/ Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium researchers (from left) Drs. Nancy Davidson, Veena Shankaran, Doug Hawkins, Rachel Yung (second from right) and Scott Baker (far right) met with the first lady, Jill Biden, (center, in green) on Sept. 25 to discuss the Cancer Moonshot at Fred Hutch. Leah Marcoe, a Seattle breast cancer survivor, (beside Biden), was invited to share her story with the first lady.

this day forward, you are “a From Husky. �he next few years are

just the start of that journey but they will form a solid foundation that will support you for the rest of your lives.

”

SPIKE MAFFORD

14

UW MAGAZINE

—Provost Tricia Serio, welcoming the UW’s incoming class and families at the University’s 40th annual New Student Convocation, which was held Sept. 24 in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Of the incoming class of approximately 7,000 students, about 4,450 freshmen are from Washington state. Of the 1,500 transfer students, about 1,250 are from Washington community colleges.

WINTER 2023

15

RESEARCH

A Signing That Will Melt Your Heart UW NEWS (3)

Culinary historian Michael �witty joins UW Public Lectures to discuss exploring his identity through the food traditions of Africa, African America and the African Diaspora. He won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award for “�he Cooking Gene: A Journey �hrough African American Culinary History in the Old South.”

JOHNNY SHRYOK

Taste and Time Culinary scholar Michael Twitty shows how our history is baked into our food

By Shin Yu Pai Michael Twitty, culinary historian and renowned food blogger, is the first Black author to garner the James Beard Award for Writing. Known for weaving together memoir, genetic research, historic interpretation, nature study, heirloom gardening and interviews, Twitty connects food, ancestry and cultures.

His book, “The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South,” traces Twitty’s African American ancestry through food from Africa to America to examine the tensions surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue and all Southern cuisine.

The author is coming to Seattle Jan. 24 to share his experience and insights as part of the UW Public Lectures series.

Twitty started writing “The Cooking Gene” during the Obama administration and published it during Trump’s first year in office. The changing political circumstances prompted his own reassessment of racial legacies at a moment of national transition.

Over a recent phone call, Twitty described his memoir as about being vulnerable and “challenging yourself and your neighbor to acknowledge what being American really is. The fact that we’re interdependent.”

16

UW MAGAZINE

“Twitty’s book helps the reader to recognize fully the legacy of slavery that hangs on the American polity as an unpaid debt,” says Ann Anagnost, the professor of anthropology who nominated Twitty for the UW guest lecture. “It is a work that both challenges our understanding of the past while also offering us a vision for racial healing.”

As part of his talk, Twitty will touch upon his newest book, “KosherSoul,” an uncommon exploration of African-Jewish cooking. He uses interviews as a dialogue between diasporas to trace centuries-old Black Jewish lineages in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and historic Black Jewish communities across the U.S. In reflecting on both of his books for the Seattle audience, he will blend various stories of migration and how those journeys tie back to food.

Twitty’s signature literary style reflects his resistance to writing about food and culture with a stereotypical approach.

Rather than limiting himself to writing about foodways through the lens of trauma, he embraces intellectualism.

“I wanted to be a nerd like everyone else,” he says. Growing up with books, movies and documentaries, he found himself wanting to bring together everything that shaped him. “It’s about that weaving,” he says. “Why do only white girls get to write ‘Eat, Pray, Love’?” �witty’s lecture is sponsored by �he Graduate School and the Department of Anthropology. �ickets for the Jan. 24 event at �own Hall Seattle go on sale Dec. 13. �he lecture will also be livestreamed.

GPS WITH GLUGS GPS meant we no longer had to deal with unwieldy maps in the car. But if you were a scuba or snorkeling enthusiast, taking the plunge into open water could be a dislocating experience. Leave it to the UW to develop the first underwater 3D-positioning app for smart devices. When at least three divers are within about 98 feet of each other, their devices’ speakers and microphones contact each other, and the app tracks each user’s location relative to the leader.

By Jon Marmor Signing a player to the Husky men’s basketball team is always a special occasion.

But the event that occurred Oct. 18 was a huge deal, and beyond heartwarming to boot. Seven-year-old Ford Parks signed with the UW as an honorary Husky, and he will be able to participate in all team activities, practices and games for the next two years. “Today is a really special day, because we get to welcome a new member of our Husky family,” Head Coach Mike Hopkins announced. “Our program is built around toughness, grittiness and togetherness. Ford is 7, and he’s already overcome more adversity than most people do their whole lives.”

Ford, who has a rare genetic disorder,

ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

MOBILE AND REMARKABLE Tiny mobile robots could help discover natural gas leaks or keep track of warehouse inventory, but they require energy to run. So UW researchers created MilliMobile, a self-driving robot powered only by surrounding light or radio waves. “We took inspiration from intermittent computing, which breaks complex programs into small steps, so a device with very limited power can work incrementally, as energy is available,” says computer science doctoral student Kyle Johnson.

Husky basketball team welcomes 7-year-old Ford Parks, who is dealing with a rare genetic disorder

wed

trivia!

8pm

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BIRTH AND BRAINS Understanding the human brain is one of the most complex challenges scientists face.

Using new software to compare MRIs from 300 babies, a team including UW researchers recently discovered that myelin, a part of the brain’s so-called white matter, develops much more slowly after birth than in utero.

Researchers learned that delayed myelin development is associated with developmental and mental-health disorders including chronic depression and schizophrenia.

$5 wells + beers

HUSKY GAMEDAYS

was connected with the UW through Team IMPACT, a Boston-based nonprofit that matches children who have chronic and serious illnesses with college athletic teams in all 50 states.

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THIRSTY THURSDAY 8PM

$5 LONG ISLAND ICED TEAS • $4 SLICES

$6 PITCHERS • $4 SHOTS

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8PM

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JELLO SHOTS • $5 WELLS • $4 BEERS $12 SLICE & WELL DRINK • MIND ERASER

BIG MARIO’S NORTHLAKE TAVERN

Seven-year-old Ford Parks joins head coach Mike Hopkins and the rest of the Husky men’s basketball team.

In the past five years, Team IMPACT has matched children across the UW’s softball, women’s basketball and men’s soccer programs. More information is available at www.teamimpact.org.

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WINTER 2023

17

RESEARCH

A Signing That Will Melt Your Heart UW NEWS (3)

Culinary historian Michael �witty joins UW Public Lectures to discuss exploring his identity through the food traditions of Africa, African America and the African Diaspora. He won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award for “�he Cooking Gene: A Journey �hrough African American Culinary History in the Old South.”

JOHNNY SHRYOK

Taste and Time Culinary scholar Michael Twitty shows how our history is baked into our food

By Shin Yu Pai Michael Twitty, culinary historian and renowned food blogger, is the first Black author to garner the James Beard Award for Writing. Known for weaving together memoir, genetic research, historic interpretation, nature study, heirloom gardening and interviews, Twitty connects food, ancestry and cultures.

His book, “The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South,” traces Twitty’s African American ancestry through food from Africa to America to examine the tensions surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue and all Southern cuisine.

The author is coming to Seattle Jan. 24 to share his experience and insights as part of the UW Public Lectures series.

Twitty started writing “The Cooking Gene” during the Obama administration and published it during Trump’s first year in office. The changing political circumstances prompted his own reassessment of racial legacies at a moment of national transition.

Over a recent phone call, Twitty described his memoir as about being vulnerable and “challenging yourself and your neighbor to acknowledge what being American really is. The fact that we’re interdependent.”

16

UW MAGAZINE

“Twitty’s book helps the reader to recognize fully the legacy of slavery that hangs on the American polity as an unpaid debt,” says Ann Anagnost, the professor of anthropology who nominated Twitty for the UW guest lecture. “It is a work that both challenges our understanding of the past while also offering us a vision for racial healing.”

As part of his talk, Twitty will touch upon his newest book, “KosherSoul,” an uncommon exploration of African-Jewish cooking. He uses interviews as a dialogue between diasporas to trace centuries-old Black Jewish lineages in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and historic Black Jewish communities across the U.S. In reflecting on both of his books for the Seattle audience, he will blend various stories of migration and how those journeys tie back to food.

Twitty’s signature literary style reflects his resistance to writing about food and culture with a stereotypical approach.

Rather than limiting himself to writing about foodways through the lens of trauma, he embraces intellectualism.

“I wanted to be a nerd like everyone else,” he says. Growing up with books, movies and documentaries, he found himself wanting to bring together everything that shaped him. “It’s about that weaving,” he says. “Why do only white girls get to write ‘Eat, Pray, Love’?” �witty’s lecture is sponsored by �he Graduate School and the Department of Anthropology. �ickets for the Jan. 24 event at �own Hall Seattle go on sale Dec. 13. �he lecture will also be livestreamed.

GPS WITH GLUGS GPS meant we no longer had to deal with unwieldy maps in the car. But if you were a scuba or snorkeling enthusiast, taking the plunge into open water could be a dislocating experience. Leave it to the UW to develop the first underwater 3D-positioning app for smart devices. When at least three divers are within about 98 feet of each other, their devices’ speakers and microphones contact each other, and the app tracks each user’s location relative to the leader.

By Jon Marmor Signing a player to the Husky men’s basketball team is always a special occasion.

But the event that occurred Oct. 18 was a huge deal, and beyond heartwarming to boot. Seven-year-old Ford Parks signed with the UW as an honorary Husky, and he will be able to participate in all team activities, practices and games for the next two years. “Today is a really special day, because we get to welcome a new member of our Husky family,” Head Coach Mike Hopkins announced. “Our program is built around toughness, grittiness and togetherness. Ford is 7, and he’s already overcome more adversity than most people do their whole lives.”

Ford, who has a rare genetic disorder,

ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

MOBILE AND REMARKABLE Tiny mobile robots could help discover natural gas leaks or keep track of warehouse inventory, but they require energy to run. So UW researchers created MilliMobile, a self-driving robot powered only by surrounding light or radio waves. “We took inspiration from intermittent computing, which breaks complex programs into small steps, so a device with very limited power can work incrementally, as energy is available,” says computer science doctoral student Kyle Johnson.

Husky basketball team welcomes 7-year-old Ford Parks, who is dealing with a rare genetic disorder

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BIRTH AND BRAINS Understanding the human brain is one of the most complex challenges scientists face.

Using new software to compare MRIs from 300 babies, a team including UW researchers recently discovered that myelin, a part of the brain’s so-called white matter, develops much more slowly after birth than in utero.

Researchers learned that delayed myelin development is associated with developmental and mental-health disorders including chronic depression and schizophrenia.

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HUSKY GAMEDAYS

was connected with the UW through Team IMPACT, a Boston-based nonprofit that matches children who have chronic and serious illnesses with college athletic teams in all 50 states.

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Seven-year-old Ford Parks joins head coach Mike Hopkins and the rest of the Husky men’s basketball team.

In the past five years, Team IMPACT has matched children across the UW’s softball, women’s basketball and men’s soccer programs. More information is available at www.teamimpact.org.

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WINTER 2023

17

Double Fault

Solving a seismic mystery, researchers prove the Northwest was once hit with a double whammy

By Shin Yu Pai

Fans turn out en masse for ESPN’s College GameDay on Red Square before the Oregon game

By Jon Marmor

No, that wasn’t an earthquake you felt the morning of Saturday, Oct. 14.

It was just a few thousand Husky football fans who took over Red Square to show the national audience of ESPN’s College GameDay how they felt about the boys in purple and gold. A few hours later, the Huskies took down Oregon 36-33 in Husky Stadium.

APRIL HONG

18

UW MAGAZINE

PAMELA DORE

Show Stopper

Red Square could have been renamed Purple Square after a few thousand Husky faithful turned out the morning of Oct. 14 for ESPN’s College GameDay, the popular national pregame show that aired several hours before the eagerly awaited showdown between Pac-12 powerhouses UW and Oregon.

It was the first time since 2016 that ESPN held its live-broadcast pregame show on the Washington campus. That year, the Huskies became the first and only Pac-12 team to make it to the College Football Playoff. Here’s hoping that good luck rubs off on the boys in purple and gold this season.

Several celebrities joined the festivities, led by actor and former Husky tight end Joel McHale, ’95, ’00, who was painted half gold, half purple. One highlight: when McHale needled the Oregon faithful for being able to pump their own gas.

This was the third time ESPN’s College GameDay staged its show at the UW. And this meeting between the No. 7 Huskies and the No. 9 Ducks was the first time in the 123-year-long rivalry that they faced each other when both were ranked in the top 10.

The crowd was fired up from the get-go, creating a buzz enjoyed by everyone in purple.

“This is what I expected here,” Husky coach Kalen DeBoer said. “I didn’t expect anything less from Husky Nation. This is why I came here. This is big-time football. It’s a great place. It’s got championship bones in the program.” Those bones got a big jolt from the Huskies’ heart-thumping 36-33 victory when Oregon missed a last-second field goal.

and buildings that were not built to withstand multiple, successive ruptures. While the agencies considering these scenarios will have to take a double earthquake into account, changes to earthquake preparedness won’t happen overnight, Tobin says.

Planning for event disasters involves “many different moving parts from state emergency agencies to FEMA to building codes to city ordinances and other municipalities and regions.”

Though earthquakes happen on all these fault lines, they rarely happen at the same time. “We just have to prepare,” Tobin says.

“And we can prepare to be resilient.”

BRYAN BLACK/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Geological evidence shows that earthquakes along two fault lines in the Puget Sound area occurred around the same time in late 923 CE or early 924 CE. �he new information should help Seattle, �acoma and Olympia prepare for the “big one.”

Sending divers and chainsaws to underwater ghost forests, geologists collected tree-ring data to understand that a compound earthquake along two adjacent fault zones struck the Seattle region around 1,100 years ago. Knowing more about the quakes, which either took place at the same time or in quick succession, can help communities prepare for a “big one.”

Contributing to a University of Arizona study published in Science Advances, Brian Sherrod, ’98, a UW affiliate assistant professor and U.S. Geological Survey geologist, helped identify and sample trees from ancient forests that were submerged in Washington lakes and felled by a specific earthquake event.

The researchers collected Douglas fir rings from several sites around Western Washington and factored in traces of ancient solar storms captured in the tree rings

to determine the quakes’ timing. They found evidence that the Saddle Mountain Fault on the southeast flank of the Olympic Mountains experienced a ground rupture at about the same time as the Seattle Fault Zone, resulting in an estimated magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

Previous earthquake modeling has focused primarily on the Seattle fault and the impacts that a 7.5-magnitude earthquake could have on the region. But this new research shows evidence of quakes from distinct faults interacting with each other, says Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the UW. While Tobin didn’t participate in the study, he is interested in the results. “Those two faults could have a simultaneous single earthquake that puts us in a realm of a significantly larger earthquake than just the Seattle fault [alone]. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but 7.8 is double to triple the strength [of a single 7.5 quake].”

The findings could inform contemporary hazard models and preparations for future seismic events in the Northwest.

Emergency planning had not previously accounted for the possibility of two simultaneous earthquakes that could compromise critical infrastructure, bridges

Find Connection and Joy IN EVERYDAY LIVING

A University House retirement community is a lifestyle — one that's rich in intellectual stimulation and emotional engagement, exquisite dining and invigorating exercise classes. Providing a vibrant stage for your golden years, University Houses are designed with your future in mind.

ERA LIVING PREMIER RETIREMENT LIVING OFFERS TWO AWARD-WINNING UNIVERSITY LOCATIONS:

Both Wallingford and Issaquah locations offer special benefits for members.

Visit eraliving.com/joy or call (206) 333-0290 to learn more!

WINTER 2023

19

Double Fault

Solving a seismic mystery, researchers prove the Northwest was once hit with a double whammy

By Shin Yu Pai

Fans turn out en masse for ESPN’s College GameDay on Red Square before the Oregon game

By Jon Marmor

No, that wasn’t an earthquake you felt the morning of Saturday, Oct. 14.

It was just a few thousand Husky football fans who took over Red Square to show the national audience of ESPN’s College GameDay how they felt about the boys in purple and gold. A few hours later, the Huskies took down Oregon 36-33 in Husky Stadium.

APRIL HONG

18

UW MAGAZINE

PAMELA DORE

Show Stopper

Red Square could have been renamed Purple Square after a few thousand Husky faithful turned out the morning of Oct. 14 for ESPN’s College GameDay, the popular national pregame show that aired several hours before the eagerly awaited showdown between Pac-12 powerhouses UW and Oregon.

It was the first time since 2016 that ESPN held its live-broadcast pregame show on the Washington campus. That year, the Huskies became the first and only Pac-12 team to make it to the College Football Playoff. Here’s hoping that good luck rubs off on the boys in purple and gold this season.

Several celebrities joined the festivities, led by actor and former Husky tight end Joel McHale, ’95, ’00, who was painted half gold, half purple. One highlight: when McHale needled the Oregon faithful for being able to pump their own gas.

This was the third time ESPN’s College GameDay staged its show at the UW. And this meeting between the No. 7 Huskies and the No. 9 Ducks was the first time in the 123-year-long rivalry that they faced each other when both were ranked in the top 10.

The crowd was fired up from the get-go, creating a buzz enjoyed by everyone in purple.

“This is what I expected here,” Husky coach Kalen DeBoer said. “I didn’t expect anything less from Husky Nation. This is why I came here. This is big-time football. It’s a great place. It’s got championship bones in the program.” Those bones got a big jolt from the Huskies’ heart-thumping 36-33 victory when Oregon missed a last-second field goal.

and buildings that were not built to withstand multiple, successive ruptures. While the agencies considering these scenarios will have to take a double earthquake into account, changes to earthquake preparedness won’t happen overnight, Tobin says.

Planning for event disasters involves “many different moving parts from state emergency agencies to FEMA to building codes to city ordinances and other municipalities and regions.”

Though earthquakes happen on all these fault lines, they rarely happen at the same time. “We just have to prepare,” Tobin says.

“And we can prepare to be resilient.”

BRYAN BLACK/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Geological evidence shows that earthquakes along two fault lines in the Puget Sound area occurred around the same time in late 923 CE or early 924 CE. �he new information should help Seattle, �acoma and Olympia prepare for the “big one.”

Sending divers and chainsaws to underwater ghost forests, geologists collected tree-ring data to understand that a compound earthquake along two adjacent fault zones struck the Seattle region around 1,100 years ago. Knowing more about the quakes, which either took place at the same time or in quick succession, can help communities prepare for a “big one.”

Contributing to a University of Arizona study published in Science Advances, Brian Sherrod, ’98, a UW affiliate assistant professor and U.S. Geological Survey geologist, helped identify and sample trees from ancient forests that were submerged in Washington lakes and felled by a specific earthquake event.

The researchers collected Douglas fir rings from several sites around Western Washington and factored in traces of ancient solar storms captured in the tree rings

to determine the quakes’ timing. They found evidence that the Saddle Mountain Fault on the southeast flank of the Olympic Mountains experienced a ground rupture at about the same time as the Seattle Fault Zone, resulting in an estimated magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

Previous earthquake modeling has focused primarily on the Seattle fault and the impacts that a 7.5-magnitude earthquake could have on the region. But this new research shows evidence of quakes from distinct faults interacting with each other, says Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the UW. While Tobin didn’t participate in the study, he is interested in the results. “Those two faults could have a simultaneous single earthquake that puts us in a realm of a significantly larger earthquake than just the Seattle fault [alone]. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but 7.8 is double to triple the strength [of a single 7.5 quake].”

The findings could inform contemporary hazard models and preparations for future seismic events in the Northwest.

Emergency planning had not previously accounted for the possibility of two simultaneous earthquakes that could compromise critical infrastructure, bridges

Find Connection and Joy IN EVERYDAY LIVING

A University House retirement community is a lifestyle — one that's rich in intellectual stimulation and emotional engagement, exquisite dining and invigorating exercise classes. Providing a vibrant stage for your golden years, University Houses are designed with your future in mind.

ERA LIVING PREMIER RETIREMENT LIVING OFFERS TWO AWARD-WINNING UNIVERSITY LOCATIONS:

Both Wallingford and Issaquah locations offer special benefits for members.

Visit eraliving.com/joy or call (206) 333-0290 to learn more!

WINTER 2023

19

ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS (7)

Welcome, Class of 2023 Husky Hall of Fame Members Seven former student-athletes and one coach from seven sports receive the athletic department’s highest honor

By Jon Marmor RYAN BROWN

HUSKY HALL of FAME 2023 CLASS

Ryan Brown Track & Field 2003-2007 Ashley Charters Softball 2005-2009 Paige Mackenzie Women’s Golf 2001-2006 Steve Pelluer Football 1980-1983 Cody Pickett Football 1999-2003 Jim Smith Wrestling, head coach 1967-1975 Isaiah Thomas Men’s Basketball 2008-2011 Krista Vansant Volleyball 2011-2014

20

UW MAGAZINE

Isaiah Thomas, Paige Mackenzie and Krista Vansant dominated their sports when they were student-athletes at the University of Washington. And now they will take their rightful place with four other former student-athletes and one coach in the Husky Hall of Fame.

A dazzling left-handed 5-foot, 9-inch guard from Tacoma, Thomas had a motor that just wouldn’t quit. He was twice named first-team All-Pac-10 (2010 and 2011) and MVP of the Pac-10 Tournament (2010 and 2011), as well as 2009 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Pac-10. His buzzer-beater in the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament championship against Arizona is a play Husky fans everywhere still remember.

With 1,721 points, Thomas ranks eighth on the UW’s all-time scoring list. He went on to play 11 years in the NBA, where he was a two-time NBA All-Star and once averaged 28.9 points per game in a season with the Celtics. His Husky jersey was retired in 2018.

Vansant, ’15, a four-year letter winner from Redlands, California, is the most decorated volleyball player ever to come out of the UW. She won the Honda Award as the national player of the year for two consecutive seasons and also was named the ESPNW National Player of the Year.

She led the Huskies to the 2013 NCAA Final Four and a Pac-12 title on the way to being named the AVCA National Player of the Year. The 2013 and 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year, Vansant also was a star in the classroom, being named the 2014 Capital One All-American of the Year to go with First Team Academic AllAmerica honors. She had her jersey retired in 2019 and remains the UW career leader in kills.

The Yakima-born Mackenzie, ’06, was a four-year letter winner who finished her senior year ranked the No. 1 amateur in the nation by Golf Week. One of the most dominant woman golfers in UW history, she was a three-time first team All-Pac-10 selection (2004-2006) and was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team four times.

She finished her UW career first on UW’s all-time list with 22 top-10 finishes and played 139 career collegiate rounds, most in UW history at the time. She was also one of eight women selected to represent the U.S. in the 2006 Curtis Cup and finished the 2006 season with a 72.79 stroke average, breaking her own UW single-season record of 73.7. Mackenzie was the

ASHLEY CHARTERS

2005 PNGA Player of the Year and finished 13th at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open.

Ryan Brown, ’07, ’18, was the best 800-meter runner in UW history. The four-year letter winner from Renton won the NCAA Outdoor 800-meter championship in 2006 and the NCAA Indoor 800-meter championship in 2007. He earned nine AllAmerica honors and was awarded the 2007 Tom Hansen Conference Medal for the UW. He was also part of the record-setting UW 4x400 relay team, which placed third at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships.

He later competed professionally for Asics and made Team USA for the 2009 World Track Championships in Berlin.

Softball shortstop and second baseman Ashley Charters, ’09, became the program’s fifth-ever three-time All-American (20062007, 2009) in addition to being named a three-time All-PacificRegion and four-time All-Pac-10 honoree. She was named to two Women’s College World Series All-Tournament teams (2007 and 2009, when the Huskies won the national title).

The 2009 Tom Hansen Conference Medal winner for the UW, she finished her career with UW records for stolen bases (133) and was third all-time in hits (315) and second in batting average (.396.) She also played two years with Team USA from 2009-2010 before playing in the National Fastpitch League from 2011-2013.

Steve Pelluer, ’85, was the starting quarterback in the 1982 Rose Bowl, in which the Huskies defeated Iowa 28-0. The three-year letter winner from Bellevue received numerous honors in 1983; he was named to the All-Pac-10 team and took home the Guy Flaherty Award, Pete Gross Player of the Year and the Tom Hansen Conference Medal for the UW. After the UW, he spent eight years in the NFL, playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. His son Zeke played tight end for the Huskies from 2019-2022.

Cody Pickett, ’10, was one of the most prolific passers in Husky history, finishing with 9,949 yards (fourth in Pac-10 history) and 55 touchdown passes (fifth in Pac-10 history). When he graduated, his career passage yardage was 4,000 more than the next closest UW quarterback.

In a conference known for outstanding quarterback play, Pickett was the first Pac-10 quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season. At the end of his UW career, he owned seven of

STEVE PELLUER

KRISTA VANSANT

ISAIAH THOMAS

the top 10 UW single-game passing records. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. Jim Smith was a legend in the sport of wrestling and served as coach of the Husky wrestling team from 1967 to 1975. He led the Huskies to Pac-8 championships in 1971, 1972 and 1974. He coached his teams to top-10 finishes in the NCAA championships

PAIGE MACKENZIE

CODY PICKETT

six straight seasons, with a top finish of fourth in 1972.

In nine years of collegiate coaching, Smith produced 16 AllAmericans, including Washington’s two NCAA individual champions: Larry Owings and Bill Murdock. He was inducted into the Washington Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019 for “Lifetime Service to Wrestling.”

It was buddies at first book club.

Mirabella senior living. Sometimes scholarly.

Sometimes playful. Oftentimes, just plain fun.

Find Your People in South Lake Union

116 Fairview Ave N • Seattle • 206.337.0443 • mirabellaseattle.com Mirabella Seattle is a resident-centered, not-for-profit Pacific Retirement Services community and an equal housing opportunity.

WINTER 2023

21

ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS (7)

Welcome, Class of 2023 Husky Hall of Fame Members Seven former student-athletes and one coach from seven sports receive the athletic department’s highest honor

By Jon Marmor RYAN BROWN

HUSKY HALL of FAME 2023 CLASS

Ryan Brown Track & Field 2003-2007 Ashley Charters Softball 2005-2009 Paige Mackenzie Women’s Golf 2001-2006 Steve Pelluer Football 1980-1983 Cody Pickett Football 1999-2003 Jim Smith Wrestling, head coach 1967-1975 Isaiah Thomas Men’s Basketball 2008-2011 Krista Vansant Volleyball 2011-2014

20

UW MAGAZINE

Isaiah Thomas, Paige Mackenzie and Krista Vansant dominated their sports when they were student-athletes at the University of Washington. And now they will take their rightful place with four other former student-athletes and one coach in the Husky Hall of Fame.

A dazzling left-handed 5-foot, 9-inch guard from Tacoma, Thomas had a motor that just wouldn’t quit. He was twice named first-team All-Pac-10 (2010 and 2011) and MVP of the Pac-10 Tournament (2010 and 2011), as well as 2009 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Pac-10. His buzzer-beater in the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament championship against Arizona is a play Husky fans everywhere still remember.

With 1,721 points, Thomas ranks eighth on the UW’s all-time scoring list. He went on to play 11 years in the NBA, where he was a two-time NBA All-Star and once averaged 28.9 points per game in a season with the Celtics. His Husky jersey was retired in 2018.

Vansant, ’15, a four-year letter winner from Redlands, California, is the most decorated volleyball player ever to come out of the UW. She won the Honda Award as the national player of the year for two consecutive seasons and also was named the ESPNW National Player of the Year.

She led the Huskies to the 2013 NCAA Final Four and a Pac-12 title on the way to being named the AVCA National Player of the Year. The 2013 and 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year, Vansant also was a star in the classroom, being named the 2014 Capital One All-American of the Year to go with First Team Academic AllAmerica honors. She had her jersey retired in 2019 and remains the UW career leader in kills.

The Yakima-born Mackenzie, ’06, was a four-year letter winner who finished her senior year ranked the No. 1 amateur in the nation by Golf Week. One of the most dominant woman golfers in UW history, she was a three-time first team All-Pac-10 selection (2004-2006) and was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team four times.

She finished her UW career first on UW’s all-time list with 22 top-10 finishes and played 139 career collegiate rounds, most in UW history at the time. She was also one of eight women selected to represent the U.S. in the 2006 Curtis Cup and finished the 2006 season with a 72.79 stroke average, breaking her own UW single-season record of 73.7. Mackenzie was the

ASHLEY CHARTERS

2005 PNGA Player of the Year and finished 13th at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open.

Ryan Brown, ’07, ’18, was the best 800-meter runner in UW history. The four-year letter winner from Renton won the NCAA Outdoor 800-meter championship in 2006 and the NCAA Indoor 800-meter championship in 2007. He earned nine AllAmerica honors and was awarded the 2007 Tom Hansen Conference Medal for the UW. He was also part of the record-setting UW 4x400 relay team, which placed third at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships.

He later competed professionally for Asics and made Team USA for the 2009 World Track Championships in Berlin.

Softball shortstop and second baseman Ashley Charters, ’09, became the program’s fifth-ever three-time All-American (20062007, 2009) in addition to being named a three-time All-PacificRegion and four-time All-Pac-10 honoree. She was named to two Women’s College World Series All-Tournament teams (2007 and 2009, when the Huskies won the national title).

The 2009 Tom Hansen Conference Medal winner for the UW, she finished her career with UW records for stolen bases (133) and was third all-time in hits (315) and second in batting average (.396.) She also played two years with Team USA from 2009-2010 before playing in the National Fastpitch League from 2011-2013.

