Alumni Ambassadors

Alumni Ambassadors are alumni representatives who embody the values and aims of the M.A. in Policy Studies program. As alumni working across diverse roles and sectors, they support prospective students, current students, and fellow alumni by sharing how they’ve translated their degrees and navigated their careers.

Learn about our Alumni Ambassadors and email iasgrad@uw.edu to be connected.

Asiya (Asiya Budden) Abdul-Alim, ’18

Asiya (Asiya Budden) Abdul-Alim (She/Her) is Scheduling Case Manager and President of ASPIRE (African Americans, Successfully, Promoting, Inclusivity, Respect & Equity) at Dendreon. Asiya is an innovative problem solver, who believes that every problem has a solution. Her strengths are training and development, effective leadership, policy procedure, development and implementation. She thrives in a workplace environment that fosters an open door policy and celebrates creative problem solving, innovation and diversity.

At Dendreon, Asiya oversees the scheduling and monitoring patients’ treatments in a diverse environment, with an emphasis on patient experience. She manages the creation and execution of production plans supporting treatment, including but not limited to production and demand planning, logistics analysis, scheduling, and real-time product monitoring.

Joren Clowers, ’18

Joren Clowers is a Government Relations Liaison and lobbyist working at the Washington State Legislature where he represents association and business interests. He previously worked as a Legislative Assistant in the State House of Representatives and as a Campaign Manager for a successful State House race. During his M.A, Joren worked as the Student Assistant in the UW Bothell Office of Government & Community Relations.

Joren received his M.A. in Policy Studies (‘18) from UW Bothell where he researched voting trends of young adults. He also attended UW Bothell for undergraduate coursework where he double majored in Law, Economics & Public Policy and American Ethnic Studies with a minor in Human Rights (’17).

Marjan Didra,’19

Marjan Didra moved to the United States in 2009. She holds an M.A. in Policy Studies and B.A. in Gender Women and Sexuality Studies from the University of Washington Bothell. Marjan believes in public service and started her mission of serving her community in 2012 through canvassing, fundraising, and advocating for marginalized communities.

Marjan also has a lived experience as a spouse of a Veteran and is currently working as a Director of Veterans Affairs for Senator Murray’s office. She continues her mission of service by assisting our Washington State Veterans and their families to make sure their voice is heard and that they have access to existing resources.

Kaylee Galloway, ’18

Kaylee Galloway graduated from UW Bothell with her M.A. in Policy Studies in 2018. She currently works for the Washington State House of Representatives as a Legislative Assistant to Representative Debra Lekanoff (40th LD). Galloway previously served as Community Liaison for Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) in Whatcom and Skagit Counties and as a Staff Assistant for Senator Maria Cantwell in Washington, D.C.

Kaylee has extensive outreach experience where she has engaged government officials and stakeholders on a diverse range of topics. Her passions include climate change, renewable energy, green buildings, agriculture, green transportation and infrastructure, which she was able to explore through her capstone on sustainable community development and relevant local, state and federal policy. Her undergraduate work at Western Washington University included a Bachelors in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics in addition to minors in Energy Policy and Law, Diversity & Justice.

David Gordon, ’16

David Gordon holds an M.A. in Policy Studies from UW Bothell where he researched the negative effects of the United States sports betting prohibition (which may or may not have led to the Supreme Court overturning the prohibition in 2018!). David received his B.A. in Law, Economics and Public Policy (’14) from UW Bothell.

David has worked for the Seattle consulting firm Nickerson & Associates as a Policy Analyst focusing on progressive transportation policies and as Legislative Coordinator for Jefferson County, Colorado. He’s currently with Esource.com, a research and consulting resource for the Utility Industry, where he uses his policy background as a writer, editor, researcher, and subject matter expert.

Alumni Stories

Learn about other Policy Studies alumni.