Steve Pelluer, ’85, was the starting quarterback in the 1982 Rose Bowl, in which the Huskies defeated Iowa 28-0. The three-year letter winner from Bellevue received numerous honors in 1983; he was named to the All-Pac-10 team and took home the Guy Flaherty Award, Pete Gross Player of the Year and the Tom Hansen Conference Medal for the UW. After the UW, he spent eight years in the NFL, playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. His son Zeke played tight end for the Huskies from 2019-2022.

Cody Pickett, ’10, was one of the most prolific passers in Husky history, finishing with 9,949 yards (fourth in Pac-10 history) and 55 touchdown passes (fifth in Pac-10 history). When he graduated, his career passage yardage was 4,000 more than the next closest UW quarterback.

In a conference known for outstanding quarterback play, Pickett was the first Pac-10 quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season. At the end of his UW career, he owned seven of

STEVE PELLUER

KRISTA VANSANT

ISAIAH THOMAS

the top 10 UW single-game passing records. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. Jim Smith was a legend in the sport of wrestling and served as coach of the Husky wrestling team from 1967 to 1975. He led the Huskies to Pac-8 championships in 1971, 1972 and 1974. He coached his teams to top-10 finishes in the NCAA championships

PAIGE MACKENZIE

CODY PICKETT

six straight seasons, with a top finish of fourth in 1972.

In nine years of collegiate coaching, Smith produced 16 AllAmericans, including Washington’s two NCAA individual champions: Larry Owings and Bill Murdock. He was inducted into the Washington Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019 for “Lifetime Service to Wrestling.”

It was buddies at first book club.

Mirabella senior living. Sometimes scholarly.

Sometimes playful. Oftentimes, just plain fun.

Find Your People in South Lake Union

116 Fairview Ave N • Seattle • 206.337.0443 • mirabellaseattle.com Mirabella Seattle is a resident-centered, not-for-profit Pacific Retirement Services community and an equal housing opportunity.

WINTER 2023

21

“�he Boys in the Boat” from left: Don Hume (stroke), Joe Rantz, George “Shorty” Hunt, James “Stub” McMillin, Johnny White, Gordy Adam, Chuck Day, Roger Morris; kneeling, Bobby Moch (coxswain).

STROKES GENIUS

Below, rower Joe Rantz’s Olympic jersey.

Navigating the story of the hardscrabble Husky crew of 1936,

its stunning victory in the Berlin Olympics and its powerful legacy B Y

T �hough they missed the starting signal and had to come from behind, the Huskies, in the top boat, managed a thrilling victory at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

22

UW MAGAZINE

H A N N E L O R E

HE HUSKY CLIPPER , a racing shell handbuilt

from Western red cedar, carried the UW’s Varsity 8 men’s rowing team to its dramatic win at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The boat, built in a workshop in the rafters of the ASUW Shell House, carried a story of hardship, hard work and ambition, as precious as the gold medals the eight oarsmen and their coxswain brought home from Berlin.

“A gleaming, beautiful boat” was how George Pocock, the ex-pat Englishman who designed and built the sleek 60-foot shell, described it. According to his notes, when he christened it with the team in the early spring of 1936, he wished it “success on all the waters it speeds over. Especially in Berlin.”

But that special piece of UW history, that essential heirloom of the team that brought the University of Washington to the world’s attention, once briefly floated away from campus.

In the mid-1960s, a time when the story of the Olympic champions had become embedded in the training and lore of the newest UW rowers, recognition across campus had waned.

A few who recalled the Huskies’ global triumph imagined reviving the story by hanging the Husky Clipper from the ceiling in the newly renovated Husky Den. It would, according to their letters, “improve the college tone and atmosphere of

S U D E R M A N N

Coach Al Ulbrickson (above) led UW teams to the Olympics three different times. �he first was to the Berlin games in 1936.

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY O F WA S H I N GTO N

the space.” Steve Nord, the Husky Union Building manager, went hunting for the boat.

But it was gone, says Paul Zuchowski, former associate director of the HUB and its historian emeritus. For decades, the boat had been tucked away in the racks of the Conibear Shellhouse, brought out for occasional events and whenever the crew of 1936 came to campus for a reunion. But in 1963, it had been given away, and to whom wasn’t clear, Zuchowski says.

That’s not a surprise, says head coach Michael Callahan, ’96, who as a student rowed for the UW and was captain of the 1996 team. The UW was in the habit of sharing older shells with rowing programs around the state, he says. “It was in the spirit of encouraging future athletes and strengthening the rowing community.”

A careful search revealed that the historic vessel had been delivered to Pacific Lutheran University’s emerging program 45 miles to the south. The Lutes who learned to row in the old UW boat were well aware of its history and reverently kept its original name and paint intact.

But with Nord’s request for its return and support from the UW athletics department, the rowing program arranged to trade another UW boat (so as not to leave PLU without a shell), and sent a truck down to Tacoma to bring it home. After several months of WINTER 2023

23

“�he Boys in the Boat” from left: Don Hume (stroke), Joe Rantz, George “Shorty” Hunt, James “Stub” McMillin, Johnny White, Gordy Adam, Chuck Day, Roger Morris; kneeling, Bobby Moch (coxswain).

STROKES GENIUS

Below, rower Joe Rantz’s Olympic jersey.

Navigating the story of the hardscrabble Husky crew of 1936,

its stunning victory in the Berlin Olympics and its powerful legacy B Y

T �hough they missed the starting signal and had to come from behind, the Huskies, in the top boat, managed a thrilling victory at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

22

UW MAGAZINE

H A N N E L O R E

HE HUSKY CLIPPER , a racing shell handbuilt

from Western red cedar, carried the UW’s Varsity 8 men’s rowing team to its dramatic win at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The boat, built in a workshop in the rafters of the ASUW Shell House, carried a story of hardship, hard work and ambition, as precious as the gold medals the eight oarsmen and their coxswain brought home from Berlin.

“A gleaming, beautiful boat” was how George Pocock, the ex-pat Englishman who designed and built the sleek 60-foot shell, described it. According to his notes, when he christened it with the team in the early spring of 1936, he wished it “success on all the waters it speeds over. Especially in Berlin.”

But that special piece of UW history, that essential heirloom of the team that brought the University of Washington to the world’s attention, once briefly floated away from campus.

In the mid-1960s, a time when the story of the Olympic champions had become embedded in the training and lore of the newest UW rowers, recognition across campus had waned.

A few who recalled the Huskies’ global triumph imagined reviving the story by hanging the Husky Clipper from the ceiling in the newly renovated Husky Den. It would, according to their letters, “improve the college tone and atmosphere of

S U D E R M A N N

Coach Al Ulbrickson (above) led UW teams to the Olympics three different times. �he first was to the Berlin games in 1936.

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY O F WA S H I N GTO N

the space.” Steve Nord, the Husky Union Building manager, went hunting for the boat.

But it was gone, says Paul Zuchowski, former associate director of the HUB and its historian emeritus. For decades, the boat had been tucked away in the racks of the Conibear Shellhouse, brought out for occasional events and whenever the crew of 1936 came to campus for a reunion. But in 1963, it had been given away, and to whom wasn’t clear, Zuchowski says.

That’s not a surprise, says head coach Michael Callahan, ’96, who as a student rowed for the UW and was captain of the 1996 team. The UW was in the habit of sharing older shells with rowing programs around the state, he says. “It was in the spirit of encouraging future athletes and strengthening the rowing community.”

A careful search revealed that the historic vessel had been delivered to Pacific Lutheran University’s emerging program 45 miles to the south. The Lutes who learned to row in the old UW boat were well aware of its history and reverently kept its original name and paint intact.

But with Nord’s request for its return and support from the UW athletics department, the rowing program arranged to trade another UW boat (so as not to leave PLU without a shell), and sent a truck down to Tacoma to bring it home. After several months of WINTER 2023

23

refurbishing, the racing shell was displayed in the HUB from 1967 until 1975, when it was sent back to the racks to make room for another HUB building project.

O

VER THE YEARS, the University has grown to cherish its rowing history. From the time the earliest teams dominated the West Coast to national champions and Olympians throughout the decades, the sport has often held a prominent place in campus culture. A few books, reunions and newspaper stories rekindled public interest in the story of Washington’s first Olympic team. But as the members of the 1936 crew grew older, their limelight dimmed.

By 2007, only two members of the ’36 team remained.

And Joe Rantz, the team’s No. 7 seat, was dying. His daughter, Judy Rantz Willman, had heard her father’s history in bits and pieces growing up. But it wasn’t until his last few years, when Joe moved into her home, that they started talking more deeply about his story. The move unearthed a trove of photos, news clippings and memorabilia, prompting him to share more details about his tumultuous childhood, when his folks abandoned him, and about his time on the team, where he found a new family. Willman took notes whenever a story or detail spilled from her dad. It was an incredible, against-the-odds tale, but “I could feel the threads of the story slipping away,” says Willman. “I didn’t want dad’s memories forgotten. I didn’t want what those boys had accomplished forgotten.”

At one point, she cobbled together a nine-page biography “with Dad’s childhood, the story of the race itself, the Great Depression and the building of the Grand Coulee Dam,” she says. She read it and reread it, convinced that her father’s story was exceptional.

“But I needed somebody to take a look at it who would understand if it had merit or not,” she says.

She reached out to her neighbor, Daniel James Brown, who had recently published a historical nonfiction thriller. Reading his popular book, she appreciated Brown’s penchant for blending narrative with deep research. His writing transported her to another place and time, she says.

Brown visited the Willman home and sat with Joe Rantz, evermore engrossed in his tale. The author took notes and asked questions as long as he dared.

24

UW MAGAZINE

Heading across the Atlantic on the SS Bremen, the Huskies make their way to the 1936 Summer Olympics. By winning at the Olympic trials in Princeton, New Jersey, the team won the right to represent the U.S. at the games in Germany.

After Rantz died on Sept. 10, 2007, at the age of 93, Brown turned to Willman for help filling out her father’s story, grateful for her record-keeping and observations. He also dug into the UW archives and old newspapers and visited the families of the other team members: Roger Morris, who died in 2009, Chuck Day, Johnny White, Jim McMillin, Gordy Adam, George Hunt, Don Hume and coxswain Bobby Moch.

To learn more about rowing, coaching and UW tradition, he turned to coach Michael Callahan, former coach Bob Ernst, former assistant coach Luke McGee and Eric Cohen, ’83, who was a UW coxswain and has served as the team historian since 2003.

Like Rantz, Cohen could describe the experience of being on crew, the training and the number of rowers who would turn out and would then, over the first few arduous months, drop out. “It’s grueling work in grueling conditions,” Cohen says. “It does require a certain personality.”

As a campus right on the water, the UW has a long history of rowing. It also has a history of training worldclass athletes who had never before stepped into a shell.

“There are so many stories to tell,” Cohen says. “As steward, coxswain and historian, I always felt uncomfortable talking about just one team.” In addition to the historic team of 1936, he points to the Husky 4+ rowers who won Olympic gold in 1948 and the many other men and women rowers who dominated in the Pac-12 and national championships over the decades. “They found the same swing,” he says, “the same love for each other.”

But they didn’t triumph in front of the Nazis on the eve of World War II, they didn’t all face the hardships of the Great Depression, and they didn’t have Daniel James Brown, who traced the path of the team of 1936 to Germany and stood on the shore where the Olympics were held to smell the air and feel the wind.

After years of research and writing, Brown navigated the story of Rantz and the team into an international best-seller. The day Brown’s agent sold the book rights, the movie rights sold too.

“The Boys in the Boat” was published in summer 2013. Within a few months, it had climbed into The New York Times best-seller list, where it took the No. 1 nonfiction spot. It sold more than 3 million copies.

“Right away when the book came out, there was buzz,” says Alanya Cannon, director of brand management at the UW and the point person for anyone who wants to use the UW campus for filming or photography. Cannon’s job evolved to include managing requests around the story.

While the University and the community around it have long been celebrating the history of the 1936 team, new fans, sometimes strangers to the Northwest, started appearing along the UW’s Lake Washington shore to wander around the ASUW Shell House and look across the waters where eight oarsmen and a coxswain found their near-perfect unison.

In 2016, a PBS American Experience episode inspired by Brown’s book carried the story of “The Boys of ’36” to an even broader national audience. “The documentary brought out a lot of material that was new to us too,” says Willman. “We had so many years of seeing these classic photographs of Dad and the guys, and now we’re watching them on film, moving and smiling and climbing out of the boat and poking each other. It was just amazing to see.” While it seemed that plans for turning the story into a movie had stalled, “we thought it was OK even if nothing else ever happens,” Willman says. “It was so good in terms of bringing the story to life.”

Then, out of the blue in 2018, news spread that MGM Studios was moving ahead with a “Boys in the Boat” movie in partnership with Smoke House Pictures, with actor and director George Clooney involved. At that point, “it became real,” Cannon says.

“Then everybody got super excited.”

People love the story of an underdog, and the UW team shows, “that you can pull yourself up from nothing and succeed,” says Clooney in an MGM featurette. “The actual story of what they went through was really spectacular.”

W

HAT DO YOU do when your university be-

comes a character in a major motion picture?

Connecting with the MGM team, the UW’s Marketing and Communications team worked with the archives and the rowing program to assemble a handbook of all things UW, adding photos, footage and biographies of the rowers and details of what their days on campus would have been like—attending classes in the Quad and walking in view of the Gothic spires of Suzzallo Library. They paired photos of the 1930s coaches shouting at the rowers through bullhorns with detail shots of the sliding seats and wooden footplates in the Husky Clipper. They showed the ASUW Shell House from all angles, including Pocock’s original boat-building studio in the back. They featured the oars with solid white blades that the Huskies always used, and Moch’s megaphone, and Rantz’s Olympic jersey. They even added a pronunciation guide for words like “SAY-lish” and “spo-CAN.” With each phase of developing the movie, the filmmakers would reach out to the UW for more details. First came building the sets—and that included a producers’ visit to campus to flesh out their understanding of the landscape and explore the shell house where the rowers would store their oars and boats. A 3D scan of the structure helped the filmmakers create an accurate to-the-inch version on the set in England. The set team wanted pictures of nuts, bolts, woodgrain and doorknobs, says Cannon.

They wanted to know the ASUW Shell House’s original paint colors. “While many requests were easy to fulfill, that one was difficult,” says Cannon. “There were no color photos.”

Next came outreach to the families for help with elements like shoes, uniforms, and buttons and zippers on the letterman jackets.

The movie team sought snapshots of the rowers to get a sense of each man’s personal style.

Someone in the chemistry department uncovered Joe Rantz’s transcripts in the basement of Benson Hall. With permission from his family, copies were shared with the filmmakers. “They really wanted to understand each member of the boat, each character,” Cannon says. “People forget they weren’t just athletes.

They were students.” Some of them were singers, some played instruments, a few worked on the Grand Coulee Dam in the summer and roomed together. “It was really fun to get to know each of them in a more in-depth way,” Cannon says. “It’s MGM’s story to tell, but it’s our legacy.”

T

George Pocock designed and built the Huskies’ racing shells in his workshop at the back of the ASUW Shell House.

T

HE STORY and the legacy met up in summer 2022.

Coach Callahan and a group of UW rowers had traveled to England for the Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames River. There, the four-oared men’s crew won the Visitors Challenge Cup with a record time.

Sweetening their experience, about 25 rowers and coaches visited the movie set about an hour away. “When we got off the bus, I was blown away,” Callahan says. The sets looked exactly like structures on the Seattle campus. They even saw the Husky Clipper, which had been recreated in a workshop a few miles from where George Pocock grew up.

While the UW rowers were curious about the actors, the actors were just as excited to see the team, says Callahan. Once they had completed filming their scene, they headed over to the real rowers with questions. “The way they just embraced us, it was a real moment,” says Callahan.

One year later, a semi-trailer truck delivered an unassuming orange storage container to the UW campus in Seattle. Callahan and members of the rowing team waited in the parking lot as the lock was cracked open and the doors swung wide. Inside were

props and pieces from the film. They found the replica Husky Clipper as well as racing pennants and photos, notes and letters that were used as props—all gifted from the filmmakers.

While eagles circled overhead on the warm summer day, the rowers gently lifted the reproduction racing shell out of its transport and carried it down to the Conibear Shellhouse, adding another artifact to the 1936 story.

Over the decades, other movies have featured the UW. Read about them at magazine.uw.edu

ODAY, THE ORIGINAL Husky Clipper is polished and restored and floats upside down from the rafters of the Conibear Shellhouse dining hall. Studentathletes from nearly every sport pass beneath it each day. Visitors from around the world sometimes wander in hoping to catch a glimpse of it, often clutching copies of “The Boys in the Boat.”

Freshman rowers at the UW get the same thrill when they start their training beneath the Husky Clipper and hear the story of the 1936 crew. Tradition has it that they must learn two things: how to sing “Bow Down to Washington” and the names of all nine members of the team. “The story of the 1936 Olympic champions is central to becoming a UW oarsman,” Callahan says.

UW rowing’s connection to the story has never faded, he adds.

“It has been so central to us. Now everyone’s embracing it.”

Willman understands. She still gets chills in the old ASUW Shell House, which the University is working to restore and renovate. She feels the presence of the many rowers who housed their boats and oars there. “It’s almost like if you turn around fast enough, you can see them,” she says. “When you go into Pocock’s shop, it’s kind of the same thing.”

And it’s even more true when she stands beneath the Husky Clipper. “You look up into it and you see where each one of those guys was sitting, where they put their feet into the foot stretchers,” she says. “It makes your hair stand up on the back of your neck.”

WINTER 2023

25

refurbishing, the racing shell was displayed in the HUB from 1967 until 1975, when it was sent back to the racks to make room for another HUB building project.

O

VER THE YEARS, the University has grown to cherish its rowing history. From the time the earliest teams dominated the West Coast to national champions and Olympians throughout the decades, the sport has often held a prominent place in campus culture. A few books, reunions and newspaper stories rekindled public interest in the story of Washington’s first Olympic team. But as the members of the 1936 crew grew older, their limelight dimmed.

By 2007, only two members of the ’36 team remained.

And Joe Rantz, the team’s No. 7 seat, was dying. His daughter, Judy Rantz Willman, had heard her father’s history in bits and pieces growing up. But it wasn’t until his last few years, when Joe moved into her home, that they started talking more deeply about his story. The move unearthed a trove of photos, news clippings and memorabilia, prompting him to share more details about his tumultuous childhood, when his folks abandoned him, and about his time on the team, where he found a new family. Willman took notes whenever a story or detail spilled from her dad. It was an incredible, against-the-odds tale, but “I could feel the threads of the story slipping away,” says Willman. “I didn’t want dad’s memories forgotten. I didn’t want what those boys had accomplished forgotten.”

At one point, she cobbled together a nine-page biography “with Dad’s childhood, the story of the race itself, the Great Depression and the building of the Grand Coulee Dam,” she says. She read it and reread it, convinced that her father’s story was exceptional.

“But I needed somebody to take a look at it who would understand if it had merit or not,” she says.

She reached out to her neighbor, Daniel James Brown, who had recently published a historical nonfiction thriller. Reading his popular book, she appreciated Brown’s penchant for blending narrative with deep research. His writing transported her to another place and time, she says.

Brown visited the Willman home and sat with Joe Rantz, evermore engrossed in his tale. The author took notes and asked questions as long as he dared.

24

UW MAGAZINE

Heading across the Atlantic on the SS Bremen, the Huskies make their way to the 1936 Summer Olympics. By winning at the Olympic trials in Princeton, New Jersey, the team won the right to represent the U.S. at the games in Germany.

After Rantz died on Sept. 10, 2007, at the age of 93, Brown turned to Willman for help filling out her father’s story, grateful for her record-keeping and observations. He also dug into the UW archives and old newspapers and visited the families of the other team members: Roger Morris, who died in 2009, Chuck Day, Johnny White, Jim McMillin, Gordy Adam, George Hunt, Don Hume and coxswain Bobby Moch.

To learn more about rowing, coaching and UW tradition, he turned to coach Michael Callahan, former coach Bob Ernst, former assistant coach Luke McGee and Eric Cohen, ’83, who was a UW coxswain and has served as the team historian since 2003.

Like Rantz, Cohen could describe the experience of being on crew, the training and the number of rowers who would turn out and would then, over the first few arduous months, drop out. “It’s grueling work in grueling conditions,” Cohen says. “It does require a certain personality.”

As a campus right on the water, the UW has a long history of rowing. It also has a history of training worldclass athletes who had never before stepped into a shell.

“There are so many stories to tell,” Cohen says. “As steward, coxswain and historian, I always felt uncomfortable talking about just one team.” In addition to the historic team of 1936, he points to the Husky 4+ rowers who won Olympic gold in 1948 and the many other men and women rowers who dominated in the Pac-12 and national championships over the decades. “They found the same swing,” he says, “the same love for each other.”

But they didn’t triumph in front of the Nazis on the eve of World War II, they didn’t all face the hardships of the Great Depression, and they didn’t have Daniel James Brown, who traced the path of the team of 1936 to Germany and stood on the shore where the Olympics were held to smell the air and feel the wind.

After years of research and writing, Brown navigated the story of Rantz and the team into an international best-seller. The day Brown’s agent sold the book rights, the movie rights sold too.

“The Boys in the Boat” was published in summer 2013. Within a few months, it had climbed into The New York Times best-seller list, where it took the No. 1 nonfiction spot. It sold more than 3 million copies.

“Right away when the book came out, there was buzz,” says Alanya Cannon, director of brand management at the UW and the point person for anyone who wants to use the UW campus for filming or photography. Cannon’s job evolved to include managing requests around the story.

While the University and the community around it have long been celebrating the history of the 1936 team, new fans, sometimes strangers to the Northwest, started appearing along the UW’s Lake Washington shore to wander around the ASUW Shell House and look across the waters where eight oarsmen and a coxswain found their near-perfect unison.

In 2016, a PBS American Experience episode inspired by Brown’s book carried the story of “The Boys of ’36” to an even broader national audience. “The documentary brought out a lot of material that was new to us too,” says Willman. “We had so many years of seeing these classic photographs of Dad and the guys, and now we’re watching them on film, moving and smiling and climbing out of the boat and poking each other. It was just amazing to see.” While it seemed that plans for turning the story into a movie had stalled, “we thought it was OK even if nothing else ever happens,” Willman says. “It was so good in terms of bringing the story to life.”

Then, out of the blue in 2018, news spread that MGM Studios was moving ahead with a “Boys in the Boat” movie in partnership with Smoke House Pictures, with actor and director George Clooney involved. At that point, “it became real,” Cannon says.

“Then everybody got super excited.”

People love the story of an underdog, and the UW team shows, “that you can pull yourself up from nothing and succeed,” says Clooney in an MGM featurette. “The actual story of what they went through was really spectacular.”

W

HAT DO YOU do when your university be-

comes a character in a major motion picture?

Connecting with the MGM team, the UW’s Marketing and Communications team worked with the archives and the rowing program to assemble a handbook of all things UW, adding photos, footage and biographies of the rowers and details of what their days on campus would have been like—attending classes in the Quad and walking in view of the Gothic spires of Suzzallo Library. They paired photos of the 1930s coaches shouting at the rowers through bullhorns with detail shots of the sliding seats and wooden footplates in the Husky Clipper. They showed the ASUW Shell House from all angles, including Pocock’s original boat-building studio in the back. They featured the oars with solid white blades that the Huskies always used, and Moch’s megaphone, and Rantz’s Olympic jersey. They even added a pronunciation guide for words like “SAY-lish” and “spo-CAN.” With each phase of developing the movie, the filmmakers would reach out to the UW for more details. First came building the sets—and that included a producers’ visit to campus to flesh out their understanding of the landscape and explore the shell house where the rowers would store their oars and boats. A 3D scan of the structure helped the filmmakers create an accurate to-the-inch version on the set in England. The set team wanted pictures of nuts, bolts, woodgrain and doorknobs, says Cannon.

They wanted to know the ASUW Shell House’s original paint colors. “While many requests were easy to fulfill, that one was difficult,” says Cannon. “There were no color photos.”

Next came outreach to the families for help with elements like shoes, uniforms, and buttons and zippers on the letterman jackets.

The movie team sought snapshots of the rowers to get a sense of each man’s personal style.

Someone in the chemistry department uncovered Joe Rantz’s transcripts in the basement of Benson Hall. With permission from his family, copies were shared with the filmmakers. “They really wanted to understand each member of the boat, each character,” Cannon says. “People forget they weren’t just athletes.

They were students.” Some of them were singers, some played instruments, a few worked on the Grand Coulee Dam in the summer and roomed together. “It was really fun to get to know each of them in a more in-depth way,” Cannon says. “It’s MGM’s story to tell, but it’s our legacy.”

T

George Pocock designed and built the Huskies’ racing shells in his workshop at the back of the ASUW Shell House.

T

HE STORY and the legacy met up in summer 2022.

Coach Callahan and a group of UW rowers had traveled to England for the Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames River. There, the four-oared men’s crew won the Visitors Challenge Cup with a record time.

Sweetening their experience, about 25 rowers and coaches visited the movie set about an hour away. “When we got off the bus, I was blown away,” Callahan says. The sets looked exactly like structures on the Seattle campus. They even saw the Husky Clipper, which had been recreated in a workshop a few miles from where George Pocock grew up.

While the UW rowers were curious about the actors, the actors were just as excited to see the team, says Callahan. Once they had completed filming their scene, they headed over to the real rowers with questions. “The way they just embraced us, it was a real moment,” says Callahan.

One year later, a semi-trailer truck delivered an unassuming orange storage container to the UW campus in Seattle. Callahan and members of the rowing team waited in the parking lot as the lock was cracked open and the doors swung wide. Inside were

props and pieces from the film. They found the replica Husky Clipper as well as racing pennants and photos, notes and letters that were used as props—all gifted from the filmmakers.

While eagles circled overhead on the warm summer day, the rowers gently lifted the reproduction racing shell out of its transport and carried it down to the Conibear Shellhouse, adding another artifact to the 1936 story.

Over the decades, other movies have featured the UW. Read about them at magazine.uw.edu

ODAY, THE ORIGINAL Husky Clipper is polished and restored and floats upside down from the rafters of the Conibear Shellhouse dining hall. Studentathletes from nearly every sport pass beneath it each day. Visitors from around the world sometimes wander in hoping to catch a glimpse of it, often clutching copies of “The Boys in the Boat.”

Freshman rowers at the UW get the same thrill when they start their training beneath the Husky Clipper and hear the story of the 1936 crew. Tradition has it that they must learn two things: how to sing “Bow Down to Washington” and the names of all nine members of the team. “The story of the 1936 Olympic champions is central to becoming a UW oarsman,” Callahan says.

UW rowing’s connection to the story has never faded, he adds.

“It has been so central to us. Now everyone’s embracing it.”

Willman understands. She still gets chills in the old ASUW Shell House, which the University is working to restore and renovate. She feels the presence of the many rowers who housed their boats and oars there. “It’s almost like if you turn around fast enough, you can see them,” she says. “When you go into Pocock’s shop, it’s kind of the same thing.”

And it’s even more true when she stands beneath the Husky Clipper. “You look up into it and you see where each one of those guys was sitting, where they put their feet into the foot stretchers,” she says. “It makes your hair stand up on the back of your neck.”

WINTER 2023

25

Wounds to Land, Mind, Body

O

N A D A R K D E C E M B E R N I G H T I N 1 9 6 7,

four young men stood together in the barracks at Fort Polk, Louisiana, a one-dollar bill held between them. The quartet had spent the previous six months together, starting with three months

Decades after serving in the Vietnam War— and vowing to never return—Dr. Mike Fey made peace with his past by developing a dental curriculum in Hanoi

of basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington, followed by another three at Fort Polk, where they completed advanced infantry training. Now, the men, in their early 20s, were on the precipice

Vietnam's countryside has been an eye-opening study in contrasts over the past 60 years, from the war-ravaged, bombed fields and hills in the 1960s to the spectacular rice fields that can be seen today.

of a life-altering assignment: they would be heading to Vietnam the next day. In an act of solidarity—with a dash of youthful hopefulness—they tore the dollar bill into four sections, each

By Rachel Gallaher Photos by Mike Fey from his book, “A Faraway Place: Revisiting Vietnam”

tucking their quadrant into a pocket or wallet for safekeeping.

The plan was that each would take their piece with them, and they would eventually reunite after the war.

26

UW MAGAZINE

WINTER 2023

27

Wounds to Land, Mind, Body

O

N A D A R K D E C E M B E R N I G H T I N 1 9 6 7,

four young men stood together in the barracks at Fort Polk, Louisiana, a one-dollar bill held between them. The quartet had spent the previous six months together, starting with three months

Decades after serving in the Vietnam War— and vowing to never return—Dr. Mike Fey made peace with his past by developing a dental curriculum in Hanoi

of basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington, followed by another three at Fort Polk, where they completed advanced infantry training. Now, the men, in their early 20s, were on the precipice

Vietnam's countryside has been an eye-opening study in contrasts over the past 60 years, from the war-ravaged, bombed fields and hills in the 1960s to the spectacular rice fields that can be seen today.

of a life-altering assignment: they would be heading to Vietnam the next day. In an act of solidarity—with a dash of youthful hopefulness—they tore the dollar bill into four sections, each

By Rachel Gallaher Photos by Mike Fey from his book, “A Faraway Place: Revisiting Vietnam”

tucking their quadrant into a pocket or wallet for safekeeping.

The plan was that each would take their piece with them, and they would eventually reunite after the war.

26

UW MAGAZINE

WINTER 2023

27

Mike Fey (right) and a group of Vietnamese children are all smiles. �his photo was taken

by Mr. Cu, owner of the Mandarin Cafe who was known for his banana pancakes. Mr. Cu was also a professional photographer and tour director who during the Vietnam War served as a fireman on an American military base. He stayed in Hue and he and Mike developed a friendship through their passion for photography.

During a visit to Hanoi in 2010, Fey’s wife, Donna, joins a group of employees and students at a new orthodontic clinic within the dental institute in Hanoi.

28

UW MAGAZINE

“As far as I know, only three of us made it back,” says Dr. Michael Fey, who was a 21-year-old private at the time. “During the war, I always had three things with me: my camera, three photo albums with pictures of my family and my fiancé Donna, and that piece of the one-dollar bill.”

Fey was lucky to make it back—he spent a year in Vietnam and received two Purple Hearts after being wounded in action—and as soon as he arrived home to Seattle, he buckled down and forged a solid path forward. “I spent two months in the hospital in Japan,” he says, “and it gave me perspective. I told myself that if I came home, which was not guaranteed, I was going to push myself to the limit and do the best that I could in life.”

It wasn’t that Fey was a slacker or a poor student—he had adequate grades and had spent the last two years of high school playing on the tennis team at Highline High School. What he lacked was focus. A sense of direction. “I spent a lot of time hanging with my friends, goofing off, playing tennis,” he admits.

“My parents told me, ‘We aren’t going to send you to a four-year college until you have a vision.’”

After graduating in 1964, Fey enrolled at Highline College, the first community college in King County. He spent a year and a half there before transferring to the University of Washington in 1966 to study pharmacy. By then, the United States had entered the Vietnam War, and the government required all men ages 18 to 35 to sign up for the draft. “A deferment was granted to those who were enrolled in college and continued normal progress towards graduation,” Fey writes in a self-published personal memoir and photo collection titled “A Faraway Place: Revisiting Vietnam.” “So, by being in college, I thought I was safe from the war.”

Fey adapted quickly to life at the UW. He attended classes, worked at a local menswear store and caught the attention of Donna—an attractive student in several of his chemistry classes. Soon, they were dating.

According to Fey, within a month or so of his and Donna’s first date, “the draft caught up with me.” Some of his credits from community college hadn’t been accepted by UW, thus flagging him as not having made “normal progress” toward a college degree. Fey appealed to the draft board, but “it was the height of war,” he recalls. “I pleaded my case, and they just kind of laughed and said, ‘Well, son, they’ll probably just put you in pharmacy, and you’ll come out and have your GI benefits and can finish your education.’”

After his unsuccessful appeal, Fey found himself in military training in the summer of 1967, and by that December, he was on the ground in Vietnam. Fey doesn’t go into much detail about the war—it’s an experience he attempted to put behind him upon returning to Seattle in 1968. “My kids didn’t know until they were in college that I fought in the war,” he says. “Like many soldiers, when I left, I vowed I would never go back.”

While serving, Fey took hundreds of photos that captured the experience better than words ever could. Flipping through “A Faraway Place,” one encounters dozens of young men thrown into unfathomable chaos thousands of miles from home. Smoke-filled fields, baby-faced boys with guns, and helicopters and tanks descending into territories unknown.

There also are everyday tableau: two soldiers taking a field bath in a stream, someone getting a haircut and enlisted men

interacting with local children.

After returning to Seattle, Fey re-enrolled at the UW and doubled down on academics, receiving his degree in pharmacy in 1971, a DDS in 1975 and a combined pediatric dentistry and orthodontics certificate in 1978. “One professor, Wendel Nelson, took me under his arm,” Fey says. “I conducted research [projects] for him, and the work motivated me. I realized I could do whatever I wanted if I really worked at it.” Fey went on to spend more than 40 years in dentistry as an educator at the UW and running an orthodontics practice. (His daughter, Dr. Kristina Grey, ’98, took over when Fey retired in 2016.)

In 2000, Fey returned to Vietnam. “I was drawn back primarily because of photography,” he says. He and Donna had become involved with a Bainbridge Island-based nonprofit called PeaceTrees Vietnam. Founded in 1995 by Danaan Parry and Jerilyn Brusseau (whose brother Daniel Cheney was killed in the war), PeaceTrees Vietnam was the first U.S. organization permitted to sponsor humanitarian demining efforts in Vietnam.

Since its launch, the group has cleared 3,265 acres of land.

Fey and his wife made their 2000 trip with PeaceTrees Vietnam. “Before we left, a friend and colleague reached out,” he recalls. “He had worked in a clinic and helped at the Hanoi School of Medicine. He said, ‘Would you be interested in coming by while you’re there?’” Fey and Donna were interested, and during their visit, they learned that the training techniques

I spent two months in the hospital in Japan, and it gave me perspective.

I told myself that if I came home, which was not guaranteed, I was going to push myself to the limit and do the best that I could in life. and requirements to become a dentist were very different from those in the United States. In Vietnam at the time, dentistry was under the umbrella of medicine—there were no independent dental schools.

During a second visit, in 2002, Fey listened to leaders at the institute as they talked about wanting to separate the two departments and establish an independent dental institute with a new curriculum. “With my background in dental education and curriculum, I was curious about the curriculum design for the new school,” Fey writes in his memoir. “The rector and vice-rector invited me to participate in the overall curriculum development, but more specifically, the orthodontic and pediatric sections.

Thus began another journey that added to my personal richness with the next eight years.”

Fey and Donna threw themselves into helping the cause— guiding the curriculum development, helping establish a library and an orthodontics department, and teaching conversational English. Although the vision for establishing an independent dental institute has yet to be realized, Fey helped develop a distinct path for training dentists separately from medical doctors. He calls the year spent in Vietnam during the war “the lowest point in my life,” but his unexpected return brought about a new sense of purpose and a new passion for the country he once pledged never to step foot in again. “I’ve met a lot of interesting people and made a lot of good friends along the way,” Fey reflects. “I love teaching, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to share that.”

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29

Mike Fey (right) and a group of Vietnamese children are all smiles. �his photo was taken

by Mr. Cu, owner of the Mandarin Cafe who was known for his banana pancakes. Mr. Cu was also a professional photographer and tour director who during the Vietnam War served as a fireman on an American military base. He stayed in Hue and he and Mike developed a friendship through their passion for photography.

During a visit to Hanoi in 2010, Fey’s wife, Donna, joins a group of employees and students at a new orthodontic clinic within the dental institute in Hanoi.

28

UW MAGAZINE

“As far as I know, only three of us made it back,” says Dr. Michael Fey, who was a 21-year-old private at the time. “During the war, I always had three things with me: my camera, three photo albums with pictures of my family and my fiancé Donna, and that piece of the one-dollar bill.”

Fey was lucky to make it back—he spent a year in Vietnam and received two Purple Hearts after being wounded in action—and as soon as he arrived home to Seattle, he buckled down and forged a solid path forward. “I spent two months in the hospital in Japan,” he says, “and it gave me perspective. I told myself that if I came home, which was not guaranteed, I was going to push myself to the limit and do the best that I could in life.”

It wasn’t that Fey was a slacker or a poor student—he had adequate grades and had spent the last two years of high school playing on the tennis team at Highline High School. What he lacked was focus. A sense of direction. “I spent a lot of time hanging with my friends, goofing off, playing tennis,” he admits.

“My parents told me, ‘We aren’t going to send you to a four-year college until you have a vision.’”

After graduating in 1964, Fey enrolled at Highline College, the first community college in King County. He spent a year and a half there before transferring to the University of Washington in 1966 to study pharmacy. By then, the United States had entered the Vietnam War, and the government required all men ages 18 to 35 to sign up for the draft. “A deferment was granted to those who were enrolled in college and continued normal progress towards graduation,” Fey writes in a self-published personal memoir and photo collection titled “A Faraway Place: Revisiting Vietnam.” “So, by being in college, I thought I was safe from the war.”

Fey adapted quickly to life at the UW. He attended classes, worked at a local menswear store and caught the attention of Donna—an attractive student in several of his chemistry classes. Soon, they were dating.

According to Fey, within a month or so of his and Donna’s first date, “the draft caught up with me.” Some of his credits from community college hadn’t been accepted by UW, thus flagging him as not having made “normal progress” toward a college degree. Fey appealed to the draft board, but “it was the height of war,” he recalls. “I pleaded my case, and they just kind of laughed and said, ‘Well, son, they’ll probably just put you in pharmacy, and you’ll come out and have your GI benefits and can finish your education.’”

After his unsuccessful appeal, Fey found himself in military training in the summer of 1967, and by that December, he was on the ground in Vietnam. Fey doesn’t go into much detail about the war—it’s an experience he attempted to put behind him upon returning to Seattle in 1968. “My kids didn’t know until they were in college that I fought in the war,” he says. “Like many soldiers, when I left, I vowed I would never go back.”

While serving, Fey took hundreds of photos that captured the experience better than words ever could. Flipping through “A Faraway Place,” one encounters dozens of young men thrown into unfathomable chaos thousands of miles from home. Smoke-filled fields, baby-faced boys with guns, and helicopters and tanks descending into territories unknown.

There also are everyday tableau: two soldiers taking a field bath in a stream, someone getting a haircut and enlisted men

interacting with local children.

After returning to Seattle, Fey re-enrolled at the UW and doubled down on academics, receiving his degree in pharmacy in 1971, a DDS in 1975 and a combined pediatric dentistry and orthodontics certificate in 1978. “One professor, Wendel Nelson, took me under his arm,” Fey says. “I conducted research [projects] for him, and the work motivated me. I realized I could do whatever I wanted if I really worked at it.” Fey went on to spend more than 40 years in dentistry as an educator at the UW and running an orthodontics practice. (His daughter, Dr. Kristina Grey, ’98, took over when Fey retired in 2016.)

In 2000, Fey returned to Vietnam. “I was drawn back primarily because of photography,” he says. He and Donna had become involved with a Bainbridge Island-based nonprofit called PeaceTrees Vietnam. Founded in 1995 by Danaan Parry and Jerilyn Brusseau (whose brother Daniel Cheney was killed in the war), PeaceTrees Vietnam was the first U.S. organization permitted to sponsor humanitarian demining efforts in Vietnam.

Since its launch, the group has cleared 3,265 acres of land.

Fey and his wife made their 2000 trip with PeaceTrees Vietnam. “Before we left, a friend and colleague reached out,” he recalls. “He had worked in a clinic and helped at the Hanoi School of Medicine. He said, ‘Would you be interested in coming by while you’re there?’” Fey and Donna were interested, and during their visit, they learned that the training techniques

I spent two months in the hospital in Japan, and it gave me perspective.

I told myself that if I came home, which was not guaranteed, I was going to push myself to the limit and do the best that I could in life. and requirements to become a dentist were very different from those in the United States. In Vietnam at the time, dentistry was under the umbrella of medicine—there were no independent dental schools.

During a second visit, in 2002, Fey listened to leaders at the institute as they talked about wanting to separate the two departments and establish an independent dental institute with a new curriculum. “With my background in dental education and curriculum, I was curious about the curriculum design for the new school,” Fey writes in his memoir. “The rector and vice-rector invited me to participate in the overall curriculum development, but more specifically, the orthodontic and pediatric sections.

Thus began another journey that added to my personal richness with the next eight years.”

Fey and Donna threw themselves into helping the cause— guiding the curriculum development, helping establish a library and an orthodontics department, and teaching conversational English. Although the vision for establishing an independent dental institute has yet to be realized, Fey helped develop a distinct path for training dentists separately from medical doctors. He calls the year spent in Vietnam during the war “the lowest point in my life,” but his unexpected return brought about a new sense of purpose and a new passion for the country he once pledged never to step foot in again. “I’ve met a lot of interesting people and made a lot of good friends along the way,” Fey reflects. “I love teaching, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to share that.”

WINTER 2023

29

When Transplants Lead to Cancer A UW center takes an innovative approach to solving one of medicine’s vexing problems: when organ transplants mysteriously lead to cancer

BY DAV I D VO L K

PHOTOS BY RICK DAHMS

Inspired by the deaths of his mother and his aunt, Dr. Chris Blosser established the UW Center for Innovations in Cancer & �ransplant. “A couple of my patients who I felt close with were diagnosed with metastatic cancer not long after their transplants, and I couldn’t help them live as well as I had hoped,” he says.

Dr. Chris Blosser, a nephrologist at UW Medicine, began to realize his dream of accelerating research for solid organ transplant and cancer treatment and for providing coordinated care to such patients with complex medical needs three years ago when he established the Center for Innovations in Cancer & Transplant [CICT] at the University of Washington and the Cancer and Organ Transplant Clinic [COTC] at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Part of the inspiration for the center arose after the deaths of his mother and his aunt.

Blosser says both women died by the age of 50 because of complications following kidney transplants. Both suffered from polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic kidney disease that forced them to live on dialysis and then receive transplants when their kidneys failed. Both women died not long after they had what should have been life-extending procedures. His mother died of a severe infection, and his aunt fell victim to lymphoma just six months after her transplant.

Looking back on it now, the way his mother lived her life may have had an even bigger impact. Although she was not aware of the cause at the time, she almost died when she gave birth to her son because of her kidney disease. Once she recovered, however, she went back to teaching nursing, working as a nurse in a hospital and caring for her family.

“That was enough of a model to say I actually think I could be someone who could help people’s lives be better. And as I looked around, being a doctor

30

UW MAGAZINE

WINTER 2023

31

When Transplants Lead to Cancer A UW center takes an innovative approach to solving one of medicine’s vexing problems: when organ transplants mysteriously lead to cancer

BY DAV I D VO L K

PHOTOS BY RICK DAHMS

Inspired by the deaths of his mother and his aunt, Dr. Chris Blosser established the UW Center for Innovations in Cancer & �ransplant. “A couple of my patients who I felt close with were diagnosed with metastatic cancer not long after their transplants, and I couldn’t help them live as well as I had hoped,” he says.

Dr. Chris Blosser, a nephrologist at UW Medicine, began to realize his dream of accelerating research for solid organ transplant and cancer treatment and for providing coordinated care to such patients with complex medical needs three years ago when he established the Center for Innovations in Cancer & Transplant [CICT] at the University of Washington and the Cancer and Organ Transplant Clinic [COTC] at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Part of the inspiration for the center arose after the deaths of his mother and his aunt.

Blosser says both women died by the age of 50 because of complications following kidney transplants. Both suffered from polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic kidney disease that forced them to live on dialysis and then receive transplants when their kidneys failed. Both women died not long after they had what should have been life-extending procedures. His mother died of a severe infection, and his aunt fell victim to lymphoma just six months after her transplant.

Looking back on it now, the way his mother lived her life may have had an even bigger impact. Although she was not aware of the cause at the time, she almost died when she gave birth to her son because of her kidney disease. Once she recovered, however, she went back to teaching nursing, working as a nurse in a hospital and caring for her family.

“That was enough of a model to say I actually think I could be someone who could help people’s lives be better. And as I looked around, being a doctor

30

UW MAGAZINE

WINTER 2023

31

and a scientist at the same time are things that I could do to help,” he says.

It wasn’t long before Blosser noticed that more of his patients developed cancer after they received transplants—the same way his aunt did. “Finally, a couple of my patients who I felt close with were diagnosed with metastatic cancer not long after their transplants, and I couldn’t help them live as well as I had hoped,” he recalls. Blosser soon came to realize that cancer had become the second-leading cause of death among kidney transplant patients. Recipients who were older or suffered from chronic conditions were more likely to develop cancer, and he was frustrated that no one was doing anything about it.

“It was the kind of thing where there were a couple of people that were talking about it, but no one was giving an effort to study the problem,” he says, adding, “So I went ahead and wrote a grant that got funded.”

A Different Vision

32

UW MAGAZINE

Coordination between caregivers is especially crucial, given the contradiction between immunotherapies and immunosuppression of individual patients as well. Paris Malachias is a good example.

After a sudden case of kidney failure forced the New Orleans resident to get a transplant 18 years ago, he remained healthy with the help of anti-rejection medication until a pimple popped upon his face in September 2022. When the blemish wouldn’t go away, a dermatologist performed a biopsy and discovered it

Members of the UW’s Center for Innovations in Cancer & �reatment team are research coordinator Caitlin Gard, left, director Chris Blosser and research manager Barbara Kavanaugh.

ANIL KAPAHI

To understand how CICT works, it helps to understand the path that many cancer survivors and transplant patients travel. To outsiders, remission and transplantation appear to be a Hollywood ending where patients can move on to a carefree life. The truth is more nuanced, including lifestyle changes, daily medication and fear of recurrence.

“I saw an unmet need for patients because as people are aging and living longer, we’re seeing more people develop cancers and then need organ transplants, while people who receive organ transplants are two to four times higher risk for cancer after that,” Blosser explains in a video on the CICT website.

“Organ transplant recipients require lifelong immunosuppression to prevent transplant rejection. All the while, oncology has developed therapies that turn on the immune system to successfully attack the cancer. If you have both an organ transplant and cancer, the optimal therapies work against each other,” he explains in the presentation. “This can result in poor outcomes and serious side effects, including transplant rejection.”

The medical system’s practice of “silo-ing” treatments further complicates the issue. Often, patients have to visit a transplant specialist and then a cancer specialist, and there’s no effort to coordinate care. Blosser saw the problem frequently when patients would visit a cancer clinic and “once in a while, I would hear from that cancer doctor, but usually not. And it became increasingly clear both in my experience and those [of] patients who were telling me they were frustrated by trying to manage this on their own where there was not enough communication [and] clear support for them across that separation between cancer clinic and transplant clinic care. It became obvious that I needed to create something to bridge that gap.”

The Cancer and Organ Transplant Clinic, which opened in September 2021, is the result. This clinic’s approach helps assure coordination of care, because it relies on the expertise of both oncologists who specialize in 12 of the most common types of cancer and transplant doctors who focus on kidney, liver, lung and heart transplants. The way the clinic handles treatment also helps.

A patient sees both specialists independently during the same clinic encounter. Then the transplant doctor and cancer specialist discuss treatment options and return together to discuss recommendations with the patient and caregiver on how to manage the condition. The care team also records the meeting and puts the audio recording on a flash drive so the patient can listen to it later. “Many times, patients are so stressed by the process that they don’t remember all of the details, and it gives them a chance to go back and listen to it again. If they have questions, they can follow up with us,” Blosser says.

was Merkel cell carcinoma, a skin cancer that is considered among the most dangerous because it’s one of the most likely to spread to other parts of the body. When discovered early, it can be treated. But the cancer is so unusual that not everyone knows how to treat it.

“It’s super, super rare. There’s about 1,300 cases a year, but very few specialists in the country for it. We didn’t trust the hospitals there [in New Orleans] because they have very little experience. The doctor said it was his very first case,” says Malachias’ daughter Anna.

The family had heard of the Seattle clinic, but once they realized that one of the world’s top Merkel cell cancer experts, Dr. Paul Nghiem, was on staff at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, they moved to Seattle so the elder Malachias could be treated there. That doesn’t mean the 74-year-old wasn’t worried about the outcome, though.

“I was worried about my health, and I worried if I could lose my kidney, because before I had a transplant, I had one month of dialysis. It was very hard, and I never wanted to go back on dialysis,” the elder Malachias says.

Blosser initially treated him with the immunotherapy Pendrulizamab and performed DNA tests to monitor kidney function for indicators of potential rejection. When he noticed those signs, he says, “We temporarily increased his immunosuppression … and backed off enough that he is now four months into the treatment and showing great response to his cancer. His kidney transplant is doing great, and he’s showing great response to the immunotherapy. Right now, we’re really hopeful that he’s going to achieve a cure.”

Four months in, Malachias says he is doing much better than he initially expected. Both he and his daughter understood that there was a high risk of losing his kidney in the first few months, and were then pleased to see that the first and second treatment substantially lowered the level of cancer. Although he still had a few more treatments to go, Malachias says, “They saved my life, they saved my kidney.

Malachias and his family are hardly alone. A 2020 report of the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients indicated that more than 42,000 transplants are performed in the U.S. every year and that 430,000 people are living with such transplants.

The more successful the transplants are and the longer they last, the greater the risk recipients have of contracting cancer.

And the cancer patients of the future won’t just be older adults, Blosser says. “The growth in the number of younger recipients who are likely to live longer means the chance of an increase in the number of younger cancer patients. That’s where the research arm comes in. Blossser says the center’s goal is to focus on three key areas—population trends, patient outcomes and clinical research. Population trends are important because they help determine what significant risks people might have for cancer, their likelihood of remission with certain treatments and even whether certain types of patients are at greater risk for certain types of cancer. Reviewing patient-reported outcomes through surveys they fill out themselves also provides insight into what role social factors like racism, education level, insurance and environment play in recovery when someone develops cancer.

Clinical translational research is also important because it allows the CICT to take basic research about the immune system and combine it with discoveries made within CICT itself to improve treatment. At present, most of the focus is on lymphoma and kidney cancer because they are the biggest killers of transplant patients, Blosser points out.

Creating a patient registry is equally significant. Having what Blosser sees as the only registry that has patient data from cancer

centers and programs across the country allows CICT to collect vital data it can use later. As an example, he says the center would be able to look at outcomes for similar patients under similar conditions to determine which approaches appear to work best.

In addition, it could help identify ideal candidates for a variety of research projects.

Blosser says he hopes the program will grow from just collecting data to obtaining blood and tissue samples from every patient.

“Having the tissue or the blood would then give us the chance to dive even deeper into what it is about that person’s cancer, for instance, at the biological level that allows them to respond better than someone who doesn’t respond.” That goal will have to wait until the CICT has the funding and the space, however.

Blosser has a fundraiser page on the Fred Hutch Cancer Center site through which he hopes to raise $50,000. Tami Sadusky, a recipient of three organ transplants and the founder of the Endowed Fund for Diabetes, Kidney and Transplant Research at the UW, is a big supporter of the CICT’s work and the clinic’s approach.

“I think it will make a huge difference,” she says.

When Blosser isn’t treating patients or working on grants to secure additional funding, he is focused on recruiting more patients and organizations to join the registry to improve its diversity and accuracy. “It’s relatively easy to study people who have money and come to the Hutch. It’s much more difficult to do well-done research for people who have limited means, who are underrepresented or are marginalized. Those patients are at higher risk for these conditions that we are talking about,” he says.

“The work that I do is personal in that I’m driven by my personal experience. It’s also personal in that every single person I meet helps me be a better person,” whether that’s a patient he treats at the clinic or the young transplant patients he sees at Seattle Children’s, patients he knows he will see years down the road at the COTC. “I want to raise awareness that this is not something that is an old-person problem. It’s a risk for all of our transplant patients, even young adults who develop cancer because they got their first transplant when they were 3 years old or 10 or 16.”

�ami Sadusky, who has undergone three organ transplants, is a former longtime UW employee and a member of the Center for Innovations in Cancer & �ransplant Community Engagement Committee.

WINTER 2023

33

and a scientist at the same time are things that I could do to help,” he says.

It wasn’t long before Blosser noticed that more of his patients developed cancer after they received transplants—the same way his aunt did. “Finally, a couple of my patients who I felt close with were diagnosed with metastatic cancer not long after their transplants, and I couldn’t help them live as well as I had hoped,” he recalls. Blosser soon came to realize that cancer had become the second-leading cause of death among kidney transplant patients. Recipients who were older or suffered from chronic conditions were more likely to develop cancer, and he was frustrated that no one was doing anything about it.

“It was the kind of thing where there were a couple of people that were talking about it, but no one was giving an effort to study the problem,” he says, adding, “So I went ahead and wrote a grant that got funded.”

A Different Vision

32

UW MAGAZINE

Coordination between caregivers is especially crucial, given the contradiction between immunotherapies and immunosuppression of individual patients as well. Paris Malachias is a good example.

After a sudden case of kidney failure forced the New Orleans resident to get a transplant 18 years ago, he remained healthy with the help of anti-rejection medication until a pimple popped upon his face in September 2022. When the blemish wouldn’t go away, a dermatologist performed a biopsy and discovered it

Members of the UW’s Center for Innovations in Cancer & �reatment team are research coordinator Caitlin Gard, left, director Chris Blosser and research manager Barbara Kavanaugh.

ANIL KAPAHI

To understand how CICT works, it helps to understand the path that many cancer survivors and transplant patients travel. To outsiders, remission and transplantation appear to be a Hollywood ending where patients can move on to a carefree life. The truth is more nuanced, including lifestyle changes, daily medication and fear of recurrence.

“I saw an unmet need for patients because as people are aging and living longer, we’re seeing more people develop cancers and then need organ transplants, while people who receive organ transplants are two to four times higher risk for cancer after that,” Blosser explains in a video on the CICT website.

“Organ transplant recipients require lifelong immunosuppression to prevent transplant rejection. All the while, oncology has developed therapies that turn on the immune system to successfully attack the cancer. If you have both an organ transplant and cancer, the optimal therapies work against each other,” he explains in the presentation. “This can result in poor outcomes and serious side effects, including transplant rejection.”

The medical system’s practice of “silo-ing” treatments further complicates the issue. Often, patients have to visit a transplant specialist and then a cancer specialist, and there’s no effort to coordinate care. Blosser saw the problem frequently when patients would visit a cancer clinic and “once in a while, I would hear from that cancer doctor, but usually not. And it became increasingly clear both in my experience and those [of] patients who were telling me they were frustrated by trying to manage this on their own where there was not enough communication [and] clear support for them across that separation between cancer clinic and transplant clinic care. It became obvious that I needed to create something to bridge that gap.”

The Cancer and Organ Transplant Clinic, which opened in September 2021, is the result. This clinic’s approach helps assure coordination of care, because it relies on the expertise of both oncologists who specialize in 12 of the most common types of cancer and transplant doctors who focus on kidney, liver, lung and heart transplants. The way the clinic handles treatment also helps.

A patient sees both specialists independently during the same clinic encounter. Then the transplant doctor and cancer specialist discuss treatment options and return together to discuss recommendations with the patient and caregiver on how to manage the condition. The care team also records the meeting and puts the audio recording on a flash drive so the patient can listen to it later. “Many times, patients are so stressed by the process that they don’t remember all of the details, and it gives them a chance to go back and listen to it again. If they have questions, they can follow up with us,” Blosser says.

was Merkel cell carcinoma, a skin cancer that is considered among the most dangerous because it’s one of the most likely to spread to other parts of the body. When discovered early, it can be treated. But the cancer is so unusual that not everyone knows how to treat it.

“It’s super, super rare. There’s about 1,300 cases a year, but very few specialists in the country for it. We didn’t trust the hospitals there [in New Orleans] because they have very little experience. The doctor said it was his very first case,” says Malachias’ daughter Anna.

The family had heard of the Seattle clinic, but once they realized that one of the world’s top Merkel cell cancer experts, Dr. Paul Nghiem, was on staff at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, they moved to Seattle so the elder Malachias could be treated there. That doesn’t mean the 74-year-old wasn’t worried about the outcome, though.

“I was worried about my health, and I worried if I could lose my kidney, because before I had a transplant, I had one month of dialysis. It was very hard, and I never wanted to go back on dialysis,” the elder Malachias says.

Blosser initially treated him with the immunotherapy Pendrulizamab and performed DNA tests to monitor kidney function for indicators of potential rejection. When he noticed those signs, he says, “We temporarily increased his immunosuppression … and backed off enough that he is now four months into the treatment and showing great response to his cancer. His kidney transplant is doing great, and he’s showing great response to the immunotherapy. Right now, we’re really hopeful that he’s going to achieve a cure.”

Four months in, Malachias says he is doing much better than he initially expected. Both he and his daughter understood that there was a high risk of losing his kidney in the first few months, and were then pleased to see that the first and second treatment substantially lowered the level of cancer. Although he still had a few more treatments to go, Malachias says, “They saved my life, they saved my kidney.

Malachias and his family are hardly alone. A 2020 report of the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients indicated that more than 42,000 transplants are performed in the U.S. every year and that 430,000 people are living with such transplants.

The more successful the transplants are and the longer they last, the greater the risk recipients have of contracting cancer.

And the cancer patients of the future won’t just be older adults, Blosser says. “The growth in the number of younger recipients who are likely to live longer means the chance of an increase in the number of younger cancer patients. That’s where the research arm comes in. Blossser says the center’s goal is to focus on three key areas—population trends, patient outcomes and clinical research. Population trends are important because they help determine what significant risks people might have for cancer, their likelihood of remission with certain treatments and even whether certain types of patients are at greater risk for certain types of cancer. Reviewing patient-reported outcomes through surveys they fill out themselves also provides insight into what role social factors like racism, education level, insurance and environment play in recovery when someone develops cancer.

Clinical translational research is also important because it allows the CICT to take basic research about the immune system and combine it with discoveries made within CICT itself to improve treatment. At present, most of the focus is on lymphoma and kidney cancer because they are the biggest killers of transplant patients, Blosser points out.

Creating a patient registry is equally significant. Having what Blosser sees as the only registry that has patient data from cancer

centers and programs across the country allows CICT to collect vital data it can use later. As an example, he says the center would be able to look at outcomes for similar patients under similar conditions to determine which approaches appear to work best.

In addition, it could help identify ideal candidates for a variety of research projects.

Blosser says he hopes the program will grow from just collecting data to obtaining blood and tissue samples from every patient.

“Having the tissue or the blood would then give us the chance to dive even deeper into what it is about that person’s cancer, for instance, at the biological level that allows them to respond better than someone who doesn’t respond.” That goal will have to wait until the CICT has the funding and the space, however.

Blosser has a fundraiser page on the Fred Hutch Cancer Center site through which he hopes to raise $50,000. Tami Sadusky, a recipient of three organ transplants and the founder of the Endowed Fund for Diabetes, Kidney and Transplant Research at the UW, is a big supporter of the CICT’s work and the clinic’s approach.

“I think it will make a huge difference,” she says.

When Blosser isn’t treating patients or working on grants to secure additional funding, he is focused on recruiting more patients and organizations to join the registry to improve its diversity and accuracy. “It’s relatively easy to study people who have money and come to the Hutch. It’s much more difficult to do well-done research for people who have limited means, who are underrepresented or are marginalized. Those patients are at higher risk for these conditions that we are talking about,” he says.

“The work that I do is personal in that I’m driven by my personal experience. It’s also personal in that every single person I meet helps me be a better person,” whether that’s a patient he treats at the clinic or the young transplant patients he sees at Seattle Children’s, patients he knows he will see years down the road at the COTC. “I want to raise awareness that this is not something that is an old-person problem. It’s a risk for all of our transplant patients, even young adults who develop cancer because they got their first transplant when they were 3 years old or 10 or 16.”

�ami Sadusky, who has undergone three organ transplants, is a former longtime UW employee and a member of the Center for Innovations in Cancer & �ransplant Community Engagement Committee.

WINTER 2023

33

A UW program works to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women and other underserved community members

By Kim Eckart Photos by Meryl Schenker

Delivering N

Hope

ine months pregnant with her first child, a 31-year-old patient named Mona walks into the Neighborcare Health clinic in Rainier Beach for an appointment with her midwife.

On this visit, she reports a development from earlier that day: Maybe her water broke?

It had. The midwife makes Mona comfortable on a padded, reclining exam table, connecting her to a machine that monitors the baby’s heart rate, and noting that her contractions are few and far apart. Mona can head to the hospital later, she says. She still has the time to gather her things from home.

First, though, at the suggestion of her midwife, Mona signs up for a University of Washington project designed to empower pregnant people to care not only for their own physical health, but also their emotional well-being. Called Heart, Soul and Joy, the research project addresses disparities in maternal health by providing mothers and mothers-to-be tools to monitor their health at home and guidance about mental health, domestic violence, and nurturing joy and pleasure.

Ceci Gilmore, ’23, who has a doctor of nursing practice and is the project’s research coordinator at the Rainier Beach clinic, enters the exam room. She shows Mona how to use the free blood pressure cuff, talks about how emotions can fluctuate during and after pregnancy, and that it’s OK for Mona to take time for herself.

“It’s my first baby, and I’m scared to death,” Mona confides.

Gilmore, a new mother herself, reassures her: “I’ve been there.”

That sensitivity and encouragement, combined with the tangible tools to monitor one’s physical and mental health, are the foundation of Heart, Soul and Joy. UW students, alumni and faculty across disciplines are working with midwives, doulas and others who provide care to underserved populations to address maternal health disparities. Along with providing patients the resources of self-care and self-advocacy, researchers work with health-care providers to emphasize the value of a patient’s own feelings and observations—authoritative knowledge that is often overlooked. This fall, more than 100 people throughout King County had enrolled in the project that Rachel Chapman, associate professor of anthropology, adjunct associate professor of global 34

UW MAGAZINE

health and the study’s principal investigator, hopes can begin to transform the health system.

“This is a story about systems that don’t serve us,” says Chapman, who is African American. “There is a misconception at the heart of research on racial/ethnic maternal health disparities that it’s about problematic Black bodies. But the research should be on problematic health-care systems. How people experience care can be made better, and that can contribute to better policies that unmake those systems.”

The project has wide support from across campus, particularly in the Department of Global Health and the School of Public Health, says James Pfeiffer, professor of anthropology and global health and a co-principal investigator on the project. “Maternal health disparities and maternal mortality are among the greatest challenges in public health we face around the world,” he says.

“We believe these disparities are not only urgent in the Global South, but also right here in the United States. We’re bringing tools that are used around the world and applying them locally, with a focus on equitable partnerships with community organizations. And we hope to expand it from here.”

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause than white women, and the rate of preeclampsia for Black women is 60% higher. But only in recent years has there been an uptick in research and media attention.

Most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, the CDC points out. The public health agency also notes that while underlying health conditions contribute, so do the social determinants of health, such as the quality of health care and housing and food insecurity, which vary across populations and are rooted in structural racism.

Nonetheless, these tragedies occur across socioeconomic lines.

In April 2023, Tori Bowie, an elite Olympic athlete, died of complications during labor. And tennis star Serena Williams has talked openly about nearly dying from a pulmonary embolism after the birth of her daughter in 2017. She described how, in

New mother Imani holds Zephaniah, whom midwife Nicola Solvay helped deliver in late September.

Imani is one of about 100 new mothers and mothers-to-be enrolled in the Heart, Soul and Joy project to decrease maternal health disparities.

increasing pain, she had to insist her doctors screen her for blood clots. “I fought hard” to be heard, she wrote in a 2022 essay for Elle magazine. “Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me; I know those statistics would be different if the medical establishment listened to every Black woman’s experience.”

These are the stories that make the news. Too often, cases and deaths are just statistics, a pathologizing of a population. That’s where a patient’s authoritative knowledge of self comes in, specifically Black authoritative knowledge, say the UW researchers.

Enhancing that knowledge, and empowering the patient to tell a nurse, doctor or midwife that something is wrong, is at the core of Heart, Soul and Joy. “Being confident in knowing what you know and feeling what you feel, to speak your mind about what you need rather than

wait for someone else to make that determination, that is super powerful,” Chapman says. Adds Abril Harris, assistant professor of social work and one of the researchers on Heart, Soul and Joy: “There is a phenomenon of Black women dying. That’s why the Black authoritative knowledge piece is so important for providers to honor, and for us to honor for ourselves.”

Coming together as faculty leads on this project was empowering, according to Chapman, Harris and social work professor Amelia Gavin. Not just as Black women studying maternal health disparities, but as Black women researchers at the University of Washington. “Collaborating with Rachel and her team provided an excellent opportunity to work with researchers of color in examining racial disparities in birth outcomes. It allowed me to explore a core research interest in a more qualitative way with colleagues I admire,” Gavin says.

WINTER 2023

35

A UW program works to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women and other underserved community members

By Kim Eckart Photos by Meryl Schenker

Delivering N

Hope

ine months pregnant with her first child, a 31-year-old patient named Mona walks into the Neighborcare Health clinic in Rainier Beach for an appointment with her midwife.

On this visit, she reports a development from earlier that day: Maybe her water broke?

It had. The midwife makes Mona comfortable on a padded, reclining exam table, connecting her to a machine that monitors the baby’s heart rate, and noting that her contractions are few and far apart. Mona can head to the hospital later, she says. She still has the time to gather her things from home.

First, though, at the suggestion of her midwife, Mona signs up for a University of Washington project designed to empower pregnant people to care not only for their own physical health, but also their emotional well-being. Called Heart, Soul and Joy, the research project addresses disparities in maternal health by providing mothers and mothers-to-be tools to monitor their health at home and guidance about mental health, domestic violence, and nurturing joy and pleasure.

Ceci Gilmore, ’23, who has a doctor of nursing practice and is the project’s research coordinator at the Rainier Beach clinic, enters the exam room. She shows Mona how to use the free blood pressure cuff, talks about how emotions can fluctuate during and after pregnancy, and that it’s OK for Mona to take time for herself.

“It’s my first baby, and I’m scared to death,” Mona confides.

Gilmore, a new mother herself, reassures her: “I’ve been there.”

That sensitivity and encouragement, combined with the tangible tools to monitor one’s physical and mental health, are the foundation of Heart, Soul and Joy. UW students, alumni and faculty across disciplines are working with midwives, doulas and others who provide care to underserved populations to address maternal health disparities. Along with providing patients the resources of self-care and self-advocacy, researchers work with health-care providers to emphasize the value of a patient’s own feelings and observations—authoritative knowledge that is often overlooked. This fall, more than 100 people throughout King County had enrolled in the project that Rachel Chapman, associate professor of anthropology, adjunct associate professor of global 34

UW MAGAZINE

health and the study’s principal investigator, hopes can begin to transform the health system.

“This is a story about systems that don’t serve us,” says Chapman, who is African American. “There is a misconception at the heart of research on racial/ethnic maternal health disparities that it’s about problematic Black bodies. But the research should be on problematic health-care systems. How people experience care can be made better, and that can contribute to better policies that unmake those systems.”

The project has wide support from across campus, particularly in the Department of Global Health and the School of Public Health, says James Pfeiffer, professor of anthropology and global health and a co-principal investigator on the project. “Maternal health disparities and maternal mortality are among the greatest challenges in public health we face around the world,” he says.

“We believe these disparities are not only urgent in the Global South, but also right here in the United States. We’re bringing tools that are used around the world and applying them locally, with a focus on equitable partnerships with community organizations. And we hope to expand it from here.”

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause than white women, and the rate of preeclampsia for Black women is 60% higher. But only in recent years has there been an uptick in research and media attention.

Most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, the CDC points out. The public health agency also notes that while underlying health conditions contribute, so do the social determinants of health, such as the quality of health care and housing and food insecurity, which vary across populations and are rooted in structural racism.

Nonetheless, these tragedies occur across socioeconomic lines.

In April 2023, Tori Bowie, an elite Olympic athlete, died of complications during labor. And tennis star Serena Williams has talked openly about nearly dying from a pulmonary embolism after the birth of her daughter in 2017. She described how, in

New mother Imani holds Zephaniah, whom midwife Nicola Solvay helped deliver in late September.

Imani is one of about 100 new mothers and mothers-to-be enrolled in the Heart, Soul and Joy project to decrease maternal health disparities.

increasing pain, she had to insist her doctors screen her for blood clots. “I fought hard” to be heard, she wrote in a 2022 essay for Elle magazine. “Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me; I know those statistics would be different if the medical establishment listened to every Black woman’s experience.”

These are the stories that make the news. Too often, cases and deaths are just statistics, a pathologizing of a population. That’s where a patient’s authoritative knowledge of self comes in, specifically Black authoritative knowledge, say the UW researchers.

Enhancing that knowledge, and empowering the patient to tell a nurse, doctor or midwife that something is wrong, is at the core of Heart, Soul and Joy. “Being confident in knowing what you know and feeling what you feel, to speak your mind about what you need rather than

wait for someone else to make that determination, that is super powerful,” Chapman says. Adds Abril Harris, assistant professor of social work and one of the researchers on Heart, Soul and Joy: “There is a phenomenon of Black women dying. That’s why the Black authoritative knowledge piece is so important for providers to honor, and for us to honor for ourselves.”

Coming together as faculty leads on this project was empowering, according to Chapman, Harris and social work professor Amelia Gavin. Not just as Black women studying maternal health disparities, but as Black women researchers at the University of Washington. “Collaborating with Rachel and her team provided an excellent opportunity to work with researchers of color in examining racial disparities in birth outcomes. It allowed me to explore a core research interest in a more qualitative way with colleagues I admire,” Gavin says.

WINTER 2023

35

T

he three faculty are committed to approaching the study as a collaboration, among themselves and with the community.

Theirs should not be a study that only takes from their participants, treating them as subjects, Harris explains. They’re meeting communities on their terms, and at the same time inspiring and helping student researchers.

Students at all stages of their academic careers have joined Heart, Soul and Joy, from undergraduates to newly minted Ph.D.s. One undergraduate worked on a domestic violence prevention poster that participants receive when they enroll.

It features emergency hotline and local service numbers, information that also comes on a card discreetly tucked into a box of lip balm. Another student helped find accessible images and

a soothing color scheme for the handout with tips on finding joy—components that would need to translate across languages and cultures. A third, who enrolled this fall in graduate school in public health at Yale University, ran the research team’s check-in meetings and delivered the blood-pressure and health-screening kits to neighborhood clinics.

“This project has taught me how important it is to be informative and to reach people who speak other languages,” says Romina Foroudi, a sophomore public health major who helped develop the project’s messaging around domestic violence. “It makes you question everything you’re doing, because you need to consider what other people will see and get out of it.” As a freshman, she took Chapman’s medical anthropology class and was inspired to join the project. “I want to make sure I’m reaching my communities, especially those that are underrepresented.”

B

efore there was Heart, Soul and Joy, there was Mama Amaan. The partnership between the UW and the Somali Health Board of Tukwila piloted the community-based delivery of culturally sensitive pre- and postnatal care. In 2019 and early 2020, local Somali nurses and doulas at five locations in King County provided in-person monthly lessons on physical, mental and emotional health during pregnancy and after childbirth. Chapman led the UW portion of the project with help from alumni and undergraduate and graduate student research assistants.

36

UW MAGAZINE

The issue then was much as it is today: negative health outcomes for women and infants in some of the most diverse neighborhoods in Seattle and South King County, and a health system that leaves many women feeling ignored, discriminated against or profoundly uncared for.

But what Chapman and her team learned from Mama Amaan (Somali for “safe motherhood”) was that the value in community-developed and -delivered perinatal care led to a key research pivot during the pandemic. When local quarantine restrictions prevented in-person classes, the team tried a home-based approach that could empower patients to monitor their own health and speak authoritatively with their care providers. Like Mama Amaan, the new Heart and Soul project (as it was first called) mobilized a larger student, alumni and community partner team with funding from the UW Population Health Initiative, the School of Public Health and the Department of Global Health.

The project provides blood-pressure screening kits and a team-developed health screening tool, designed to help women identify how they feel mentally and physically—including whether they feel safe and secure at home. The tool was a card with colors and images to indicate wellness (green), a warning to call a clinic (yellow) or an emergency requiring immediate care (red).

The feasibility study of Heart and Soul found widespread usage of the blood pressure cuff and screening tool. Chapman and the team used the feedback to enhance the tool, adding the piece that everyone affiliated with the project is excited about: The Joy Quotient.

It’s essentially a series of prompts to encourage study participants to think about what brings them happiness—from their five senses to the day’s events. The laminated card, in soothing tones of pink, purple and blue, lists gratitude and calming strategies. And it asks the reader to simply breathe: “Breathe in, you are enough. Breathe out, you belong in this world.

“With every breath, remember you are full of life.”

This is missing from so much of traditional health care, explains Gilmore, who is also a midwife and naturopathic doctor.

“So much of health care can be fear-based. But when you give someone tools, give them the ability to know when to seek help,

when to fit in fear, you also can let them know it’s OK to have joy, to do small things for yourself.”

And so, as the post-pandemic, post-pilot iteration of Heart and Soul ramped up and became Heart, Soul and Joy, researchers provided more kits and monitoring tools for patients to use at home, while clinic partners resumed their roles as primarily in-person care providers.

D

Left, left to right, Abril Harris, Amelia Gavin and Rachel Chapman are the UW faculty leaders of the Heart, Soul and Joy project.

Below, nurse midwifery student Miriam Chengo visits with motherto-be Fatma, who is enrolled in Heart, Soul and Joy. �he mother-to-be was glad to get her own blood pressure cuff so she can take daily readings at home.

uring the feasibility study, when most perinatal visits were over telehealth, some providers reported that patients were calling in too often with concerns: a higher-than-normal blood pressure reading, for example. For time- and resource-strapped public health clinics, the calls underscored the need for patients to have clearer information.

Researchers considered the act of reporting itself a success: Patients were monitoring their health and taking the next step to call in. Still, the team expanded the health-screening tool, adding more information for midwives and other staff who were in the position of educating patients at the outset, helping them learn more about their own normal blood pressure levels, knowledge that can be lifesaving.

But researchers want clinics to change too. And that means adapting their health-care culture and boosting resources. During a typical 15-minute appointment, a pregnant person might relay any concerns since the last visit and be evaluated. If a translator is present, which allows for vital information to be communicated back and forth, patient to provider, provider to patient, then that allotted time essentially shrinks by half.

“They’re the people who are doing the hardest work with the fewest resources for the most vulnerable communities,” Chapman says of community clinics such as Neighborcare. “And yet they are partnering with us to find out how to do things better.”

Neighborcare Health, which primarily serves low-income and uninsured patients in the Seattle area, was a clinic partner in the Heart, Soul and Joy pilot during the pandemic and continues to enroll participants in the study at five locations. “The tool allowed for us to have a reminder to always screen for safety and well-being when, in the busy visits and the limited time we have, other needs can take priority,” says Nicola Solvay, co-director of Neighborcare Health’s midwifery program and practicing midwife at the Columbia City clinic.

The home-use blood pressure cuffs were a huge perk, Solvay says, recalling a patient whose blood-pressure readings at a clinic visit were normal, but were higher at home. So clinic staff ran some tests and learned that the woman had preeclampsia. “This diagnosis would not have been realized so early had we not had this program,” Solvay says.

She tells of another patient who disclosed thoughts of harming herself, something the woman came ready to discuss, thanks to the emotional health materials she’d been given as part of Heart, Soul and Joy. The appointment “turned into safety planning, and we were able to connect her, at that moment, with our behavioral health specialist down the hall,” Solvay recalls.

Two positive outcomes, in that patients identified and reported a problem, and clinic staff were able to respond immediately. But what of countless other pregnant people, and clinics, without even these tools? “My fear around the world of health care is that we mainly screen, and we don’t have the resources to do more,” Solvay says.

One tangible step, the researchers agree, could be increasing funding for public health clinics across the state so that medical staff have more time with each patient. Another, even more pointed step: Apple Health (Medicaid in Washington state) could cover blood pressure cuffs for every pregnant person enrolled.

“This project isn’t about further pathologizing people,” Harris says. “We’re saying to the systems, what can you do? What can you take away? What can you add to make sure people are healthy when they leave?”

B

ack at Neighborcare’s Rainier Beach clinic, Gilmore is enrolling her last new Heart, Soul and Joy participant of the day. She sits with a couple. The woman has just entered her second trimester, and one of the clinic’s midwives referred her to the project.

The husband translates Gilmore’s words for his wife in their native Soninke, a language spoken in The Gambia. From the tips on finding joy to how to use the blood-pressure cuff—wrapped around the upper arm, feet flat on the floor—he communicates and demonstrates all of it.

Gilmore then gives them the joy card and points to the examples of the five senses. “We talk about all the ways people can bring joy back into their lives so they’re not always living in a place of worry or fear and feel empowered,” Gilmore says.

“For some people, thinking about the smell of their mother’s cooking brings them joy.”

The man translates, smiles. His wife looks at him, smiles, and they laugh together.

Ceci Gilmore, ’23, who has a doctor of nursing practice from the UW, coordinates the Heart, Soul and Joy program at a Rainier Beach clinic.

WINTER 2023

37

T

he three faculty are committed to approaching the study as a collaboration, among themselves and with the community.

Theirs should not be a study that only takes from their participants, treating them as subjects, Harris explains. They’re meeting communities on their terms, and at the same time inspiring and helping student researchers.

Students at all stages of their academic careers have joined Heart, Soul and Joy, from undergraduates to newly minted Ph.D.s. One undergraduate worked on a domestic violence prevention poster that participants receive when they enroll.

It features emergency hotline and local service numbers, information that also comes on a card discreetly tucked into a box of lip balm. Another student helped find accessible images and

a soothing color scheme for the handout with tips on finding joy—components that would need to translate across languages and cultures. A third, who enrolled this fall in graduate school in public health at Yale University, ran the research team’s check-in meetings and delivered the blood-pressure and health-screening kits to neighborhood clinics.

“This project has taught me how important it is to be informative and to reach people who speak other languages,” says Romina Foroudi, a sophomore public health major who helped develop the project’s messaging around domestic violence. “It makes you question everything you’re doing, because you need to consider what other people will see and get out of it.” As a freshman, she took Chapman’s medical anthropology class and was inspired to join the project. “I want to make sure I’m reaching my communities, especially those that are underrepresented.”

B

efore there was Heart, Soul and Joy, there was Mama Amaan. The partnership between the UW and the Somali Health Board of Tukwila piloted the community-based delivery of culturally sensitive pre- and postnatal care. In 2019 and early 2020, local Somali nurses and doulas at five locations in King County provided in-person monthly lessons on physical, mental and emotional health during pregnancy and after childbirth. Chapman led the UW portion of the project with help from alumni and undergraduate and graduate student research assistants.

36

UW MAGAZINE

The issue then was much as it is today: negative health outcomes for women and infants in some of the most diverse neighborhoods in Seattle and South King County, and a health system that leaves many women feeling ignored, discriminated against or profoundly uncared for.

But what Chapman and her team learned from Mama Amaan (Somali for “safe motherhood”) was that the value in community-developed and -delivered perinatal care led to a key research pivot during the pandemic. When local quarantine restrictions prevented in-person classes, the team tried a home-based approach that could empower patients to monitor their own health and speak authoritatively with their care providers. Like Mama Amaan, the new Heart and Soul project (as it was first called) mobilized a larger student, alumni and community partner team with funding from the UW Population Health Initiative, the School of Public Health and the Department of Global Health.

The project provides blood-pressure screening kits and a team-developed health screening tool, designed to help women identify how they feel mentally and physically—including whether they feel safe and secure at home. The tool was a card with colors and images to indicate wellness (green), a warning to call a clinic (yellow) or an emergency requiring immediate care (red).

The feasibility study of Heart and Soul found widespread usage of the blood pressure cuff and screening tool. Chapman and the team used the feedback to enhance the tool, adding the piece that everyone affiliated with the project is excited about: The Joy Quotient.

It’s essentially a series of prompts to encourage study participants to think about what brings them happiness—from their five senses to the day’s events. The laminated card, in soothing tones of pink, purple and blue, lists gratitude and calming strategies. And it asks the reader to simply breathe: “Breathe in, you are enough. Breathe out, you belong in this world.

“With every breath, remember you are full of life.”

This is missing from so much of traditional health care, explains Gilmore, who is also a midwife and naturopathic doctor.

“So much of health care can be fear-based. But when you give someone tools, give them the ability to know when to seek help,

when to fit in fear, you also can let them know it’s OK to have joy, to do small things for yourself.”

And so, as the post-pandemic, post-pilot iteration of Heart and Soul ramped up and became Heart, Soul and Joy, researchers provided more kits and monitoring tools for patients to use at home, while clinic partners resumed their roles as primarily in-person care providers.

D

Left, left to right, Abril Harris, Amelia Gavin and Rachel Chapman are the UW faculty leaders of the Heart, Soul and Joy project.

Below, nurse midwifery student Miriam Chengo visits with motherto-be Fatma, who is enrolled in Heart, Soul and Joy. �he mother-to-be was glad to get her own blood pressure cuff so she can take daily readings at home.

uring the feasibility study, when most perinatal visits were over telehealth, some providers reported that patients were calling in too often with concerns: a higher-than-normal blood pressure reading, for example. For time- and resource-strapped public health clinics, the calls underscored the need for patients to have clearer information.

Researchers considered the act of reporting itself a success: Patients were monitoring their health and taking the next step to call in. Still, the team expanded the health-screening tool, adding more information for midwives and other staff who were in the position of educating patients at the outset, helping them learn more about their own normal blood pressure levels, knowledge that can be lifesaving.

But researchers want clinics to change too. And that means adapting their health-care culture and boosting resources. During a typical 15-minute appointment, a pregnant person might relay any concerns since the last visit and be evaluated. If a translator is present, which allows for vital information to be communicated back and forth, patient to provider, provider to patient, then that allotted time essentially shrinks by half.

“They’re the people who are doing the hardest work with the fewest resources for the most vulnerable communities,” Chapman says of community clinics such as Neighborcare. “And yet they are partnering with us to find out how to do things better.”

Neighborcare Health, which primarily serves low-income and uninsured patients in the Seattle area, was a clinic partner in the Heart, Soul and Joy pilot during the pandemic and continues to enroll participants in the study at five locations. “The tool allowed for us to have a reminder to always screen for safety and well-being when, in the busy visits and the limited time we have, other needs can take priority,” says Nicola Solvay, co-director of Neighborcare Health’s midwifery program and practicing midwife at the Columbia City clinic.

The home-use blood pressure cuffs were a huge perk, Solvay says, recalling a patient whose blood-pressure readings at a clinic visit were normal, but were higher at home. So clinic staff ran some tests and learned that the woman had preeclampsia. “This diagnosis would not have been realized so early had we not had this program,” Solvay says.

She tells of another patient who disclosed thoughts of harming herself, something the woman came ready to discuss, thanks to the emotional health materials she’d been given as part of Heart, Soul and Joy. The appointment “turned into safety planning, and we were able to connect her, at that moment, with our behavioral health specialist down the hall,” Solvay recalls.

Two positive outcomes, in that patients identified and reported a problem, and clinic staff were able to respond immediately. But what of countless other pregnant people, and clinics, without even these tools? “My fear around the world of health care is that we mainly screen, and we don’t have the resources to do more,” Solvay says.

One tangible step, the researchers agree, could be increasing funding for public health clinics across the state so that medical staff have more time with each patient. Another, even more pointed step: Apple Health (Medicaid in Washington state) could cover blood pressure cuffs for every pregnant person enrolled.

“This project isn’t about further pathologizing people,” Harris says. “We’re saying to the systems, what can you do? What can you take away? What can you add to make sure people are healthy when they leave?”

B

ack at Neighborcare’s Rainier Beach clinic, Gilmore is enrolling her last new Heart, Soul and Joy participant of the day. She sits with a couple. The woman has just entered her second trimester, and one of the clinic’s midwives referred her to the project.

The husband translates Gilmore’s words for his wife in their native Soninke, a language spoken in The Gambia. From the tips on finding joy to how to use the blood-pressure cuff—wrapped around the upper arm, feet flat on the floor—he communicates and demonstrates all of it.

Gilmore then gives them the joy card and points to the examples of the five senses. “We talk about all the ways people can bring joy back into their lives so they’re not always living in a place of worry or fear and feel empowered,” Gilmore says.

“For some people, thinking about the smell of their mother’s cooking brings them joy.”

The man translates, smiles. His wife looks at him, smiles, and they laugh together.

Ceci Gilmore, ’23, who has a doctor of nursing practice from the UW, coordinates the Heart, Soul and Joy program at a Rainier Beach clinic.

WINTER 2023

37

F R O M

T H E

U W

SKETCHES

N E W S

C O M M U N I T Y

MICHELE NEWMAN

Dr. John Hess, who grew up in Spokane, spent 30 years serving in Army medical facilities and at the U.S. Public Health Service.

As a UW professor of laboratory medicine, he developed blood transfusion systems for UW Medicine.

His innovations have saved thousands of lives in military and trauma settings.

ANIL KAPAHI

Service Is in His Blood

The UW recognizes Dr. John Hess, a veteran, for his life-saving innovations

By Caitlin Klask When you picture a modern genius, do you think of a guy in a turtleneck showing off a fancy new computer or driving an expensive car? Instead, imagine an octogenarian hopping off a bus to chat about the time he revolutionized blood transfusion. Dr. John Hess, a physician at Harborview and the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Veteran Award, transformed the way the medical world treats trauma patients. For this calm and collected physician, it’s a living.

Hess grew up in Spokane, where he read books like “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” to pass time. After graduating from Washington State University with an Army ROTC commission, he studied metabolic chemistry under Nobel Prize winner Edmond Fischer at the UW School of Medicine. “It was a class of 82 people—76 of whom were men. And mostly white,” he recalls.

Itching for a new perspective after his third year, Hess jumped at the opportunity to work in American Samoa for the UW Institute on Human Development and Disability, which studies barriers and provides solutions for children with disabilities. By the time he earned his M.D. and was drafted into the Army in 1973, he was ready to see the world.

Hess spent a year in South Korea, a year in Thailand and two years in Honolulu, finishing his residency at the big Army hospital before returning to South Korea. While most of his time in Korea was spent “treating clap in soldiers,” he says, he preferred his Saturdays just outside the Army base working in a small clinic with six Irish nuns. “It started out being mostly poor displaced farmers and their families with tuberculosis and college students with goiters, but then I started seeing little kids with congenital 38

UW MAGAZINE

heart disease and it kind of mushroomed,” says Hess.

In that same volunteer-run clinic, Hess met a young Korean doctor. “Clearly two standard deviations too bright to be doing what he was doing,” he explains. The doctor’s wife was unable to live in Korea due to her Japanese citizenship, and the doctor, as a Korean, couldn’t visit Japan for more than one month a year.

Hess came up with a plan: He’d provide scholarship funding if the University of Hawaii would accept the doctor. “So they lived with us [in Hawaii] while he got his master’s in public health.”

That doctor was Lee Jong-wook, who ultimately became the director general of the World Health Organization.

Hess’ greatest innovation came after he concluded his military career in 2001. The standard management of treating blood loss in trauma centers was to provide saline and red blood cells until surgeons controlled the bleeding, then provide plasma. Hess thought, what if we ditch the saline and give the red cells at a one-to-one ratio with the plasma? An Army buddy, John Holcomb, tried it in Baghdad and gave a ringing endorsement: “John, it’s magic.” In trauma centers, this new method saves 5,000 to 8,000 lives a year in the U.S. Hess’ ethos is simple: If there’s something that needs to be done, do it. Whether it’s running a hospital on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation (“I’m an internal medicine doc, and I delivered 15 babies that year!”) or getting in line with fellow veteran doctors for an internal blood bank at Harborview (“When the old Puget Sound Blood Center said no, we just said, ‘Fine, we’ll build it!’), Hess has a can-do attitude.

“Service—not just the service—is a way of life.”

Call for Nominations Nominations are now being accepted for two awards and for positions on the UW Alumni Association Board of Trustees.

You can nominate individuals for the following: ALUMNUS SUMMA LAUDE DIGNATUS (ASLD), the highest honor bestowed upon a UW graduate.

It recognizes a legacy of service and achievement.

DISTINGUISHED TEACHING LEGACY AWARD (DTLA), which recognizes UW teachers who inspired and influenced their students both in and outside of the classroom.

Nominations are due

by Jan. 21.

Go to uwalum.com/awards.

The UWAA is also seeking nominations to serve on its Board of Trustees, the alumni association’s governing body.

For more information, go to Uwalum.com/board.

F R O M

T H E

U W

SKETCHES

N E W S

C O M M U N I T Y

MICHELE NEWMAN

Dr. John Hess, who grew up in Spokane, spent 30 years serving in Army medical facilities and at the U.S. Public Health Service.

As a UW professor of laboratory medicine, he developed blood transfusion systems for UW Medicine.

His innovations have saved thousands of lives in military and trauma settings.

ANIL KAPAHI

Service Is in His Blood

The UW recognizes Dr. John Hess, a veteran, for his life-saving innovations

By Caitlin Klask When you picture a modern genius, do you think of a guy in a turtleneck showing off a fancy new computer or driving an expensive car? Instead, imagine an octogenarian hopping off a bus to chat about the time he revolutionized blood transfusion. Dr. John Hess, a physician at Harborview and the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Veteran Award, transformed the way the medical world treats trauma patients. For this calm and collected physician, it’s a living.

Hess grew up in Spokane, where he read books like “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” to pass time. After graduating from Washington State University with an Army ROTC commission, he studied metabolic chemistry under Nobel Prize winner Edmond Fischer at the UW School of Medicine. “It was a class of 82 people—76 of whom were men. And mostly white,” he recalls.

Itching for a new perspective after his third year, Hess jumped at the opportunity to work in American Samoa for the UW Institute on Human Development and Disability, which studies barriers and provides solutions for children with disabilities. By the time he earned his M.D. and was drafted into the Army in 1973, he was ready to see the world.

Hess spent a year in South Korea, a year in Thailand and two years in Honolulu, finishing his residency at the big Army hospital before returning to South Korea. While most of his time in Korea was spent “treating clap in soldiers,” he says, he preferred his Saturdays just outside the Army base working in a small clinic with six Irish nuns. “It started out being mostly poor displaced farmers and their families with tuberculosis and college students with goiters, but then I started seeing little kids with congenital 38

UW MAGAZINE

heart disease and it kind of mushroomed,” says Hess.

In that same volunteer-run clinic, Hess met a young Korean doctor. “Clearly two standard deviations too bright to be doing what he was doing,” he explains. The doctor’s wife was unable to live in Korea due to her Japanese citizenship, and the doctor, as a Korean, couldn’t visit Japan for more than one month a year.

Hess came up with a plan: He’d provide scholarship funding if the University of Hawaii would accept the doctor. “So they lived with us [in Hawaii] while he got his master’s in public health.”

That doctor was Lee Jong-wook, who ultimately became the director general of the World Health Organization.

Hess’ greatest innovation came after he concluded his military career in 2001. The standard management of treating blood loss in trauma centers was to provide saline and red blood cells until surgeons controlled the bleeding, then provide plasma. Hess thought, what if we ditch the saline and give the red cells at a one-to-one ratio with the plasma? An Army buddy, John Holcomb, tried it in Baghdad and gave a ringing endorsement: “John, it’s magic.” In trauma centers, this new method saves 5,000 to 8,000 lives a year in the U.S. Hess’ ethos is simple: If there’s something that needs to be done, do it. Whether it’s running a hospital on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation (“I’m an internal medicine doc, and I delivered 15 babies that year!”) or getting in line with fellow veteran doctors for an internal blood bank at Harborview (“When the old Puget Sound Blood Center said no, we just said, ‘Fine, we’ll build it!’), Hess has a can-do attitude.

“Service—not just the service—is a way of life.”

Call for Nominations Nominations are now being accepted for two awards and for positions on the UW Alumni Association Board of Trustees.

You can nominate individuals for the following: ALUMNUS SUMMA LAUDE DIGNATUS (ASLD), the highest honor bestowed upon a UW graduate.

It recognizes a legacy of service and achievement.

DISTINGUISHED TEACHING LEGACY AWARD (DTLA), which recognizes UW teachers who inspired and influenced their students both in and outside of the classroom.

Nominations are due

by Jan. 21.

Go to uwalum.com/awards.

The UWAA is also seeking nominations to serve on its Board of Trustees, the alumni association’s governing body.

For more information, go to Uwalum.com/board.

MEDIA

With Wit and Whiteout Haidee Merritt charms readers with her droll and deprecating illustrations about Type 1 diabetes

By Caitlin Klask The UW campus looked a little different to Haidee Merritt, ’95, when she arrived as a transfer student from Franklin & Marshall College in New Hampshire. In a sea of motley flannel shirts—it was the height of the grunge era—Merritt began to lose her vision. She has had Type 1 diabetes since age 2, and during college, the micro blood vessels in her eyes began to hemorrhage. “It happened over a period of three or four days; my vision became completely foggy and distorted, like looking through a fishtank,” recalls Merritt. She underwent vitrectomy surgeries, used to treat retina detachment, at Virginia Mason (a six-hour procedure for each eye with two weeks of recovery back then), but student life changed. She needed to use a cane to get around.

“I wanted to remain very independent, so I was really angry and resistant to accepting help; I tried to just continue life the way it had been, almost trying to

Helping PROVAIL Prevail Mike Hatzenbeler’s goal is to help people with disabilities fulfill their life choices

By Eric Butterman

40

UW MAGAZINE

Every day, Mike Hatzenbeler goes to work with the goal of giving those with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to take their rightful place in the community—a big change for those who have lived in institutions, experienced discrimination or been excluded in other ways.

“It is about being a part of the community,” Hatzenbeler says.

“We don’t try to lead them to jobs we think they should take.

We ask them what they would like to do with their life, what they are interested in and then we work to create that opportunity for them.”

Hatzenbeler, who studied political science while at the UW from 1984 to 1988, has spent his whole career in what he

BOOKS Biking Uphill in the Rain

By Tom Fucoloro University of Washington Press, August 2023 Bet you didn’t know that the history of cycling in the Emerald City mirrors how the city itself developed. Seattle is often considered the best bicycling city in America, which for locals could be seen as a bit of a head-scratcher, given how hilly and wet the metropolis is. Cycling also has long been one of the largest avenues for infrastructure, sustainability and advocacy.

Wild Lives: The World’s Most Extraordinary Wildlife Photos by Art Wolfe, ’75; Essays by Gregory A. Green Insight Editions, November 2023 From one of the world’s renowned wildlife photographers comes this celebration of the beauty, ferocity and revival of Earth’s endangered wildlife. With amphibians and reptiles to mammals and birds, “Wild Lives” portrays an earthly aesthetic millions of years in the making and celebrates the resilience of life. Wolfe has photographed more than 500 species in 60 countries. His work here forms the most comprehensive, globe-spanning book of wildlife photography he has ever published.

PODCAST Extracurricular in Particular Available where you find your podcasts Beloved former UW professor Stan Chernicoff, who taught at the UW for 40 years and served more than 50,000 students during his career, offers a roadmap to navigate the sometimes puzzling, hidden maze of the university landscape.

His insights reveal methods for becoming unforgettable during your undergraduate experience.

TV SHOW

HAIDEE S. MERRITT

Mike Hatzenbeler leads Seattle-based PROVAIL, Washington state’s largest multi-service agency dedicated to meeting the needs of children, youth and adults with disabilities who need an integrated, complex set of services to enjoy life according to their own choices.

disguise my new disability, says Merritt, who maintains an enormous respect for those who use a cane or a wheelchair.

“Believe me, I needed a cane and yet I was so incredibly insecure about showing any weakness it was painful for me to use one.

So stupid.” Merritt points out that mobility canes help others to identify the visually impaired, also helpful for community support. “There were countless embarrassing situations I could’ve avoided if I’d only owned up to some of my limitations: I was stuck in a glass revolving door once for what seemed like hours!”

Back on the East Coast, Merritt’s family did their best to support her. A double-major in English and Classics, Merritt wasn’t sure how she’d finish her education.

“Remember, this was almost 35 years ago, at the birth of the internet; no one corresponded by email or could search the web for resources.” To aid in the process, Merritt’s father started reading her books and assignments on tape, sending boxes of cassettes across the miles, delivered directly to her Capitol Hill apartment.

Merritt says it really took a village to get her diploma, from the surgeons and professors to the bus drivers who took her to the U District daily.

And then, a serendipitous temp placement sent her to UW Medicine physician Irl Hirsch, one of the world’s authorities on diabetes. “I was randomly given him while temping—as a diabetic, I was put

Continued on p. 57

ANIL KAPAHI

categorizes as community-building work. Previously with an independent school in Honolulu before starting at Seattle-based PROVAIL in 1995 as director of development, he has been the organization’s president and CEO for the past two decades. PROVAIL, which primarily serves King and Snohomish counties, is Washington state’s largest, multi-service agency dedicated to meeting the needs of children, youth and adults with disabilities who need an integrated, complex set of services to live life according to their own choices.

“Many people don’t know PROVAIL also focuses on assistive technology,” he says. “Sometimes people think you just get someone a wheelchair, they can put their feet on the footrest, use a joystick and that takes care of the problem. But do the switches work for the issues they have? Is it truly contoured physically to them, to where it enhances how they are trying to live their life? It’s more than just finding a piece of machinery; it takes a lot of thought and time to get proper customization.”

Helping 1,000 people a year and employing 450 employees, PROVAIL allows Hatzenbeler to serve in a way he never imagined he could. “Being here a long time, you get to see the effect it has on people in the long term,” he says. “We don’t just help get them set up in something and that’s it. They can have issues that come later and we’re here. They know they have a team behind them, that they aren’t just left alone. It makes a difference.”

Hatzenbeler, who grew up in Vancouver, Washington, traces his career to attending the UW as a political science major. “The political science department and being in the political science honors program, it just gave me such an opportunity to grow,” he says. “You learned across a wide range of topics—from the history of politics in the city of Seattle to important macroeconomic and political issues worldwide. With political science professors like Michael McCann and Lance Bennett, you didn’t just learn from them, but they invited you in to discussions and were truly interested in your input. Those opportunities were incredibly valuable and helped you expand your thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Coming on campus to recruit, the Washington Public Interest Research Group hired Hatzenbeler as a campaign director. He served in the role from 1988 to 1990. Previously, he was a student volunteer for the organization after being introduced to the WASHPIRG chapter on campus. “The PIRGs is a nationwide movement of student-led organizations,” he says. “It was opportunities at school like this active chapter, campaigning around consumer and environmental issues, that taught me so much. They were working on the Hanford nuclear waste issue, and that’s how I became involved in that topic. The school was always encouraging students to be active in learning about the issues that affect society and seeking out new ideas and solutions; that’s the environment that the University of Washington gives you,” he says.

As Hatzenbeler is staring down the early days of his third decade in his present role, a word that comes to mind to him is more. “The need is there to serve more people and we need to try and figure out a way to do that …” he says. “You see the difference it makes. People’s lives getting better, the great work they do, we all have dreams of the life we want to have, and a community can come together and help each other. I got my chance to live my dream of helping others …We will keep pushing forward for other people’s dreams, too.”

House of Villains E! and on Hulu Comedian and actor Joel McHale, ’95, ’00, hosts this E! series which features 10 of reality TV’s most iconic villains. They must try to outdo each other through a series of challenges to win the title of America’s Ultimate Supervillain.

WINTER 2023

41

MEDIA

With Wit and Whiteout Haidee Merritt charms readers with her droll and deprecating illustrations about Type 1 diabetes

By Caitlin Klask The UW campus looked a little different to Haidee Merritt, ’95, when she arrived as a transfer student from Franklin & Marshall College in New Hampshire. In a sea of motley flannel shirts—it was the height of the grunge era—Merritt began to lose her vision. She has had Type 1 diabetes since age 2, and during college, the micro blood vessels in her eyes began to hemorrhage. “It happened over a period of three or four days; my vision became completely foggy and distorted, like looking through a fishtank,” recalls Merritt. She underwent vitrectomy surgeries, used to treat retina detachment, at Virginia Mason (a six-hour procedure for each eye with two weeks of recovery back then), but student life changed. She needed to use a cane to get around.

“I wanted to remain very independent, so I was really angry and resistant to accepting help; I tried to just continue life the way it had been, almost trying to

Helping PROVAIL Prevail Mike Hatzenbeler’s goal is to help people with disabilities fulfill their life choices

By Eric Butterman

40

UW MAGAZINE

Every day, Mike Hatzenbeler goes to work with the goal of giving those with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to take their rightful place in the community—a big change for those who have lived in institutions, experienced discrimination or been excluded in other ways.

“It is about being a part of the community,” Hatzenbeler says.

“We don’t try to lead them to jobs we think they should take.

We ask them what they would like to do with their life, what they are interested in and then we work to create that opportunity for them.”

Hatzenbeler, who studied political science while at the UW from 1984 to 1988, has spent his whole career in what he

BOOKS Biking Uphill in the Rain

By Tom Fucoloro University of Washington Press, August 2023 Bet you didn’t know that the history of cycling in the Emerald City mirrors how the city itself developed. Seattle is often considered the best bicycling city in America, which for locals could be seen as a bit of a head-scratcher, given how hilly and wet the metropolis is. Cycling also has long been one of the largest avenues for infrastructure, sustainability and advocacy.

Wild Lives: The World’s Most Extraordinary Wildlife Photos by Art Wolfe, ’75; Essays by Gregory A. Green Insight Editions, November 2023 From one of the world’s renowned wildlife photographers comes this celebration of the beauty, ferocity and revival of Earth’s endangered wildlife. With amphibians and reptiles to mammals and birds, “Wild Lives” portrays an earthly aesthetic millions of years in the making and celebrates the resilience of life. Wolfe has photographed more than 500 species in 60 countries. His work here forms the most comprehensive, globe-spanning book of wildlife photography he has ever published.

PODCAST Extracurricular in Particular Available where you find your podcasts Beloved former UW professor Stan Chernicoff, who taught at the UW for 40 years and served more than 50,000 students during his career, offers a roadmap to navigate the sometimes puzzling, hidden maze of the university landscape.

His insights reveal methods for becoming unforgettable during your undergraduate experience.

TV SHOW

HAIDEE S. MERRITT

Mike Hatzenbeler leads Seattle-based PROVAIL, Washington state’s largest multi-service agency dedicated to meeting the needs of children, youth and adults with disabilities who need an integrated, complex set of services to enjoy life according to their own choices.

disguise my new disability, says Merritt, who maintains an enormous respect for those who use a cane or a wheelchair.

“Believe me, I needed a cane and yet I was so incredibly insecure about showing any weakness it was painful for me to use one.

So stupid.” Merritt points out that mobility canes help others to identify the visually impaired, also helpful for community support. “There were countless embarrassing situations I could’ve avoided if I’d only owned up to some of my limitations: I was stuck in a glass revolving door once for what seemed like hours!”

Back on the East Coast, Merritt’s family did their best to support her. A double-major in English and Classics, Merritt wasn’t sure how she’d finish her education.

“Remember, this was almost 35 years ago, at the birth of the internet; no one corresponded by email or could search the web for resources.” To aid in the process, Merritt’s father started reading her books and assignments on tape, sending boxes of cassettes across the miles, delivered directly to her Capitol Hill apartment.

Merritt says it really took a village to get her diploma, from the surgeons and professors to the bus drivers who took her to the U District daily.

And then, a serendipitous temp placement sent her to UW Medicine physician Irl Hirsch, one of the world’s authorities on diabetes. “I was randomly given him while temping—as a diabetic, I was put

Continued on p. 57

ANIL KAPAHI

categorizes as community-building work. Previously with an independent school in Honolulu before starting at Seattle-based PROVAIL in 1995 as director of development, he has been the organization’s president and CEO for the past two decades. PROVAIL, which primarily serves King and Snohomish counties, is Washington state’s largest, multi-service agency dedicated to meeting the needs of children, youth and adults with disabilities who need an integrated, complex set of services to live life according to their own choices.

“Many people don’t know PROVAIL also focuses on assistive technology,” he says. “Sometimes people think you just get someone a wheelchair, they can put their feet on the footrest, use a joystick and that takes care of the problem. But do the switches work for the issues they have? Is it truly contoured physically to them, to where it enhances how they are trying to live their life? It’s more than just finding a piece of machinery; it takes a lot of thought and time to get proper customization.”

Helping 1,000 people a year and employing 450 employees, PROVAIL allows Hatzenbeler to serve in a way he never imagined he could. “Being here a long time, you get to see the effect it has on people in the long term,” he says. “We don’t just help get them set up in something and that’s it. They can have issues that come later and we’re here. They know they have a team behind them, that they aren’t just left alone. It makes a difference.”

Hatzenbeler, who grew up in Vancouver, Washington, traces his career to attending the UW as a political science major. “The political science department and being in the political science honors program, it just gave me such an opportunity to grow,” he says. “You learned across a wide range of topics—from the history of politics in the city of Seattle to important macroeconomic and political issues worldwide. With political science professors like Michael McCann and Lance Bennett, you didn’t just learn from them, but they invited you in to discussions and were truly interested in your input. Those opportunities were incredibly valuable and helped you expand your thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Coming on campus to recruit, the Washington Public Interest Research Group hired Hatzenbeler as a campaign director. He served in the role from 1988 to 1990. Previously, he was a student volunteer for the organization after being introduced to the WASHPIRG chapter on campus. “The PIRGs is a nationwide movement of student-led organizations,” he says. “It was opportunities at school like this active chapter, campaigning around consumer and environmental issues, that taught me so much. They were working on the Hanford nuclear waste issue, and that’s how I became involved in that topic. The school was always encouraging students to be active in learning about the issues that affect society and seeking out new ideas and solutions; that’s the environment that the University of Washington gives you,” he says.

As Hatzenbeler is staring down the early days of his third decade in his present role, a word that comes to mind to him is more. “The need is there to serve more people and we need to try and figure out a way to do that …” he says. “You see the difference it makes. People’s lives getting better, the great work they do, we all have dreams of the life we want to have, and a community can come together and help each other. I got my chance to live my dream of helping others …We will keep pushing forward for other people’s dreams, too.”

House of Villains E! and on Hulu Comedian and actor Joel McHale, ’95, ’00, hosts this E! series which features 10 of reality TV’s most iconic villains. They must try to outdo each other through a series of challenges to win the title of America’s Ultimate Supervillain.

WINTER 2023

41

NEWS FROM THE UWAA

Not your typical Career Conversations

Tantalizing Travel Choices Await: Italy, Japan, Paris

UWAA’s career podcast series launches its third season of one-on-one work/life discussions.

2024 brings a wealth of opportunities from UW Alumni �ours to see the world. Here are a few highlights that will spark your wanderlust.

And remember: You don’t need to be an alum to travel with UW Alumni �ours! Friends of the UW, family, current and retired staff and faculty are welcome. �o book or learn more, www.uwalum.com/tours.

Charm of the Amalfi Coast May 15-24, 2024 Tour operator: AHI Travel

Your Italian daydreams will come to life on this handcrafted, small-group journey along the Amalfi Coast! Enjoy seven nights in Sorrento, venturing out to the special towns of Ravello, Amalfi and Positano. Unravel history during excursions to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum, visit a rural farm and experience bustling Naples. Plus, tuck into delicious local dishes and engage with the region’s welcoming locals. This program features a firstclass hotel and an extensive meal plan.

Paris Featuring the African American Experience Special UW host: UW Tacoma Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange September 14-22, 2024 Tour Operator: AHI Travel

Follow in the footsteps of Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, Eugene Bullard and other African American luminaries on this enriching seven-night stay in Paris. In the years following World War I, many Black Americans found acceptance and opportunities in the City of Light. Through specially designed excursions and enriching talks, you will trace the journey of African Americans in France, gaining insight into why they moved to Paris and how they forever influenced French culture. In Montmartre, listen to stories about the club owners and musicians that shaped Paris’ jazz fervor, and learn about the contributions of key figures of the African diaspora. Watch a fascinating documentary, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, and enjoy an evening of jazz at a local club. Along the way, enjoy quintessential Parisian experiences: tasting divine cuisine, cruising the Seine River and exploring the incredible art scene.

Check out these highlighted trips and plenty more at Washington.edu/alumni/travel.

42

UW MAGAZINE

Looking for career advice that goes beyond your usual “how-to” focus on resumes, interviews or cover letters? Career Conversations is a podcast series produced by the UWAA that presents speakers with unique perspectives on relevant topics for you and your professional development. Think of these as frank conversations to help you navigate changing times.

Launched in 2022, the podcasts clicked with Huskies looking for insights that focus more on topics about values, fulfillment and interpersonal issues in the workplace. “Don’t Build Your Network, Build Your Relationships with Aleenah Ansari” dove into how to use storytelling to create your brand. Equity and justice coach/consultant Yejin Lee spoke on how to achieve “Emotional Divestment in the Workplace” – a topic that resonated with alumni searching for ways to reflect on their relationship with work, particularly as they navigated inequity. “Combatting Ageism in the Job Market” provided practical advice from Seattle career coach Elizabeth Atcheson on how to harness your existing experience as a powerful asset that defies the stereotypes of an “older” worker.

The 2023 season expanded with shorter two-part episodes, available on Spotify. “Transitioning into Leadership” with Catherine

Bachy explored how to approach first leadership roles without becoming overwhelmed. Helen Chung’s conversation about “Navigating Career Transitions” walked listeners through the sometimes surprising and intense emotions that can come with a job or career change. The final episode approached the ever popular quest o f “ M a n a g i n g Yo u r Wo r k / L i f e Environment.” Psychologist Rosemary E. Simmons, former director of the UW Bothell Counseling Center, shared tips on juggling competing demands while being true to your values.

In January, the third season launches with three episodes that tackle more nuanced career- development topics featuring experts who will each converse with a current UWAA GOLD Council member.

Artist, designer and small business owner Stacy Nguyen, ’07, weighs the balance of

finding a career she was passionate about with the familial cautions of pursuing a career that may be less of a financial guarantee in a lively discussion with Nidhi Kumar,’21. Social justice advocate and business owner Salomé Valencia-Bohné explores with Karla Ciccia, ’15, how social entrepreneurship can be a financially and fulfilling career where you can continue to honor your cultural heritage. Finally, Megan Kennedy of the UW Resilience Lab joins Gina Topp, ’17, ’21, ’23, to discuss skills and practice that help promote resilience and well-being in the workplace, both on an individual and an organizational level.

All episodes are available by visiting UWalum.com/career-conversations and on Spotify.

CHAMPION THE NEXT GENERATION

UWAA membership dues help support students through mentoring connections, campus activities and scholarships.

Insider’s Japan September 4-16, 2024 Tour Operator: Odysseys Unlimited

It’s a land of delicate art and bustling commerce, of rich traditions and dizzying modernity; a jumble of sights, sounds and tastes that for visitors are truly foreign—and truly fascinating. This well-crafted tour features the highlights of Tokyo and Kyoto, engages us in local life, and takes us off the beaten path to the lovely historic cities of Takayama and Kanazawa.

JOIN THE PACK

UWALUM.COM/ JOINUWAA

WINTER 2023

43

NEWS FROM THE UWAA

Not your typical Career Conversations

Tantalizing Travel Choices Await: Italy, Japan, Paris

UWAA’s career podcast series launches its third season of one-on-one work/life discussions.

2024 brings a wealth of opportunities from UW Alumni �ours to see the world. Here are a few highlights that will spark your wanderlust.

And remember: You don’t need to be an alum to travel with UW Alumni �ours! Friends of the UW, family, current and retired staff and faculty are welcome. �o book or learn more, www.uwalum.com/tours.

Charm of the Amalfi Coast May 15-24, 2024 Tour operator: AHI Travel

Your Italian daydreams will come to life on this handcrafted, small-group journey along the Amalfi Coast! Enjoy seven nights in Sorrento, venturing out to the special towns of Ravello, Amalfi and Positano. Unravel history during excursions to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum, visit a rural farm and experience bustling Naples. Plus, tuck into delicious local dishes and engage with the region’s welcoming locals. This program features a firstclass hotel and an extensive meal plan.

Paris Featuring the African American Experience Special UW host: UW Tacoma Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange September 14-22, 2024 Tour Operator: AHI Travel

Follow in the footsteps of Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, Eugene Bullard and other African American luminaries on this enriching seven-night stay in Paris. In the years following World War I, many Black Americans found acceptance and opportunities in the City of Light. Through specially designed excursions and enriching talks, you will trace the journey of African Americans in France, gaining insight into why they moved to Paris and how they forever influenced French culture. In Montmartre, listen to stories about the club owners and musicians that shaped Paris’ jazz fervor, and learn about the contributions of key figures of the African diaspora. Watch a fascinating documentary, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, and enjoy an evening of jazz at a local club. Along the way, enjoy quintessential Parisian experiences: tasting divine cuisine, cruising the Seine River and exploring the incredible art scene.

Check out these highlighted trips and plenty more at Washington.edu/alumni/travel.

42

UW MAGAZINE

Looking for career advice that goes beyond your usual “how-to” focus on resumes, interviews or cover letters? Career Conversations is a podcast series produced by the UWAA that presents speakers with unique perspectives on relevant topics for you and your professional development. Think of these as frank conversations to help you navigate changing times.

Launched in 2022, the podcasts clicked with Huskies looking for insights that focus more on topics about values, fulfillment and interpersonal issues in the workplace. “Don’t Build Your Network, Build Your Relationships with Aleenah Ansari” dove into how to use storytelling to create your brand. Equity and justice coach/consultant Yejin Lee spoke on how to achieve “Emotional Divestment in the Workplace” – a topic that resonated with alumni searching for ways to reflect on their relationship with work, particularly as they navigated inequity. “Combatting Ageism in the Job Market” provided practical advice from Seattle career coach Elizabeth Atcheson on how to harness your existing experience as a powerful asset that defies the stereotypes of an “older” worker.

The 2023 season expanded with shorter two-part episodes, available on Spotify. “Transitioning into Leadership” with Catherine

Bachy explored how to approach first leadership roles without becoming overwhelmed. Helen Chung’s conversation about “Navigating Career Transitions” walked listeners through the sometimes surprising and intense emotions that can come with a job or career change. The final episode approached the ever popular quest o f “ M a n a g i n g Yo u r Wo r k / L i f e Environment.” Psychologist Rosemary E. Simmons, former director of the UW Bothell Counseling Center, shared tips on juggling competing demands while being true to your values.

In January, the third season launches with three episodes that tackle more nuanced career- development topics featuring experts who will each converse with a current UWAA GOLD Council member.

Artist, designer and small business owner Stacy Nguyen, ’07, weighs the balance of

finding a career she was passionate about with the familial cautions of pursuing a career that may be less of a financial guarantee in a lively discussion with Nidhi Kumar,’21. Social justice advocate and business owner Salomé Valencia-Bohné explores with Karla Ciccia, ’15, how social entrepreneurship can be a financially and fulfilling career where you can continue to honor your cultural heritage. Finally, Megan Kennedy of the UW Resilience Lab joins Gina Topp, ’17, ’21, ’23, to discuss skills and practice that help promote resilience and well-being in the workplace, both on an individual and an organizational level.

All episodes are available by visiting UWalum.com/career-conversations and on Spotify.

CHAMPION THE NEXT GENERATION

UWAA membership dues help support students through mentoring connections, campus activities and scholarships.

Insider’s Japan September 4-16, 2024 Tour Operator: Odysseys Unlimited

It’s a land of delicate art and bustling commerce, of rich traditions and dizzying modernity; a jumble of sights, sounds and tastes that for visitors are truly foreign—and truly fascinating. This well-crafted tour features the highlights of Tokyo and Kyoto, engages us in local life, and takes us off the beaten path to the lovely historic cities of Takayama and Kanazawa.

JOIN THE PACK

UWALUM.COM/ JOINUWAA

WINTER 2023

43

Strengthen rural medicine. When you support future physicians like Wyatt Bowles, you help improve medical care in communities that need it most. giving.uw.edu/dec-2023

GENEROSITY AND

UW students to train at participating campuses in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Through WWAMI, students can stay close to home for their schooling, or get hands-on experience in similar communities.

WWAMI students spend their first 18 months taking essential science courses, then train in hospitals, clinics or practices within the five-state region. They have access to programs that bolster their understanding of medical practice in underserved areas.

In his first summer of medical school, Bowles took part in the School of Medicine’s Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP). During this four-week experience in community medicine, Bowles worked side by side with Lance Hansen, a family doctor at a busy rural clinic in Montpelier, Idaho.

Under Hansen’s oversight, Bowles stepped into the role of the provider, assessing patients, many of whom knew Hansen from the community.

“He had this special connection with people because he’d been there in that small town for 10 years,” Bowles notes.

“Patients would come in and say, ‘Oh, our kids are on the same basketball team.’” Bowles was inspired by these authentic relationships and impressed by how Hansen balanced patient privacy with personal connection.

Bowles also got experience creating and communicating care plans and performing procedures: “I practiced, I sutured, I gave injections. I had my hands in a C-section.

I was doing what we’d only watched or talked about in medical school.”

This vital experience helped him better understand the versatility and bedside manner necessary for rural medicine. “Dr. Hansen did colonoscopies and endoscopies because there’s no gastroenterologist there. Rural doctors have to do a little bit more because they’re more secluded and have fewer resources,” says Bowles.

O P P O R T U N I T Y AT T H E U W

Hometown Health Care Raised on a dairy farm in rural Idaho, Wyatt Bowles dreamed of becoming a hometown doctor. Thanks to scholarship support and the UW School of Medicine’s innovative programs, that dream can come true.

By Alexa Peters Photos by Dennis Wise There’s something special about rural medicine. That’s how fourth-year UW School of Medicine student Wyatt Bowles has always felt.

“What I really like about it is the relationships with the people. You take care of the whole family,” says Bowles, who grew up on a dairy farm in Dayton, Idaho, population 526.

But future doctors like Bowles are becoming less common. Between 2002 and 2017, the number of medical students from rural areas declined by 28%. Of those who graduate, many are saddled with debt and opt for higher-paying jobs in large hospital systems—while doctors currently working in rural communities get closer to retirement, diminishing an already thin workforce.

Small towns and sparsely populated areas need more physicians like Bowles, who hopes to eventually return home to practice. The University of Washington School of Medicine, with its robust training in rural and underserved communities, aims to meet that need. It was a great fit for Bowles. And thanks to scholarship support, he’s able to focus on preparing to serve communities like Dayton.

The youngest of four boys, Bowles spent his childhood exploring his family farm’s acres of sagebrush and pine, riding four-wheelers with his brothers and tending to the land and livestock.

“We spent a lot of time building fence, working with cattle, moving irrigation pipe for the farm. And I’d feed the cows before I went to school,” says Bowles.

44

UW MAGAZINE

He began thinking about a future in medicine as a preteen, when his eldest brother applied for medical school. In high school, Bowles took a Certified Nursing Assistant class and worked in a nursing home to get practical experience.

Though Bowles had his sights on medical school, he says many kids in Dayton didn’t even consider it a possibility: “There’s a lack of mentors in rural areas for going to medical school and coming back home to practice. And it is expensive. People think you have to pay for it completely out of pocket.”

Even with his brother’s example, and after applying to medical school and interviewing at the UW, Bowles wasn’t sure he belonged.

“I was planning to reschedule my MCATs and secondguessing if I was a good fit for medical school at all,” he recalls. “It was one of the lowest moments of my life—and then I got the call from the UW that I was accepted.”

The WWAMI program also gives students the chance to travel. While students at other medical schools may do their third- and fourth-year clinical rotations at a single teaching hospital, WWAMI students can regularly relocate to try different regions and clinical environments.

Bowles opted for the WWAMI program’s Idaho track so he could stay in that area as much as possible. He’s completed several rotations in southern Idaho—but he’s also broadened his experience with rotations at Harborview Medical Center, Madigan Army Medical Center, Seattle Children’s and UW Medical Center.

Though he’s weary of moving around, he says the ability to personalize his learning environments and the experience he gained through RUOP and WWAMI have been invaluable. It’s further solidified his interest in rural medicine and enhanced his skills.

“I learned that every doctor is different,” says Bowles.

“There are different ways to practice medicine. And it depends on your population and who you’re serving.”

“I want to help kids realize there are schools that believe in them and scholarships for them. That they can be doctors just like me.”

In addition to providing academic support, the UW School of Medicine strives to give students from rural and underserved communities the financial assistance they need to succeed. Bowles received the Laura Moore Cunningham Endowed Scholarship, awarded to lifetime residents of rural Idaho who intend to return and practice there. He also earned the Everett Orville Jones, M.D. Endowed Scholarship.

“It’s a certain amount of money that I don’t have to pay interest on and don’t have to worry about paying off,” says Bowles. “The scholarships helped reassure me that I am qualified for the program.”

Bowles is set to graduate in May 2024 and plans to go into pediatrics. He still hopes to practice close to home.

“Wherever I end up, I want to be active in the community—not just be the doctor,” he says. He also wants to serve as an example. “I want to help kids realize there are schools that believe in them and scholarships for them,” says Bowles. “That they can be doctors just like me.”

Even after that happy news, Bowles knew there would be challenges ahead. Practicing rural medicine requires grappling with a lot of complexity, including potentially being the sole doctor in a region without ready access to specialists. Luckily, the UW School of Medicine offered unique, immersive programs to prepare him for what’s ahead.

In 2020, Bowles began his UW training—in Moscow, Idaho. The University of Idaho is one of the UW’s partners in the innovative WWAMI program, which allows WINTER 2023

45

Strengthen rural medicine. When you support future physicians like Wyatt Bowles, you help improve medical care in communities that need it most. giving.uw.edu/dec-2023

GENEROSITY AND

UW students to train at participating campuses in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Through WWAMI, students can stay close to home for their schooling, or get hands-on experience in similar communities.

WWAMI students spend their first 18 months taking essential science courses, then train in hospitals, clinics or practices within the five-state region. They have access to programs that bolster their understanding of medical practice in underserved areas.

In his first summer of medical school, Bowles took part in the School of Medicine’s Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP). During this four-week experience in community medicine, Bowles worked side by side with Lance Hansen, a family doctor at a busy rural clinic in Montpelier, Idaho.

Under Hansen’s oversight, Bowles stepped into the role of the provider, assessing patients, many of whom knew Hansen from the community.

“He had this special connection with people because he’d been there in that small town for 10 years,” Bowles notes.

“Patients would come in and say, ‘Oh, our kids are on the same basketball team.’” Bowles was inspired by these authentic relationships and impressed by how Hansen balanced patient privacy with personal connection.

Bowles also got experience creating and communicating care plans and performing procedures: “I practiced, I sutured, I gave injections. I had my hands in a C-section.

I was doing what we’d only watched or talked about in medical school.”

This vital experience helped him better understand the versatility and bedside manner necessary for rural medicine. “Dr. Hansen did colonoscopies and endoscopies because there’s no gastroenterologist there. Rural doctors have to do a little bit more because they’re more secluded and have fewer resources,” says Bowles.

O P P O R T U N I T Y AT T H E U W

Hometown Health Care Raised on a dairy farm in rural Idaho, Wyatt Bowles dreamed of becoming a hometown doctor. Thanks to scholarship support and the UW School of Medicine’s innovative programs, that dream can come true.

By Alexa Peters Photos by Dennis Wise There’s something special about rural medicine. That’s how fourth-year UW School of Medicine student Wyatt Bowles has always felt.

“What I really like about it is the relationships with the people. You take care of the whole family,” says Bowles, who grew up on a dairy farm in Dayton, Idaho, population 526.

But future doctors like Bowles are becoming less common. Between 2002 and 2017, the number of medical students from rural areas declined by 28%. Of those who graduate, many are saddled with debt and opt for higher-paying jobs in large hospital systems—while doctors currently working in rural communities get closer to retirement, diminishing an already thin workforce.

Small towns and sparsely populated areas need more physicians like Bowles, who hopes to eventually return home to practice. The University of Washington School of Medicine, with its robust training in rural and underserved communities, aims to meet that need. It was a great fit for Bowles. And thanks to scholarship support, he’s able to focus on preparing to serve communities like Dayton.

The youngest of four boys, Bowles spent his childhood exploring his family farm’s acres of sagebrush and pine, riding four-wheelers with his brothers and tending to the land and livestock.

“We spent a lot of time building fence, working with cattle, moving irrigation pipe for the farm. And I’d feed the cows before I went to school,” says Bowles.

44

UW MAGAZINE

He began thinking about a future in medicine as a preteen, when his eldest brother applied for medical school. In high school, Bowles took a Certified Nursing Assistant class and worked in a nursing home to get practical experience.

Though Bowles had his sights on medical school, he says many kids in Dayton didn’t even consider it a possibility: “There’s a lack of mentors in rural areas for going to medical school and coming back home to practice. And it is expensive. People think you have to pay for it completely out of pocket.”

Even with his brother’s example, and after applying to medical school and interviewing at the UW, Bowles wasn’t sure he belonged.

“I was planning to reschedule my MCATs and secondguessing if I was a good fit for medical school at all,” he recalls. “It was one of the lowest moments of my life—and then I got the call from the UW that I was accepted.”

The WWAMI program also gives students the chance to travel. While students at other medical schools may do their third- and fourth-year clinical rotations at a single teaching hospital, WWAMI students can regularly relocate to try different regions and clinical environments.

Bowles opted for the WWAMI program’s Idaho track so he could stay in that area as much as possible. He’s completed several rotations in southern Idaho—but he’s also broadened his experience with rotations at Harborview Medical Center, Madigan Army Medical Center, Seattle Children’s and UW Medical Center.

Though he’s weary of moving around, he says the ability to personalize his learning environments and the experience he gained through RUOP and WWAMI have been invaluable. It’s further solidified his interest in rural medicine and enhanced his skills.

“I learned that every doctor is different,” says Bowles.

“There are different ways to practice medicine. And it depends on your population and who you’re serving.”

“I want to help kids realize there are schools that believe in them and scholarships for them. That they can be doctors just like me.”

In addition to providing academic support, the UW School of Medicine strives to give students from rural and underserved communities the financial assistance they need to succeed. Bowles received the Laura Moore Cunningham Endowed Scholarship, awarded to lifetime residents of rural Idaho who intend to return and practice there. He also earned the Everett Orville Jones, M.D. Endowed Scholarship.

“It’s a certain amount of money that I don’t have to pay interest on and don’t have to worry about paying off,” says Bowles. “The scholarships helped reassure me that I am qualified for the program.”

Bowles is set to graduate in May 2024 and plans to go into pediatrics. He still hopes to practice close to home.

“Wherever I end up, I want to be active in the community—not just be the doctor,” he says. He also wants to serve as an example. “I want to help kids realize there are schools that believe in them and scholarships for them,” says Bowles. “That they can be doctors just like me.”

Even after that happy news, Bowles knew there would be challenges ahead. Practicing rural medicine requires grappling with a lot of complexity, including potentially being the sole doctor in a region without ready access to specialists. Luckily, the UW School of Medicine offered unique, immersive programs to prepare him for what’s ahead.

In 2020, Bowles began his UW training—in Moscow, Idaho. The University of Idaho is one of the UW’s partners in the innovative WWAMI program, which allows WINTER 2023

45

Enrich education for young children. When you help make Washington’s early-childhood education workforce more diverse, you can improve outcomes for all of our littlest learners. giving.uw.edu/dec-2023

In creating this new Indigenous cohort and planning future cohorts, Tuan helped the program focus on being accountable and responsive.

“If those students don’t have a good experience, if they don’t feel like who they are in their entirety is welcome, they’re not going to come back. Whatever our identities are, we want to know they can be incorporated into our craft,” she says. “It’s on us to figure out how to do that.”

Working with tribal leaders to figure that out is Filiberto Barajas-López

A new cohort of Indigenous students in the College of Education is ushering in an early-learning program that puts language and culture first.

ILLUSTRATION: TY JUVINEL

By Chelsea Lin

huy syaʔyaʔ, huy syaʔyaʔ, tix̌ ix̌ dubut, tix̌ix̌ dubut ɬušudubicid čəd, ɬušudubicid čəd ʔal kʷi ƛ̕əllaʔ, ʔal kʷi ƛ̕əllaʔ.

Ty Juvinel is a Tulalip Coast Salish artist. His piece “Listen Well” shows Eagle and its chicks speaking about flying. Juvinel says, “Being a good listener goes both ways. As parents and adults, we forget to listen to our children, when many times they have the answers we are looking for.”

46

UW MAGAZINE

Jasmyne Diaz’s young daughters came home one day from the Tulalip Early Learning Academy (TELA), their birth-tokindergarten child care center, singing a stanza from “huy syaʔyaʔ”—the Lushootseed goodbye song. Over and over they sang the lines they remembered, not knowing what followed.

As a member of the Tulalip Tribes, Diaz recognized the Lushootseed words but didn’t know the language well enough to help with the rest of the song. She thought of her great-grandmother—a Lushootseed educator—and her grandmother, who’d earned a doctorate in education. She thought of her three girls and the future she wanted for them. She says, “I decided if they knew Lushootseed, I also had to learn and help them.”

Diaz is now a teaching assistant with the Tulalip Tribes’ Lushootseed Language Department, teaching not only her own children but many of the community’s young students.

She says she appreciates the important work TELA is doing to educate the tribe’s littlest learners, infusing their early education with the language, culture and teachings of their elders.

TELA is one program in one Indigenous community. But all across the country, there are not enough early-childhood teachers to meet the need—educators like Diaz, who are invested in and represent the community they support.

When students see teachers who look like them, studies report a positive impact on engagement and achievement in the classroom.

The University of Washington is working to address this need, building on the success of initiatives like My Brother’s Teacher, an innovative fellowship program that recruits Black and brown male students to study teaching. This fall, thanks to a $38 million grant from the Ballmer Group to increase and diversify Washington’s early-childhood education workforce via scholarships and other support, the UW College of Education and partnering tribal communities will welcome an inaugural cohort of Indigenous undergraduates studying early-childhood education.

By building and growing this initial group of educators with Native communities, program leaders hope to apply the learnings to more communities who have been furthest from educational justice.

The first-of-its-kind program is being co-designed by

tribal leaders and UW staff and faculty. College of Education Dean Mia Tuan says the process is intentionally slow, in order to authentically involve and benefit the community. Tuan has learned from experience: She’s spent the last five years developing the Rainier Valley Early Learning Campus, which similarly aims to make early-childhood teaching accessible to a diverse group of potential educators. “What we found [in building that campus] was that the neighborhood did want the UW, under certain circumstances,” she says. “We weren’t going to swoop in and take over. We weren’t going to be the experts.” They specialized in what the University does best: “We have students, we know professional development, we know best practices. We wanted to marry high-quality child learning and high-quality adult learning.”

Diaz understands why tribe members may not be interested in

becoming teachers—after all, the institution of education wasn’t built for Native kids. “How many of our parents and grandparents have had horrible, horrible situations with the educational system?” she asks, referring to the vicious history of the U.S. forcing Indigenous children into violent government-run boarding schools. “That trickles down. The only time I learned any kind of Indigenous history, teachings, anything, was when I went to a tribal school.”

This is why Fryberg and Barajas-López are working alongside other Native education leaders and elders to build a program that’s accessible and attractive to Indigenous students. “We owe this to Native communities. When a community says what they need, identifies what they’re doing, and we can help with that, we’re contributing to their nation building. We are helping them thrive on their terms.”

Though the focus is currently on early childhood, Fryberg hopes this investment will springboard into K–12 education as well, and that perhaps Diaz’s children will benefit before they graduate. Currently, the Tulalip Tribes do teach the language in three high schools in the Marysville School District. “We’re at a turning point,” Fryberg says about increased state and federal support for Indigenous learning. “This partnership with the UW, and funding provided to do this, is an amazing gift that will change the trajectory of education in tribal communities.”

CYRUS MCCRIMMON

Creating a Culture of Learning

(P’urhépecha), director of the college’s Indigenous Education Initiatives and Native Education Certificate Program. When the Indigenous Education Advisory Board got the news about the Ballmer Group grant, Barajas-López says they had a long, meaningful conversation about being intentional in approaching and partnering with tribal communities in this work.

“The money is great, but people are really excited about the deep focus on early childhood. Our board, who are members of tribal communities, recognized that the conventional approach doesn’t always work. There’s a rich history of people who have grown this work in their Native communities already. The only way was to co-design, addressing the communities’ core concerns and vision.”

The college surveyed the state’s Native nations to identify those concerns, garnering responses from members of 14 of Washington’s 29 federally recognized nations. The replies highlighted the need for Native early-childhood educators and more accessible training, particularly in rural communities where travel can be a barrier. Many noted the need for culture- and language-based curricula, hands-on experiential learning, and trained educators familiar with not only the language but decolonial and Indigenous ways of knowing—another reason representation in the classroom really matters.

Barajas-López has been working closely with TELA director and Tulalip Tribal member Sheryl Fryberg, who has spent a career with the tribe in human services, health and education. She points to the national Head Start program’s 50-year report, which emphasizes the deep impact of early learning on young people’s school, career and life—and she’s seen how a lack of quality early learning is reflected in national K–12 educational statistics. “It’s been more miss than hit in terms of education for tribal children,” Fryberg says. “I want to create a strong base for our children. But it takes instructors really well versed in generational trauma, to embed the language and culture so it’s not an add-on, it’s part of the program. We need to train our educators so they understand the tribal community, the children, the history and sovereignty, the culture and language, and why we need to promote and save it.”

Always Learning

By Ken Denman

Chair, UW Foundation Board As an undergraduate accounting student with no professional experience, much of what I studied felt theoretical. My degree was a means to an end, a way to get a job—and it worked. But after a couple of years in the workforce, I wanted to keep growing. So I returned to school as an MBA student in the UW’s Foster School of Business.

This time, I was hungry to learn, and the UW had plenty to feed that appetite. As I applied my real-world work experience to my challenging graduate studies, I felt my critical thinking— and my potential—expand dramatically. It was a very rich time for me.

My business career took me to Denver, but I return often to the UW, whether it’s to teach a leadership class at the Foster School or participate on one of many committees and boards. As a venture capitalist, I know the importance of continued learning: The world is always changing, and no matter your interests, it’s crucial to stay relevant, informed and equipped for the future.

At the UW, I see how well we prepare our community to adapt and thrive—from 18-year-old first-year students to those seeking graduate degrees or professional certificates throughout their lives.

I also believe in learning for learning’s sake, expanding the ways you engage with the world and making your life all the richer for it. As the new chair of the UW Foundation Board of Directors, I relish the opportunity to keep learning about the many ways the UW is at the forefront of excellence and impact, and sharing those with you.

On p. 44, meet Wyatt Bowles, a UW School of Medicine student who left his small Idaho town for Seattle, knowing that the school’s top-notch rural medicine programs would prepare him well to serve small communities. At left, learn about learning itself—specifically, how important it is for early-childhood education to include cultural representation and awareness. And on p. 48, read about the value of a gathering place that will deepen the UW experience for American Indian and Alaska Native students—and enrich our whole community.

At the core of each of these stories lies your generosity: the many ways you uplift individuals, programs and communities at the UW and beyond. I look forward to the great work we’ll do together.

WINTER 2023

47

Enrich education for young children. When you help make Washington’s early-childhood education workforce more diverse, you can improve outcomes for all of our littlest learners. giving.uw.edu/dec-2023

In creating this new Indigenous cohort and planning future cohorts, Tuan helped the program focus on being accountable and responsive.

“If those students don’t have a good experience, if they don’t feel like who they are in their entirety is welcome, they’re not going to come back. Whatever our identities are, we want to know they can be incorporated into our craft,” she says. “It’s on us to figure out how to do that.”

Working with tribal leaders to figure that out is Filiberto Barajas-López

A new cohort of Indigenous students in the College of Education is ushering in an early-learning program that puts language and culture first.

ILLUSTRATION: TY JUVINEL

By Chelsea Lin

huy syaʔyaʔ, huy syaʔyaʔ, tix̌ ix̌ dubut, tix̌ix̌ dubut ɬušudubicid čəd, ɬušudubicid čəd ʔal kʷi ƛ̕əllaʔ, ʔal kʷi ƛ̕əllaʔ.

Ty Juvinel is a Tulalip Coast Salish artist. His piece “Listen Well” shows Eagle and its chicks speaking about flying. Juvinel says, “Being a good listener goes both ways. As parents and adults, we forget to listen to our children, when many times they have the answers we are looking for.”

46

UW MAGAZINE

Jasmyne Diaz’s young daughters came home one day from the Tulalip Early Learning Academy (TELA), their birth-tokindergarten child care center, singing a stanza from “huy syaʔyaʔ”—the Lushootseed goodbye song. Over and over they sang the lines they remembered, not knowing what followed.

As a member of the Tulalip Tribes, Diaz recognized the Lushootseed words but didn’t know the language well enough to help with the rest of the song. She thought of her great-grandmother—a Lushootseed educator—and her grandmother, who’d earned a doctorate in education. She thought of her three girls and the future she wanted for them. She says, “I decided if they knew Lushootseed, I also had to learn and help them.”

Diaz is now a teaching assistant with the Tulalip Tribes’ Lushootseed Language Department, teaching not only her own children but many of the community’s young students.

She says she appreciates the important work TELA is doing to educate the tribe’s littlest learners, infusing their early education with the language, culture and teachings of their elders.

TELA is one program in one Indigenous community. But all across the country, there are not enough early-childhood teachers to meet the need—educators like Diaz, who are invested in and represent the community they support.

When students see teachers who look like them, studies report a positive impact on engagement and achievement in the classroom.

The University of Washington is working to address this need, building on the success of initiatives like My Brother’s Teacher, an innovative fellowship program that recruits Black and brown male students to study teaching. This fall, thanks to a $38 million grant from the Ballmer Group to increase and diversify Washington’s early-childhood education workforce via scholarships and other support, the UW College of Education and partnering tribal communities will welcome an inaugural cohort of Indigenous undergraduates studying early-childhood education.

By building and growing this initial group of educators with Native communities, program leaders hope to apply the learnings to more communities who have been furthest from educational justice.

The first-of-its-kind program is being co-designed by

tribal leaders and UW staff and faculty. College of Education Dean Mia Tuan says the process is intentionally slow, in order to authentically involve and benefit the community. Tuan has learned from experience: She’s spent the last five years developing the Rainier Valley Early Learning Campus, which similarly aims to make early-childhood teaching accessible to a diverse group of potential educators. “What we found [in building that campus] was that the neighborhood did want the UW, under certain circumstances,” she says. “We weren’t going to swoop in and take over. We weren’t going to be the experts.” They specialized in what the University does best: “We have students, we know professional development, we know best practices. We wanted to marry high-quality child learning and high-quality adult learning.”

Diaz understands why tribe members may not be interested in

becoming teachers—after all, the institution of education wasn’t built for Native kids. “How many of our parents and grandparents have had horrible, horrible situations with the educational system?” she asks, referring to the vicious history of the U.S. forcing Indigenous children into violent government-run boarding schools. “That trickles down. The only time I learned any kind of Indigenous history, teachings, anything, was when I went to a tribal school.”

This is why Fryberg and Barajas-López are working alongside other Native education leaders and elders to build a program that’s accessible and attractive to Indigenous students. “We owe this to Native communities. When a community says what they need, identifies what they’re doing, and we can help with that, we’re contributing to their nation building. We are helping them thrive on their terms.”

Though the focus is currently on early childhood, Fryberg hopes this investment will springboard into K–12 education as well, and that perhaps Diaz’s children will benefit before they graduate. Currently, the Tulalip Tribes do teach the language in three high schools in the Marysville School District. “We’re at a turning point,” Fryberg says about increased state and federal support for Indigenous learning. “This partnership with the UW, and funding provided to do this, is an amazing gift that will change the trajectory of education in tribal communities.”

CYRUS MCCRIMMON

Creating a Culture of Learning

(P’urhépecha), director of the college’s Indigenous Education Initiatives and Native Education Certificate Program. When the Indigenous Education Advisory Board got the news about the Ballmer Group grant, Barajas-López says they had a long, meaningful conversation about being intentional in approaching and partnering with tribal communities in this work.

“The money is great, but people are really excited about the deep focus on early childhood. Our board, who are members of tribal communities, recognized that the conventional approach doesn’t always work. There’s a rich history of people who have grown this work in their Native communities already. The only way was to co-design, addressing the communities’ core concerns and vision.”

The college surveyed the state’s Native nations to identify those concerns, garnering responses from members of 14 of Washington’s 29 federally recognized nations. The replies highlighted the need for Native early-childhood educators and more accessible training, particularly in rural communities where travel can be a barrier. Many noted the need for culture- and language-based curricula, hands-on experiential learning, and trained educators familiar with not only the language but decolonial and Indigenous ways of knowing—another reason representation in the classroom really matters.

Barajas-López has been working closely with TELA director and Tulalip Tribal member Sheryl Fryberg, who has spent a career with the tribe in human services, health and education. She points to the national Head Start program’s 50-year report, which emphasizes the deep impact of early learning on young people’s school, career and life—and she’s seen how a lack of quality early learning is reflected in national K–12 educational statistics. “It’s been more miss than hit in terms of education for tribal children,” Fryberg says. “I want to create a strong base for our children. But it takes instructors really well versed in generational trauma, to embed the language and culture so it’s not an add-on, it’s part of the program. We need to train our educators so they understand the tribal community, the children, the history and sovereignty, the culture and language, and why we need to promote and save it.”

Always Learning

By Ken Denman

Chair, UW Foundation Board As an undergraduate accounting student with no professional experience, much of what I studied felt theoretical. My degree was a means to an end, a way to get a job—and it worked. But after a couple of years in the workforce, I wanted to keep growing. So I returned to school as an MBA student in the UW’s Foster School of Business.

This time, I was hungry to learn, and the UW had plenty to feed that appetite. As I applied my real-world work experience to my challenging graduate studies, I felt my critical thinking— and my potential—expand dramatically. It was a very rich time for me.

My business career took me to Denver, but I return often to the UW, whether it’s to teach a leadership class at the Foster School or participate on one of many committees and boards. As a venture capitalist, I know the importance of continued learning: The world is always changing, and no matter your interests, it’s crucial to stay relevant, informed and equipped for the future.

At the UW, I see how well we prepare our community to adapt and thrive—from 18-year-old first-year students to those seeking graduate degrees or professional certificates throughout their lives.

I also believe in learning for learning’s sake, expanding the ways you engage with the world and making your life all the richer for it. As the new chair of the UW Foundation Board of Directors, I relish the opportunity to keep learning about the many ways the UW is at the forefront of excellence and impact, and sharing those with you.

On p. 44, meet Wyatt Bowles, a UW School of Medicine student who left his small Idaho town for Seattle, knowing that the school’s top-notch rural medicine programs would prepare him well to serve small communities. At left, learn about learning itself—specifically, how important it is for early-childhood education to include cultural representation and awareness. And on p. 48, read about the value of a gathering place that will deepen the UW experience for American Indian and Alaska Native students—and enrich our whole community.

At the core of each of these stories lies your generosity: the many ways you uplift individuals, programs and communities at the UW and beyond. I look forward to the great work we’ll do together.

WINTER 2023

47

Expand a cultural home. When you support Phase 2 of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House, you can strengthen the experience of Native American students, faculty and staff—and enrich the entire UW community for generations to come. giving.uw.edu/dec-2023

FULFILLING A VISION In 1970, amid a wave of student activism to create a more diverse and inclusive campus, a group of Native American UW students made two requests of the University: establish an academic center for studying Indigenous history and life, and create a student cultural center on campus. The UW met their first request that fall by creating what is now the American Indian Studies Department.

The students’ second request would remain an unfulfilled dream for decades—until 2015, when wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (the Lushootseed name for “Intellectual House”) opened its doors, thanks to the help of public, private and tribal support. Designed in the style of a Northwest Coast Salish longhouse, the 8,400-square-foot structure features a 600-person gathering hall paneled in cedar. A cultural home for American Indian and Alaska Native students, faculty and staff, wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ is a welcoming space for the entire community, hosting tribal summits and events as well as gatherings for the University and the wider public.

But the original vision called for more: Workshop space for Native American arts such as woodcarving, weaving, painting and beading.

Support services like counseling and an elders’ lounge. Meeting and gathering spaces for Native students, faculty and staff to strengthen community. Phase 2—deferred due to the Great Recession and now scheduled to open in late 2026—will finally complete that vision, providing a Native art lab, classrooms, a student study space and lounge, and an outdoor garden and gathering space for learning about Indigenous plants and medicines. Continued philanthropic support can help make this promise a reality—and uplift Native life at the UW. “wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ is the heart of the Native community on campus,” says Intellectual House Director Chenoa Henry (Tulalip). “Fulfilling the original vision by completing both phases of this project makes that heart bigger and beat stronger.”

By Jamie Swenson Photo by Mark Stone

48

UW MAGAZINE

WINTER 2023

49

Expand a cultural home. When you support Phase 2 of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House, you can strengthen the experience of Native American students, faculty and staff—and enrich the entire UW community for generations to come. giving.uw.edu/dec-2023

FULFILLING A VISION In 1970, amid a wave of student activism to create a more diverse and inclusive campus, a group of Native American UW students made two requests of the University: establish an academic center for studying Indigenous history and life, and create a student cultural center on campus. The UW met their first request that fall by creating what is now the American Indian Studies Department.

The students’ second request would remain an unfulfilled dream for decades—until 2015, when wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (the Lushootseed name for “Intellectual House”) opened its doors, thanks to the help of public, private and tribal support. Designed in the style of a Northwest Coast Salish longhouse, the 8,400-square-foot structure features a 600-person gathering hall paneled in cedar. A cultural home for American Indian and Alaska Native students, faculty and staff, wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ is a welcoming space for the entire community, hosting tribal summits and events as well as gatherings for the University and the wider public.

But the original vision called for more: Workshop space for Native American arts such as woodcarving, weaving, painting and beading.

Support services like counseling and an elders’ lounge. Meeting and gathering spaces for Native students, faculty and staff to strengthen community. Phase 2—deferred due to the Great Recession and now scheduled to open in late 2026—will finally complete that vision, providing a Native art lab, classrooms, a student study space and lounge, and an outdoor garden and gathering space for learning about Indigenous plants and medicines. Continued philanthropic support can help make this promise a reality—and uplift Native life at the UW. “wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ is the heart of the Native community on campus,” says Intellectual House Director Chenoa Henry (Tulalip). “Fulfilling the original vision by completing both phases of this project makes that heart bigger and beat stronger.”

By Jamie Swenson Photo by Mark Stone

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Chairmen of the Boards Twin brothers forge a thriving business creating bindings for snowboards and splitboards

By Derek Belt

RON WURZER

A Big Appetite for Husky Fever It was sad to see longtime Husky hangout Northlake Tavern & Pizza close late last January. But don’t despair, because the place was bought by Big Mario’s, and after seven months of cleaning up, Big Mario’s, a small local chain, opened its doors to serve huge slices of pizza in a space that retains the legacy of Northlake’s previous 67 years. The famous Husky 50

UW MAGAZINE

memorabilia that adorned the walls is still there, including various editorial cartoons by Pulitzer Prize winner David Horsey, ’76. One of the big changes is that Big Mario’s is now an all-ages place, not a 21-plus tavern, so on your way to a Husky game, load up the kids and go grab a slice before you cheer on the purple and gold.

A lifelong snowboarder and certified Level 3 instructor who taught lessons at Alpental for 10 years, Bryce Kloster knows how to shred. But something felt off about the splitboard he borrowed from his wife on a crisp winter day in Utah’s Wasatch mountains.

A splitboard is a snowboard that comes apart lengthwise in the middle so that each half can be used like skis. You hike up the hill in a fusion of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, snap them together at the top and savor the ride back down.

Most splitboarding is done in the backcountry and away from the more popular ski resorts.

Bryce was no stranger to this kind of touring, and he didn’t complain when his boots felt wobbly that day in the borrowed bindings. He had a better idea. “We’d always wanted to do something in snowboarding and really wanted to engineer something, but we didn’t have an idea we thought we could build a company around,” says Bryce, who was designing boat lifts at the time for a small business in Kent.

“I called [my brother] when I got home and was like, ‘This is what we can do in snowboarding!’ I was pretty sure we could figure something out that was better than what I was just using.”

Today, Bryce, ’03, and Tyler, ’03, Kloster are co-owners of Karakoram, a North Bendbased manufacturer of high-performance splitboard and snowboard bindings. The identical twins, mechanical engineering majors at UW, assemble all of Karakoram’s gear in-house at their 14,900-square-foot shop, across from city hall with a stunning view of Mount Si high above.

One year after Bryce’s big idea, the brothers had machined a prototype splitboard binding and were on the mountain at Alpental testing it out. The design wasn’t perfect, but they were on the right path.

“Bryce and I consider ourselves binge designers and developers,” says Tyler, who designed electric toothbrushes at Philips prior to launching Karakoram. “If we have an idea, we hit it hard and fast and clear our schedules. The initial development of something like this can happen in a very short time.”

REAL DAWGS WEAR PURPLE CRAIG ROMANO, ’94, ’97 BESTSELLING OUTDOORS AND GUIDEBOOK AUTHOR

Craig Romano fell in love with Washington state’s boundless natural beauty on a crosscountry biking trip. That journey inspired the avid hiker, biker and trail runner to move from New Hampshire to Seattle and eventually study history at the University of Washington. While there, the double Dawg combined a passion for the outdoors with a gift for writing in his “Go Take a Hike” column in The Daily, the UW student newspaper.

That was the first step of his career writing guidebooks that inspire others to get outside and explore—no matter where they live or their level of experience. Today, the proud Husky has his dream job: researching the best Pacific Northwest hiking, biking and running trails for his next book, while raising awareness for environmental conservation.

Craig Romano explores the trails at Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island.

Continued on p. 57

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Chairmen of the Boards Twin brothers forge a thriving business creating bindings for snowboards and splitboards

By Derek Belt

RON WURZER

A Big Appetite for Husky Fever It was sad to see longtime Husky hangout Northlake Tavern & Pizza close late last January. But don’t despair, because the place was bought by Big Mario’s, and after seven months of cleaning up, Big Mario’s, a small local chain, opened its doors to serve huge slices of pizza in a space that retains the legacy of Northlake’s previous 67 years. The famous Husky 50

UW MAGAZINE

memorabilia that adorned the walls is still there, including various editorial cartoons by Pulitzer Prize winner David Horsey, ’76. One of the big changes is that Big Mario’s is now an all-ages place, not a 21-plus tavern, so on your way to a Husky game, load up the kids and go grab a slice before you cheer on the purple and gold.

A lifelong snowboarder and certified Level 3 instructor who taught lessons at Alpental for 10 years, Bryce Kloster knows how to shred. But something felt off about the splitboard he borrowed from his wife on a crisp winter day in Utah’s Wasatch mountains.

A splitboard is a snowboard that comes apart lengthwise in the middle so that each half can be used like skis. You hike up the hill in a fusion of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, snap them together at the top and savor the ride back down.

Most splitboarding is done in the backcountry and away from the more popular ski resorts.

Bryce was no stranger to this kind of touring, and he didn’t complain when his boots felt wobbly that day in the borrowed bindings. He had a better idea. “We’d always wanted to do something in snowboarding and really wanted to engineer something, but we didn’t have an idea we thought we could build a company around,” says Bryce, who was designing boat lifts at the time for a small business in Kent.

“I called [my brother] when I got home and was like, ‘This is what we can do in snowboarding!’ I was pretty sure we could figure something out that was better than what I was just using.”

Today, Bryce, ’03, and Tyler, ’03, Kloster are co-owners of Karakoram, a North Bendbased manufacturer of high-performance splitboard and snowboard bindings. The identical twins, mechanical engineering majors at UW, assemble all of Karakoram’s gear in-house at their 14,900-square-foot shop, across from city hall with a stunning view of Mount Si high above.

One year after Bryce’s big idea, the brothers had machined a prototype splitboard binding and were on the mountain at Alpental testing it out. The design wasn’t perfect, but they were on the right path.

“Bryce and I consider ourselves binge designers and developers,” says Tyler, who designed electric toothbrushes at Philips prior to launching Karakoram. “If we have an idea, we hit it hard and fast and clear our schedules. The initial development of something like this can happen in a very short time.”

REAL DAWGS WEAR PURPLE CRAIG ROMANO, ’94, ’97 BESTSELLING OUTDOORS AND GUIDEBOOK AUTHOR

Craig Romano fell in love with Washington state’s boundless natural beauty on a crosscountry biking trip. That journey inspired the avid hiker, biker and trail runner to move from New Hampshire to Seattle and eventually study history at the University of Washington. While there, the double Dawg combined a passion for the outdoors with a gift for writing in his “Go Take a Hike” column in The Daily, the UW student newspaper.

That was the first step of his career writing guidebooks that inspire others to get outside and explore—no matter where they live or their level of experience. Today, the proud Husky has his dream job: researching the best Pacific Northwest hiking, biking and running trails for his next book, while raising awareness for environmental conservation.

Craig Romano explores the trails at Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island.

Continued on p. 57

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TRIBUTE ANN STREISSGUTH 1932–2023 COURTESY OF THE STREISSGUTH FAMILY

First-Generation Student, First-Rate Discovery Ann Streissguth’s groundbreaking work identifying fetal alcohol syndrome changed prenatal care

By Rachel Gallaher

Proudly cheering on our hometown and Husky Nation since 1971.

Go Dawgs.

Ann Streissguth was a prime example of the impact of higher education. The first in her family to go to college, she went on to earn three college degrees and help make one of the most important public health discoveries of our time.

A beloved professor in the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for the past four decades, Streissguth made a name for herself in the 1970s after publishing an article (with fellow UW professor David Smith) in the distinguished British medical journal The Lancet describing what became known as fetal alcohol syndrome.

“Dr. Streissguth was relentless in her pursuit of understanding fetal alcohol spectrum disorders,” says Dr. Susan Stoner, current holder of the UW’s Ann Streissguth, Ph.D. Endowed Professorship in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. “She understood not just alcohol exposure, but the larger factors surrounding it, like the fact

that women who drink during pregnancy are often affected by poverty, and that can impact their ability to provide the optimal environment a child needs for healthy development.”

Born in Pasadena, California, Streissguth was the first in her family to attend college, partly funded by a Spreckels Sugar scholarship won by her angel food cake-baking skills. She attended Oregon State College, graduating in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in home economics education, earned an M.S. degree in 1959 from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in psychology from the UW in 1964.

Streissguth’s breakthrough research with Smith happened in 1973 at Harborview Hospital, when they examined two babies born to mothers with known alcohol abuse during their pregnancies. Among Streissguth’s lasting efforts are the “Don’t Drink During Pregnancy” initiative and the Parent-Child Assistance Program.

Streissguth died Aug. 2 at the age of 90.

RECOGNITION DONALD B. KRAFT, ’48, was widely known for his community involvement and longtime support of the University of Washington. A legend in the Seattle advertising world, he served as UWAA president (for which he won a Distinguished Service Award), chair of the UW Tyee Board of Advisors and chair of the UW Development Fund Board (forerunner of the UW Foundation). Kraft was inducted into the UW School of Communication Hall of Fame in 2005. He died Aug. 14 at the age of 96.

STEVEN W. KIM, ’97, ’00, was an Everett native who earned his law degree from the UW and went on to serve as a King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney for 15 years. That led to him being recruited by the South Korean government to help that country establish an adversarial justice system. He was part of the first group of Korean Prosecutors Association members outside of Los Angeles. He suffered a stroke and died July 15 at just 45 years old.

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TRIBUTE ANN STREISSGUTH 1932–2023 COURTESY OF THE STREISSGUTH FAMILY

First-Generation Student, First-Rate Discovery Ann Streissguth’s groundbreaking work identifying fetal alcohol syndrome changed prenatal care

By Rachel Gallaher

Proudly cheering on our hometown and Husky Nation since 1971.

Go Dawgs.

Ann Streissguth was a prime example of the impact of higher education. The first in her family to go to college, she went on to earn three college degrees and help make one of the most important public health discoveries of our time.

A beloved professor in the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for the past four decades, Streissguth made a name for herself in the 1970s after publishing an article (with fellow UW professor David Smith) in the distinguished British medical journal The Lancet describing what became known as fetal alcohol syndrome.

“Dr. Streissguth was relentless in her pursuit of understanding fetal alcohol spectrum disorders,” says Dr. Susan Stoner, current holder of the UW’s Ann Streissguth, Ph.D. Endowed Professorship in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. “She understood not just alcohol exposure, but the larger factors surrounding it, like the fact

that women who drink during pregnancy are often affected by poverty, and that can impact their ability to provide the optimal environment a child needs for healthy development.”

Born in Pasadena, California, Streissguth was the first in her family to attend college, partly funded by a Spreckels Sugar scholarship won by her angel food cake-baking skills. She attended Oregon State College, graduating in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in home economics education, earned an M.S. degree in 1959 from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in psychology from the UW in 1964.

Streissguth’s breakthrough research with Smith happened in 1973 at Harborview Hospital, when they examined two babies born to mothers with known alcohol abuse during their pregnancies. Among Streissguth’s lasting efforts are the “Don’t Drink During Pregnancy” initiative and the Parent-Child Assistance Program.

Streissguth died Aug. 2 at the age of 90.

RECOGNITION DONALD B. KRAFT, ’48, was widely known for his community involvement and longtime support of the University of Washington. A legend in the Seattle advertising world, he served as UWAA president (for which he won a Distinguished Service Award), chair of the UW Tyee Board of Advisors and chair of the UW Development Fund Board (forerunner of the UW Foundation). Kraft was inducted into the UW School of Communication Hall of Fame in 2005. He died Aug. 14 at the age of 96.

STEVEN W. KIM, ’97, ’00, was an Everett native who earned his law degree from the UW and went on to serve as a King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney for 15 years. That led to him being recruited by the South Korean government to help that country establish an adversarial justice system. He was part of the first group of Korean Prosecutors Association members outside of Los Angeles. He suffered a stroke and died July 15 at just 45 years old.

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In Memory

JAY HARRISON NEWKIRK

’66, ’70, ’71, Poulsbo, age 80, Aug. 2 GIRINDRA DAS

’67, ’77, Seattle, age 82, Aug. 11 CHARLES ASA HART

ALUMNI KURT LUCKS

Seattle, age 61, Aug. 27 RALPH H. NORBOM

GLEN BORGENDALE YOUELL

’55, Bellevue, age 89, April 17 MARLENE LAMBERT

’56, Bellevue, age 90, May 28

Normandy Park, age 84, Aug. 24, 2022

GLORIA WILSON SWISHER

1940

ERIC S. BREMNER

BARBARA SAUNTRY

’41, Seattle, age 103, June 30 WALT MILROY

’47, Lynnwood, age 103, July 14 JOHN LAYTON FOGLE

’48, ’59, Bellevue, age 97, April 3

1950 RUTHIE RAVER KALLANDER

’50, Woodinville, age 95, Aug. 19 MARILYN M. MARSHALL

’56, Seattle, age 88, July 23 ’57, Seattle, age 86, July 24 CLIFFORD LEIMBACK

’57, Seattle, age 95, May 8 ANTHONY WALLACE

’57, Kirkland, age 89, June 27 MERLIN JAMES HANSON

’67, Seattle, age 83, July 22 HUGH BLIZARD LADE

HAROLD MELVIN MORK

’67, Edmonds, age 83, July 1 ETHEL JUNE WILLIAMS

’67, ’71, Seattle, age 97, Sept. 18 MICHAEL T. KELLY

’68, Anchorage, Alaska, age 78, Oct. 11, 2021 CHRIS NOLAN NAPJUS

’55, Redmond, age 91, May 20 CATHERINE E. DAVIS

’55, Pacifica, California, age 89, Feb. 19

CAROL HANSEN EATON

’59, ’94, Edmonds, age 88, Aug. 25 THOMAS PHILIP GRAHAM III

’59, ’63, Seattle, age 85, July 31

SHIRLEY JOANNE ZAIC

’68, Seattle, age 78, Dec. 12, 2022

JOHN “JACK” WILLIAM PETERS

’69, Shoreline, age 77, June 6 JOHN PATRICK STROSAHL

’60, Seattle, age 90, July 7 RONALD H. THORNQUIST

’60, Seattle, age 85, Sept. 14 CAROL LEE DAVIS

’61, Des Moines, age 84, July 7 MERWYN A. HANEBERG

’61, Bellevue, age 89, July 26 MERRIE COLLINS QUAST

’61, Glendale, California, age 89, Aug. 7 JACK BOZANICH

’63, Burien, age 90, Aug. 12 LAWRENCE CRAGIN CALVERT

’63, Goodyear, Arizona, age 84, Aug. 17 GARY EUGENE GRINA

ROBERT CAMPBELL

’72, Federal Way, age 77, Aug. 19

BARBARA REEDER LUNDQUIST

’73, Seattle, age 89, Aug. 17 PAUL MAIER JR.

’73, Lummi Island, age 72, July 5 RUTH ANNE “DIANNE” FERRIS

’74, ’75, Seattle, age 93, June 29 SUE P. MINAHAN

’74, Dupont, age 82, July 11

CHARLES COOPER GORDON

JOHN R. WUNDER

’55, ’58, Burien, age 90, July 28

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KENT WARREN HOWARD

’66, Bellevue, age 81, Aug. 4

’81, ’83, Federal Way, age 99, Sept. 23 GEOFFREY ALDEN CLAYTON

’83, Woodinville, age 72, June 28

JONATHAN MARK KODAMA

’83, Lynnwood, age 65, July 26 AVA L. DRISCOLL

’85, Seattle, age 59, May 16, 2022 NANCY CAROL EISEN

’85, Seattle, age 85, Sept. 1

’90, Mount Vernon, age 68, July 15

HAROLD ALLAN LAMON JR.

’66, ’69, Bellevue, age 79, Sept. 8

’81, Seattle, age 67, Sept. 12

NICHOLAS FRANCIS CORNING

’71, Redmond, age 74, July 22

JAMES THOMAS O’BRIEN JR.

GARY N. UTIGARD

’80, Seattle, age 67, July 5

CATHERINE M. SMITH

’63, Maple Valley, age 83, July 29

’55, Auburn, age 90, Aug. 1

GARY HITOSHI SAKAI

1990

’71, Bellevue, age 88, Aug. 24

’55, Seattle, age 83, Aug. 11

LINDA CLARK HELSELL

’80, Seattle, age 91, Aug. 10

PATRICIA F. STEVENS

’68, Seattle, age 86, Aug. 19

KENNITH G. MILTON

MARTIN E. CHANDLER

NORMA “BUNNY” BROWN

FREDERICK “RICK” C. PAINTER

’58, Bellevue, age 87, Sept. 8

PAUL Z. ZIA

’54, Edmonds, age 91, May 25

1980

VERNE E. LAWRENCE

1970

THOMAS ROSE RIEDINGER

’78, Seattle, age 76, June 18

’68, ’69, Grasonville, Maryland, age 82, Sept. 19

1960

’54, Seattle, age 91, July 29

WILLIAM WATTERS III

’58, La Conner, age 87, Aug. 23

’50, Vancouver, Washington, age 95, March 26

NIKITA GOROHOFF

’76, Oak Harbor, age 71, Jan. 15

CRAIG A. SCHREINER

DOUGLAS H. MULHOLLAND

’53, Seattle, age 92, July 2023

KENNETH STEINBRECHER

MARILYN A. NOWOGROSKI

’67, Seattle, age 78, July 23

’69, Yakima, age 75, Dec. 16, 2022

MILDRED SATHER

’75, Seattle, age 76, July 29

DOUGLAS W. MCQUAID

’59, Bellevue, age 86, Aug. 30

’53, Bedford, Wyoming, age 92, April 7, 2022

FRED RICHARD VARNI

’77, ’80, Kirkland, age 67, June 12

SALLY RAE STILL

FRANCES LINTON

’75, Seattle, age 79, Aug. 15

’67, Seattle, age 79, June 14

’50, ’64, Palm Desert, California, age 95, March 1

’52, Raleigh, North Carolina, age 97, Aug. 16

JANET DALE HESSLEIN

’74, Seattle, age 76, Sept. 6

’74, Lincoln, Nebraska, age 78, June 25 ROBERT W. GORDON

’75, age 88, May 21

FRANK ATKINSON

HELEN HARTE

’90, Seattle, age 80, June 7 STEVEN A. STARGARDTER

’91, Bonita, California, age 67, Sept. 5 SHARON FRUELING

’93, Laguna Beach, California, age 76, March 28 TEK WOO

’97, Phoenix, age 47, Aug. 4 CATHERINE ANNE FOSS

’99, Burien, age 59

2000 MARY LIZABETH GRADY

’01, Mercer Island, age 68, Aug. 9

FACULTY AND FRIENDS MATILDE UMIPIG BANEZ

served as a medical interpreter at Harborview Medical Center after she retired from Seattle Public Schools after 23 years as a teacher at Cleveland and Ingraham high schools.

She died Aug. 25 at the age of 96.

ROB BRITT, ’87, enjoyed a long career working in the East Asian Law Department of the Gallagher Law Library, where he worked from 1987 to 2019. He was devoted to helping students, faculty and visiting scholars with their research. He worked tirelessly to catalog and organize the UW collections on Japanese, Korean and Chinese law and to make them accessible to researchers who might or might not understand the original language of the materials. He died June 23 at the age of 70.

HENRY HAN CHIN, ’73, ’77,

was born in China, spent his early years in Hong Kong and later immigrated to the United States. He earned two degrees from the UW School of Dentistry, opened a dental practice in the Chinatown International District and was a lecturer at the UW dental school. He also served on the Board of Kin On Retirement Home. He died July 9 at the age of 72.

VIVIAN CHUN, ’77, had a career in the banking industry and served on the board of trustees of the Puget Sound Association of Phi Beta Kappa, becoming president in 1988. She played a vital role in obtaining the organization’s prestigious “Pathfinder” awards for Quincy Jones, Overton Berry and Clarence Acox. She retired from the board after 36 years. She died June 20 at the age of 89.

PAT CRANSTON taught at the UW School of Communication for more than 35 years, where she was the first tenure-track woman professor.

She helped start KCTS and KUOW, where she was the news director, and became the first woman president of the Broadcast Education Association. She retired from the UW in 1990 and created the Patricia Cranston Creativity in Communication Scholarship in the School of Communication. She died recently.

MARION DIGGS NUTE DOCTER

attended Vassar College and UW before serving as a naval aviation gunnery instructor during World War II. She later married Jack Docter, who became a UW Medicine professor. She was a member of numerous community organizations, helped Seattle Children’s with its Penny Drives, and was one of the founders of Crystal Mountain Resort. She died July 15 at the age of 105.

ROBERT THOMAS FRASER

began his distinguished academic career in 1976 as a consultant for the UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. The following year, he was hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery, where he established the vocational rehabilitation program. This program grew to become the nonprofit Neurology Vocational Services Unit within the UW Epilepsy Surgery Program and now treats people with various neurological conditions. In 1991, he was promoted within both departments to professor and eventually professor emeritus. He wrote more than 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He died May 12 at the age of 76.

ALBERT MCCAGUE GORDON

came to the UW in 1962 for a postdoctoral position in the School of Medicine and eventually worked his way up to full professor. A researcher of heart muscle physiology, he became quite influential in the UW’s Biophysics Department. He died July 2 at the age of 88.

J. TRENHOLME GRIFFIN, ’51, ’55, was a Seattle native who was the coxswain of the Husky crew. In 1948, his freshman eight and junior varsity crews of 1949 and 1950 won national IRA championships.

He went on to graduate from the UW School of Medicine and serve in the Army Medical Corps in Germany, then returned to the UW for a residency in radiation oncology. In 1969, he became the first radiation oncologist at Seattle Children’s and established its nuclear medicine department. He died July 29 at the age of 94.

C. DAVID HUGHBANKS, ’58,

was one of the most involved civic engagement leaders Seattle has ever seen. In 1956, he was the chair of the UW chapter of the National Student Association and

regional president of the Great NW Region. He served as an events coordinator for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and coordinated the Closing Ceremony. He later was one of five professionals to organize the Seattle Center staff into a city department and was a part of the group that created Bumbershoot and the Northwest Folklife Festival. He held key leadership positions at more than 50 civic organizations including PONCHO, ACT, Pilchuck Glass School and King County Arts Commission. He also was executive director of Magnuson Park and Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. He died July 18 at the age of 87.

MONTELL JORDAN spent 25

years as a housekeeper at Harborview Medical Center, retiring in 2018. He died July 1 at the age of 67.

ABRAHAM KAPLAN was an Israel-born, Julliard-educated musician who in 1977 became the UW’s director of choral studies. He previously spent 16 years as director of choral studies on the Julliard faculty and formed a long-lasting musical collaboration with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic and with the Park Avenue Synagogue. He was a famous composer and published a college textbook, “Choral Conducting,” as well as his professional memoir, “Splendid Encounters.” He died Sept.

6 at the age of 92.

BARBRO “BABSI” KELSEY

worked as a medical transcriptionist at the UW Medical Center-Montlake. She died Sept. 16 at the age of 82.

ROGER V. LARSON worked

at the UW for 33 years as an associate professor of orthopedics and sports medicine.

He was a Huskies team physician for more than 15 years, covering sports including football, men’s basketball and softball. He died Feb. 8 at the age of 78.

JOHN MANGELS, ’50, served

in the Army in World War II and completed his tour of duty as a staff sergeant in North Africa. He came to the UW on the GI Bill and later became a career banker at Rainier Bank, rising to CEO and chairman of the board by the time of his retirement in 1989. A major UW supporter, he worked to address the issues of equal opportunity for women and minorities in the workplace

Inventor, Entrepreneur and Volunteer PATRICK J. SNYDER, ’64, ’70, was a National Merit Scholar who studied physics and business at the UW and went on to design and install intercommunication systems, wireless broadcasters and instrument work for the UW cytoplasm lab.

But he was best known as one of the founders and CEO/owner of SpeakerLab as well as a longtime employee at Boeing, where he invented a Loop Resistance Meter. After receiving an MBA from the UW, he taught small-business management at the UW. He was also a volunteer for the Seattle Mental Health Institute. He died Jan. 2, 2022, at the age of 80.

and redlining. He died July 27 at the age of 97.

PETER E. MAXIM was a professor emeritus in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, where he taught residents, saw patients and did research on the brain. He died July 14 at the age of 82.

EDWARD “PETE” BARNARD MCLEAN joined the UW

School of Medicine faculty in 1972 after completing a clinical retinal fellowship at the renowned Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. He also co-founded Ophthalmic Consultants Northwest and was a passionate boat builder. He died Jan. 18 at the age of 87.

SANDRA BONNIE NUDELMAN

and her husband, Phil, had a lifelong commitment to philanthropy and she was a major supporter of the UW. She died Aug. 12 at the age of 83.

NICHOLAS PASCHE was a pa-

tient services specialist at UW Medical Center-Montlake. He retired in 2016. He died Feb. 11 at the age of 80.

JANET PLISKE worked for 24

years for Universities Libraries and retired in 2001. She died March 7 at the age of 73.

ROY ROBERT RIDDERBUSCH

was hired as an electrician at the UW Medical Center-Montlake and retired after 21 years as operations director. He died Aug. 26 at the age of 96.

HELEN LANGER SMITH, ’50, was president of the Mortar Board and served on the staff of the Tyee yearbook and The Daily when she was a UW student. She was also president of Rally Girls, the Husky cheering squad, and could often be seen with the mascot, Wasky II, in tow around the field. She went on to have a successful career

in banking, becoming one of the first women to enter the formal banking training progtam for Seattle First National Bank. A major supporter of the UW, she died July 28 at the age of 94.

ROBERT W. TOSSEY worked

SCOTT E. SOULES, ’71,

’58, was a Seattle native, who, with his family was sent to the Minidoka War Relocation prison camp in Idaho during World War II until their release in 1945. He and his family returned to Seattle, and he earned his degree from the UW School of Pharmacy. In his 50-year career, he owned the Genesee Street Pharmacy in Rainier Valley. He established the Herbert & Bertha Tsuchiya Endowed Student Support Fund for Global Research at the UW to honor his wife, herself a UW School of Pharmacy graduate. He also received the School of Pharmacy’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He died Aug. 21 at the age of 90.

spent a lifetime making the University District a better place. Known as “Mr. U District,” he knew just about everyone through his work in commercial real estate.

He was the founder of the University District Business Improvement Area, a longtime member of U District Rotary and one of the founders of the University District Partnership. He also served as president of the University District Parking Association. He died June 6 at the age of 74.

GLORIA WILSON SWISHER, ’56, was born in the University District and lived there throughout her graduation from the UW in 1956 with a degree from the School of Music. She went on to teach at WSU and PLU and spent 30 years teaching music theory and composition at Shoreline Community College. She also taught undergraduate theory at the UW School of Music.

She served as chair of the advisory committee for the UW School of Music for two decades. She died July 23 at the age of 88.

LILY YURIKO TAKATSUKA, ’49, ’50, was born in Seattle to Japanese immigrant parents.

She earned two degrees from the UW and was the second Japanese teacher to be hired by the Seattle Public Schools, where she taught second and third grade at Madrona School. She died May 12 at the age of 99.

TIMOTHY DAVID THORNING

worked for the UW and Boeing, loved fishing and bird hunting. He died Sept. 9 at the age of 69.

in the UW Medical Center-Montlake’s information systems department from 1977 to 2002. He died June 22 at the age of 85.

HERBERT MINORU TSUCHIYA,

JOAN VALLES worked in the UW Department of Physics for 19 years, retiring in 2005.

She died Nov. 19, 2022, at the age of 87.

STEPHAUN ELITE WALLACE

was a clinical faculty member and scientist at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. He spent his career fighting health-care disparities in HIV, AIDS and COVID-19.

He strived to bring health care to vulnerable populations by bringing local COVID and mpox vaccine clinics to events. He also joined the staff of the Legacy Project, a program in the Office of HIV/ AIDS Network Coordination at Fred Hutch. He died Aug. 5 at the age of 45.

WILLIAM JAY ZIMMERMAN,

’71, was an architect who also taught residential architecture at the UW and visited Rome many times as he investigated Baroque light. He died Sept.

16 at the age of 76.

WINTER 2023

55

In Memory

JAY HARRISON NEWKIRK

’66, ’70, ’71, Poulsbo, age 80, Aug. 2 GIRINDRA DAS

’67, ’77, Seattle, age 82, Aug. 11 CHARLES ASA HART

ALUMNI KURT LUCKS

Seattle, age 61, Aug. 27 RALPH H. NORBOM

GLEN BORGENDALE YOUELL

’55, Bellevue, age 89, April 17 MARLENE LAMBERT

’56, Bellevue, age 90, May 28

Normandy Park, age 84, Aug. 24, 2022

GLORIA WILSON SWISHER

1940

ERIC S. BREMNER

BARBARA SAUNTRY

’41, Seattle, age 103, June 30 WALT MILROY

’47, Lynnwood, age 103, July 14 JOHN LAYTON FOGLE

’48, ’59, Bellevue, age 97, April 3

1950 RUTHIE RAVER KALLANDER

’50, Woodinville, age 95, Aug. 19 MARILYN M. MARSHALL

’56, Seattle, age 88, July 23 ’57, Seattle, age 86, July 24 CLIFFORD LEIMBACK

’57, Seattle, age 95, May 8 ANTHONY WALLACE

’57, Kirkland, age 89, June 27 MERLIN JAMES HANSON

’67, Seattle, age 83, July 22 HUGH BLIZARD LADE

HAROLD MELVIN MORK

’67, Edmonds, age 83, July 1 ETHEL JUNE WILLIAMS

’67, ’71, Seattle, age 97, Sept. 18 MICHAEL T. KELLY

’68, Anchorage, Alaska, age 78, Oct. 11, 2021 CHRIS NOLAN NAPJUS

’55, Redmond, age 91, May 20 CATHERINE E. DAVIS

’55, Pacifica, California, age 89, Feb. 19

CAROL HANSEN EATON

’59, ’94, Edmonds, age 88, Aug. 25 THOMAS PHILIP GRAHAM III

’59, ’63, Seattle, age 85, July 31

SHIRLEY JOANNE ZAIC

’68, Seattle, age 78, Dec. 12, 2022

JOHN “JACK” WILLIAM PETERS

’69, Shoreline, age 77, June 6 JOHN PATRICK STROSAHL

’60, Seattle, age 90, July 7 RONALD H. THORNQUIST

’60, Seattle, age 85, Sept. 14 CAROL LEE DAVIS

’61, Des Moines, age 84, July 7 MERWYN A. HANEBERG

’61, Bellevue, age 89, July 26 MERRIE COLLINS QUAST

’61, Glendale, California, age 89, Aug. 7 JACK BOZANICH

’63, Burien, age 90, Aug. 12 LAWRENCE CRAGIN CALVERT

’63, Goodyear, Arizona, age 84, Aug. 17 GARY EUGENE GRINA

ROBERT CAMPBELL

’72, Federal Way, age 77, Aug. 19

BARBARA REEDER LUNDQUIST

’73, Seattle, age 89, Aug. 17 PAUL MAIER JR.

’73, Lummi Island, age 72, July 5 RUTH ANNE “DIANNE” FERRIS

’74, ’75, Seattle, age 93, June 29 SUE P. MINAHAN

’74, Dupont, age 82, July 11

CHARLES COOPER GORDON

JOHN R. WUNDER

’55, ’58, Burien, age 90, July 28

54

UW MAGAZINE

KENT WARREN HOWARD

’66, Bellevue, age 81, Aug. 4

’81, ’83, Federal Way, age 99, Sept. 23 GEOFFREY ALDEN CLAYTON

’83, Woodinville, age 72, June 28

JONATHAN MARK KODAMA

’83, Lynnwood, age 65, July 26 AVA L. DRISCOLL

’85, Seattle, age 59, May 16, 2022 NANCY CAROL EISEN

’85, Seattle, age 85, Sept. 1

’90, Mount Vernon, age 68, July 15

HAROLD ALLAN LAMON JR.

’66, ’69, Bellevue, age 79, Sept. 8

’81, Seattle, age 67, Sept. 12

NICHOLAS FRANCIS CORNING

’71, Redmond, age 74, July 22

JAMES THOMAS O’BRIEN JR.

GARY N. UTIGARD

’80, Seattle, age 67, July 5

CATHERINE M. SMITH

’63, Maple Valley, age 83, July 29

’55, Auburn, age 90, Aug. 1

GARY HITOSHI SAKAI

1990

’71, Bellevue, age 88, Aug. 24

’55, Seattle, age 83, Aug. 11

LINDA CLARK HELSELL

’80, Seattle, age 91, Aug. 10

PATRICIA F. STEVENS

’68, Seattle, age 86, Aug. 19

KENNITH G. MILTON

MARTIN E. CHANDLER

NORMA “BUNNY” BROWN

FREDERICK “RICK” C. PAINTER

’58, Bellevue, age 87, Sept. 8

PAUL Z. ZIA

’54, Edmonds, age 91, May 25

1980

VERNE E. LAWRENCE

1970

THOMAS ROSE RIEDINGER

’78, Seattle, age 76, June 18

’68, ’69, Grasonville, Maryland, age 82, Sept. 19

1960

’54, Seattle, age 91, July 29

WILLIAM WATTERS III

’58, La Conner, age 87, Aug. 23

’50, Vancouver, Washington, age 95, March 26

NIKITA GOROHOFF

’76, Oak Harbor, age 71, Jan. 15

CRAIG A. SCHREINER

DOUGLAS H. MULHOLLAND

’53, Seattle, age 92, July 2023

KENNETH STEINBRECHER

MARILYN A. NOWOGROSKI

’67, Seattle, age 78, July 23

’69, Yakima, age 75, Dec. 16, 2022

MILDRED SATHER

’75, Seattle, age 76, July 29

DOUGLAS W. MCQUAID

’59, Bellevue, age 86, Aug. 30

’53, Bedford, Wyoming, age 92, April 7, 2022

FRED RICHARD VARNI

’77, ’80, Kirkland, age 67, June 12

SALLY RAE STILL

FRANCES LINTON

’75, Seattle, age 79, Aug. 15

’67, Seattle, age 79, June 14

’50, ’64, Palm Desert, California, age 95, March 1

’52, Raleigh, North Carolina, age 97, Aug. 16

JANET DALE HESSLEIN

’74, Seattle, age 76, Sept. 6

’74, Lincoln, Nebraska, age 78, June 25 ROBERT W. GORDON

’75, age 88, May 21

FRANK ATKINSON

HELEN HARTE

’90, Seattle, age 80, June 7 STEVEN A. STARGARDTER

’91, Bonita, California, age 67, Sept. 5 SHARON FRUELING

’93, Laguna Beach, California, age 76, March 28 TEK WOO

’97, Phoenix, age 47, Aug. 4 CATHERINE ANNE FOSS

’99, Burien, age 59

2000 MARY LIZABETH GRADY

’01, Mercer Island, age 68, Aug. 9

FACULTY AND FRIENDS MATILDE UMIPIG BANEZ

served as a medical interpreter at Harborview Medical Center after she retired from Seattle Public Schools after 23 years as a teacher at Cleveland and Ingraham high schools.

She died Aug. 25 at the age of 96.

ROB BRITT, ’87, enjoyed a long career working in the East Asian Law Department of the Gallagher Law Library, where he worked from 1987 to 2019. He was devoted to helping students, faculty and visiting scholars with their research. He worked tirelessly to catalog and organize the UW collections on Japanese, Korean and Chinese law and to make them accessible to researchers who might or might not understand the original language of the materials. He died June 23 at the age of 70.

HENRY HAN CHIN, ’73, ’77,

was born in China, spent his early years in Hong Kong and later immigrated to the United States. He earned two degrees from the UW School of Dentistry, opened a dental practice in the Chinatown International District and was a lecturer at the UW dental school. He also served on the Board of Kin On Retirement Home. He died July 9 at the age of 72.

VIVIAN CHUN, ’77, had a career in the banking industry and served on the board of trustees of the Puget Sound Association of Phi Beta Kappa, becoming president in 1988. She played a vital role in obtaining the organization’s prestigious “Pathfinder” awards for Quincy Jones, Overton Berry and Clarence Acox. She retired from the board after 36 years. She died June 20 at the age of 89.

PAT CRANSTON taught at the UW School of Communication for more than 35 years, where she was the first tenure-track woman professor.

She helped start KCTS and KUOW, where she was the news director, and became the first woman president of the Broadcast Education Association. She retired from the UW in 1990 and created the Patricia Cranston Creativity in Communication Scholarship in the School of Communication. She died recently.

MARION DIGGS NUTE DOCTER

attended Vassar College and UW before serving as a naval aviation gunnery instructor during World War II. She later married Jack Docter, who became a UW Medicine professor. She was a member of numerous community organizations, helped Seattle Children’s with its Penny Drives, and was one of the founders of Crystal Mountain Resort. She died July 15 at the age of 105.

ROBERT THOMAS FRASER

began his distinguished academic career in 1976 as a consultant for the UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. The following year, he was hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery, where he established the vocational rehabilitation program. This program grew to become the nonprofit Neurology Vocational Services Unit within the UW Epilepsy Surgery Program and now treats people with various neurological conditions. In 1991, he was promoted within both departments to professor and eventually professor emeritus. He wrote more than 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He died May 12 at the age of 76.

ALBERT MCCAGUE GORDON

came to the UW in 1962 for a postdoctoral position in the School of Medicine and eventually worked his way up to full professor. A researcher of heart muscle physiology, he became quite influential in the UW’s Biophysics Department. He died July 2 at the age of 88.

J. TRENHOLME GRIFFIN, ’51, ’55, was a Seattle native who was the coxswain of the Husky crew. In 1948, his freshman eight and junior varsity crews of 1949 and 1950 won national IRA championships.

He went on to graduate from the UW School of Medicine and serve in the Army Medical Corps in Germany, then returned to the UW for a residency in radiation oncology. In 1969, he became the first radiation oncologist at Seattle Children’s and established its nuclear medicine department. He died July 29 at the age of 94.

C. DAVID HUGHBANKS, ’58,

was one of the most involved civic engagement leaders Seattle has ever seen. In 1956, he was the chair of the UW chapter of the National Student Association and

regional president of the Great NW Region. He served as an events coordinator for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and coordinated the Closing Ceremony. He later was one of five professionals to organize the Seattle Center staff into a city department and was a part of the group that created Bumbershoot and the Northwest Folklife Festival. He held key leadership positions at more than 50 civic organizations including PONCHO, ACT, Pilchuck Glass School and King County Arts Commission. He also was executive director of Magnuson Park and Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. He died July 18 at the age of 87.

MONTELL JORDAN spent 25

years as a housekeeper at Harborview Medical Center, retiring in 2018. He died July 1 at the age of 67.

ABRAHAM KAPLAN was an Israel-born, Julliard-educated musician who in 1977 became the UW’s director of choral studies. He previously spent 16 years as director of choral studies on the Julliard faculty and formed a long-lasting musical collaboration with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic and with the Park Avenue Synagogue. He was a famous composer and published a college textbook, “Choral Conducting,” as well as his professional memoir, “Splendid Encounters.” He died Sept.

6 at the age of 92.

BARBRO “BABSI” KELSEY

worked as a medical transcriptionist at the UW Medical Center-Montlake. She died Sept. 16 at the age of 82.

ROGER V. LARSON worked

at the UW for 33 years as an associate professor of orthopedics and sports medicine.

He was a Huskies team physician for more than 15 years, covering sports including football, men’s basketball and softball. He died Feb. 8 at the age of 78.

JOHN MANGELS, ’50, served

in the Army in World War II and completed his tour of duty as a staff sergeant in North Africa. He came to the UW on the GI Bill and later became a career banker at Rainier Bank, rising to CEO and chairman of the board by the time of his retirement in 1989. A major UW supporter, he worked to address the issues of equal opportunity for women and minorities in the workplace

Inventor, Entrepreneur and Volunteer PATRICK J. SNYDER, ’64, ’70, was a National Merit Scholar who studied physics and business at the UW and went on to design and install intercommunication systems, wireless broadcasters and instrument work for the UW cytoplasm lab.

But he was best known as one of the founders and CEO/owner of SpeakerLab as well as a longtime employee at Boeing, where he invented a Loop Resistance Meter. After receiving an MBA from the UW, he taught small-business management at the UW. He was also a volunteer for the Seattle Mental Health Institute. He died Jan. 2, 2022, at the age of 80.

and redlining. He died July 27 at the age of 97.

PETER E. MAXIM was a professor emeritus in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, where he taught residents, saw patients and did research on the brain. He died July 14 at the age of 82.

EDWARD “PETE” BARNARD MCLEAN joined the UW

School of Medicine faculty in 1972 after completing a clinical retinal fellowship at the renowned Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. He also co-founded Ophthalmic Consultants Northwest and was a passionate boat builder. He died Jan. 18 at the age of 87.

SANDRA BONNIE NUDELMAN

and her husband, Phil, had a lifelong commitment to philanthropy and she was a major supporter of the UW. She died Aug. 12 at the age of 83.

NICHOLAS PASCHE was a pa-

tient services specialist at UW Medical Center-Montlake. He retired in 2016. He died Feb. 11 at the age of 80.

JANET PLISKE worked for 24

years for Universities Libraries and retired in 2001. She died March 7 at the age of 73.

ROY ROBERT RIDDERBUSCH

was hired as an electrician at the UW Medical Center-Montlake and retired after 21 years as operations director. He died Aug. 26 at the age of 96.

HELEN LANGER SMITH, ’50, was president of the Mortar Board and served on the staff of the Tyee yearbook and The Daily when she was a UW student. She was also president of Rally Girls, the Husky cheering squad, and could often be seen with the mascot, Wasky II, in tow around the field. She went on to have a successful career

in banking, becoming one of the first women to enter the formal banking training progtam for Seattle First National Bank. A major supporter of the UW, she died July 28 at the age of 94.

ROBERT W. TOSSEY worked

SCOTT E. SOULES, ’71,

’58, was a Seattle native, who, with his family was sent to the Minidoka War Relocation prison camp in Idaho during World War II until their release in 1945. He and his family returned to Seattle, and he earned his degree from the UW School of Pharmacy. In his 50-year career, he owned the Genesee Street Pharmacy in Rainier Valley. He established the Herbert & Bertha Tsuchiya Endowed Student Support Fund for Global Research at the UW to honor his wife, herself a UW School of Pharmacy graduate. He also received the School of Pharmacy’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He died Aug. 21 at the age of 90.

spent a lifetime making the University District a better place. Known as “Mr. U District,” he knew just about everyone through his work in commercial real estate.

He was the founder of the University District Business Improvement Area, a longtime member of U District Rotary and one of the founders of the University District Partnership. He also served as president of the University District Parking Association. He died June 6 at the age of 74.

GLORIA WILSON SWISHER, ’56, was born in the University District and lived there throughout her graduation from the UW in 1956 with a degree from the School of Music. She went on to teach at WSU and PLU and spent 30 years teaching music theory and composition at Shoreline Community College. She also taught undergraduate theory at the UW School of Music.

She served as chair of the advisory committee for the UW School of Music for two decades. She died July 23 at the age of 88.

LILY YURIKO TAKATSUKA, ’49, ’50, was born in Seattle to Japanese immigrant parents.

She earned two degrees from the UW and was the second Japanese teacher to be hired by the Seattle Public Schools, where she taught second and third grade at Madrona School. She died May 12 at the age of 99.

TIMOTHY DAVID THORNING

worked for the UW and Boeing, loved fishing and bird hunting. He died Sept. 9 at the age of 69.

in the UW Medical Center-Montlake’s information systems department from 1977 to 2002. He died June 22 at the age of 85.

HERBERT MINORU TSUCHIYA,

JOAN VALLES worked in the UW Department of Physics for 19 years, retiring in 2005.

She died Nov. 19, 2022, at the age of 87.

STEPHAUN ELITE WALLACE

was a clinical faculty member and scientist at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. He spent his career fighting health-care disparities in HIV, AIDS and COVID-19.

He strived to bring health care to vulnerable populations by bringing local COVID and mpox vaccine clinics to events. He also joined the staff of the Legacy Project, a program in the Office of HIV/ AIDS Network Coordination at Fred Hutch. He died Aug. 5 at the age of 45.

WILLIAM JAY ZIMMERMAN,

’71, was an architect who also taught residential architecture at the UW and visited Rome many times as he investigated Baroque light. He died Sept.

16 at the age of 76.

WINTER 2023

55

WITH WIT AND WHITEOUT T H I N G S

T H A T

D E F I N E

T H E

Continued from p. 41

U W

Looking Up With determination, faith and the UW’s belief in her, Square Donaldson overcame tremendous obstacles

By Square Donaldson

UW MAGAZINE

RON WURZER

RON WURZER

56

My name is Square. I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I came to Seattle in 1978 and got my first job at the University of Washington. My supervisor then was Clarence Bennett.

I was doing really well, then everything turned upside down. I seemed to have lost my way, my respect, dignity—all went down the drain due to drugs and alcohol.

I did my best to quit, but my best just wasn’t good enough. Then I lost everything.

By then I was the mother of six, four boys and two girls. I have 11 grandbabies and two great grandbabies.

You would think that would stop me from drugging and drinking, but it didn’t.

From there, I had been to prison three times. After being released the last time, I just couldn’t get it right. I ended up homeless in Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle.

I lost two daughters and brought one with me in an urn. I stole a baby blanket and backpack to keep her in. The blanket I slept with to keep me warm was stolen.

One time, I woke up and my shoes were gone, but by the grace of God, I held onto my baby’s urn.

So I went to get treatment at Thunderbird Treatment Center, because my niece and nephew never gave up on me. While getting treatment, I set goals for myself: One goal was to stay out of places that would set me back. The second goal was to go back to school and get an education, earning my high school diploma in 2016 at Renton Technical College, paid for by Goodwill, and took college classes at the UW. The third goal was to get a job and be part of society again. I applied for a job at the University of Washington in the building services department. Gene Woodard gave me a second chance. I’ve been working at the University for six years now.

I’m telling my story because maybe someone out there could feel me. Please don’t give up, keep your head up, and pray to a higher power greater than yourself.

in a diabetic hospital with diabetic Irl Hirsch. The universe was sending me a message.”

As Merritt’s eyes healed from the surgeries, frustration with her chronic disease grew. Because her perception of space and color was left forever distorted, she began drawing with pen and ink in blackand-white. (“I erased a lot and used gallons of Whiteout.”) The result: three sardonic and witty comic books about the perils of life with diabetes based on her own insights and experiences. Her illustrations are entirely handmade—still no computers involved—and her work is all self-published under the moniker Bird Wing Press.

Reviews of her books (“FingerPricks,” “One Lump or Two?” and 2023’s “The Sweet Taste of Misery”) are highly favorable. It’s no wonder: Her work is deeply personal, with readers reaching out to commiserate or share how long they’ve had the disease. Merritt admits marketing alone adds to the frustration of this chronic disease. “I’d also like to educate people who know and live with diabetic people so they can hear how difficult it can be to deal with the emotions, frustrations and complications. But I guess that’s often the plight of the artist,” says Merritt. “At this point, my diabetic work is hard to market on my own. It’s a gift of love. When I die, it’s my legacy.”

While her zine about insulin might not fly off the shelves, the hormone itself does. “Diabetes is a huge money maker,” she laments. And insulin isn’t the cure; it’s simply a very expensive treatment.

Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin over a century ago, sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1, saying it belonged to the world, not him. But today, insulin can cost hundreds of dollars per month, and it can’t be replaced by other drugs, which can lead to rationing medication, or choosing between insulin and food. “It’s just such an all-consuming chronic condition,” Merritt says. “There’s so much that goes into everyday survival, it’s literally like having a full-time job.”

So, she draws. “It’s an acceptance of the way things are,” she says of her work.

She continues to put pen to paper despite her weak vision and low sales volume, and her readers thank her for it. “Buy the book twice," one reviewer writes. “Enjoy one copy for yourself and place the other one in the magazine rack at the endocrinologist’s office.”

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS Continued from p. 50

Bryce and �yler Kloser put their UW degrees in mechanical engineering to good use in Karakoram, a company that produces high-performance bindings for snow sports. �heir shop, where they make all of their gear, is across the street from North Bend City Hall with a dazzling view of Mount Si.

Founded in 2008, Karakoram is named after the majestic mountain range in the Kashmir region. The highest peak in that range is K2—a nickname the Klosters have had since childhood and now part of their company’s snowflake logo.

Karakoram’s revolutionary Prime System allows you to remove your bindings and attach them to other snowboards and splitboards. The connection is more responsive than a traditional binding. “I think of it like the suspension of driving a sports car vs. a grocery getter,” says Bryce. “If you’re going around a corner, the grocery getter’s going to roll, but the sports car is going to hug the road. We like our bindings to feel precise in the way they turn a snowboard.”

Karakoram started in the garage of Tyler’s Snoqualmie Ridge condo, where the brothers built prototypes with a do-it-yourself CNC mill. They later leased space in a North Bend office building, running the whole assembly line in the hallway and shipping everything they sold out of the lobby.

Word of mouth spread as the Klosters attended splitboard festivals and brought demos for people to try. Eventually, retailers

were contacting them, asking to carry Karakoram gear.

“We’ve grown very organically. Everything was self-funded and we dumped everything we made back into it,” says Tyler.

“The way we scaled, we didn’t have any money to invest in tooling or capital. We could afford to make these parts and we did everything ourselves, so per-part it cost a lot more, but you didn’t need this huge initial investment. We just needed to fund inventory.”

Karakoram moved into its new headquarters in 2021, and despite the company’s success, the brothers still assemble everything in-house.

On the shop floor, materials work their way around to the assembly stations using a custom slide system Bryce calls “chutes and ladders.” Everything has been timed so that each task takes about the same amount of time, and with a full line running they can get a binding in a box every two minutes. It’s an economy of motion and a true DIY production line.

“We almost always make the parts ourselves first, so we’re very tuned in,” says Tyler. “We’ll come up with our own concept and can quickly prototype it and get it on snow. If we feel something needs to change, we just come home, take those parts off, make new ones, and can be back out testing the next day or even the same day.”

The Klosters have always enjoyed tinkering. Growing up in Newport Hills, they helped their dad remodel the house and build tree forts using nails they pulled out of old deck boards. They raced soapbox derby-style cars, created wheel extensions for their inline skates to ski down the neighborhood hills, and welded a custom wakeboard tower for the family’s boat.

As UW undergraduates, the Klosters learned to design using CAD software, ran a summer business painting houses, and even rappelled out of a second-story window using carabiners and climbing rope when their fraternity house caught fire one night. That same hands-on approach is what makes Karakoram an extension of the brothers’ intrepid personalities.

“Being a mechanical engineer, you’re basically just a professional problem-solver,” says Bryce. “A lot of what we do is selftaught. We just apply those problem-solving skills we learned at UW and take that same design approach to business.”

These days, Karakoram’s high-end equipment is distributed globally and sold at hundreds of retailers in North America, including REI, EVO, and backcountry.com.

“For the longest time, people thought ‘Why would you splitboard?,’ says Tyler.

“It’s exciting to see how we have helped drive the sport.”

WINTER 2023 57

WITH WIT AND WHITEOUT T H I N G S

T H A T

D E F I N E

T H E

Continued from p. 41

U W

Looking Up With determination, faith and the UW’s belief in her, Square Donaldson overcame tremendous obstacles

By Square Donaldson

UW MAGAZINE

RON WURZER

RON WURZER

56

My name is Square. I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I came to Seattle in 1978 and got my first job at the University of Washington. My supervisor then was Clarence Bennett.

I was doing really well, then everything turned upside down. I seemed to have lost my way, my respect, dignity—all went down the drain due to drugs and alcohol.

I did my best to quit, but my best just wasn’t good enough. Then I lost everything.

By then I was the mother of six, four boys and two girls. I have 11 grandbabies and two great grandbabies.

You would think that would stop me from drugging and drinking, but it didn’t.

From there, I had been to prison three times. After being released the last time, I just couldn’t get it right. I ended up homeless in Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle.

I lost two daughters and brought one with me in an urn. I stole a baby blanket and backpack to keep her in. The blanket I slept with to keep me warm was stolen.

One time, I woke up and my shoes were gone, but by the grace of God, I held onto my baby’s urn.

So I went to get treatment at Thunderbird Treatment Center, because my niece and nephew never gave up on me. While getting treatment, I set goals for myself: One goal was to stay out of places that would set me back. The second goal was to go back to school and get an education, earning my high school diploma in 2016 at Renton Technical College, paid for by Goodwill, and took college classes at the UW. The third goal was to get a job and be part of society again. I applied for a job at the University of Washington in the building services department. Gene Woodard gave me a second chance. I’ve been working at the University for six years now.

I’m telling my story because maybe someone out there could feel me. Please don’t give up, keep your head up, and pray to a higher power greater than yourself.

in a diabetic hospital with diabetic Irl Hirsch. The universe was sending me a message.”

As Merritt’s eyes healed from the surgeries, frustration with her chronic disease grew. Because her perception of space and color was left forever distorted, she began drawing with pen and ink in blackand-white. (“I erased a lot and used gallons of Whiteout.”) The result: three sardonic and witty comic books about the perils of life with diabetes based on her own insights and experiences. Her illustrations are entirely handmade—still no computers involved—and her work is all self-published under the moniker Bird Wing Press.

Reviews of her books (“FingerPricks,” “One Lump or Two?” and 2023’s “The Sweet Taste of Misery”) are highly favorable. It’s no wonder: Her work is deeply personal, with readers reaching out to commiserate or share how long they’ve had the disease. Merritt admits marketing alone adds to the frustration of this chronic disease. “I’d also like to educate people who know and live with diabetic people so they can hear how difficult it can be to deal with the emotions, frustrations and complications. But I guess that’s often the plight of the artist,” says Merritt. “At this point, my diabetic work is hard to market on my own. It’s a gift of love. When I die, it’s my legacy.”

While her zine about insulin might not fly off the shelves, the hormone itself does. “Diabetes is a huge money maker,” she laments. And insulin isn’t the cure; it’s simply a very expensive treatment.

Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin over a century ago, sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1, saying it belonged to the world, not him. But today, insulin can cost hundreds of dollars per month, and it can’t be replaced by other drugs, which can lead to rationing medication, or choosing between insulin and food. “It’s just such an all-consuming chronic condition,” Merritt says. “There’s so much that goes into everyday survival, it’s literally like having a full-time job.”

So, she draws. “It’s an acceptance of the way things are,” she says of her work.

She continues to put pen to paper despite her weak vision and low sales volume, and her readers thank her for it. “Buy the book twice," one reviewer writes. “Enjoy one copy for yourself and place the other one in the magazine rack at the endocrinologist’s office.”

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS Continued from p. 50

Bryce and �yler Kloser put their UW degrees in mechanical engineering to good use in Karakoram, a company that produces high-performance bindings for snow sports. �heir shop, where they make all of their gear, is across the street from North Bend City Hall with a dazzling view of Mount Si.

Founded in 2008, Karakoram is named after the majestic mountain range in the Kashmir region. The highest peak in that range is K2—a nickname the Klosters have had since childhood and now part of their company’s snowflake logo.

Karakoram’s revolutionary Prime System allows you to remove your bindings and attach them to other snowboards and splitboards. The connection is more responsive than a traditional binding. “I think of it like the suspension of driving a sports car vs. a grocery getter,” says Bryce. “If you’re going around a corner, the grocery getter’s going to roll, but the sports car is going to hug the road. We like our bindings to feel precise in the way they turn a snowboard.”

Karakoram started in the garage of Tyler’s Snoqualmie Ridge condo, where the brothers built prototypes with a do-it-yourself CNC mill. They later leased space in a North Bend office building, running the whole assembly line in the hallway and shipping everything they sold out of the lobby.

Word of mouth spread as the Klosters attended splitboard festivals and brought demos for people to try. Eventually, retailers

were contacting them, asking to carry Karakoram gear.

“We’ve grown very organically. Everything was self-funded and we dumped everything we made back into it,” says Tyler.

“The way we scaled, we didn’t have any money to invest in tooling or capital. We could afford to make these parts and we did everything ourselves, so per-part it cost a lot more, but you didn’t need this huge initial investment. We just needed to fund inventory.”

Karakoram moved into its new headquarters in 2021, and despite the company’s success, the brothers still assemble everything in-house.

On the shop floor, materials work their way around to the assembly stations using a custom slide system Bryce calls “chutes and ladders.” Everything has been timed so that each task takes about the same amount of time, and with a full line running they can get a binding in a box every two minutes. It’s an economy of motion and a true DIY production line.

“We almost always make the parts ourselves first, so we’re very tuned in,” says Tyler. “We’ll come up with our own concept and can quickly prototype it and get it on snow. If we feel something needs to change, we just come home, take those parts off, make new ones, and can be back out testing the next day or even the same day.”

The Klosters have always enjoyed tinkering. Growing up in Newport Hills, they helped their dad remodel the house and build tree forts using nails they pulled out of old deck boards. They raced soapbox derby-style cars, created wheel extensions for their inline skates to ski down the neighborhood hills, and welded a custom wakeboard tower for the family’s boat.

As UW undergraduates, the Klosters learned to design using CAD software, ran a summer business painting houses, and even rappelled out of a second-story window using carabiners and climbing rope when their fraternity house caught fire one night. That same hands-on approach is what makes Karakoram an extension of the brothers’ intrepid personalities.

“Being a mechanical engineer, you’re basically just a professional problem-solver,” says Bryce. “A lot of what we do is selftaught. We just apply those problem-solving skills we learned at UW and take that same design approach to business.”

These days, Karakoram’s high-end equipment is distributed globally and sold at hundreds of retailers in North America, including REI, EVO, and backcountry.com.

“For the longest time, people thought ‘Why would you splitboard?,’ says Tyler.

“It’s exciting to see how we have helped drive the sport.”

WINTER 2023 57

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