Alumni share career stories and advice with students
IAS alumni are supporting students by sharing their career stories and lessons learned along the way. Through the IAS Mentor Chats program, alumni visit classes to discuss how they’ve utilized their degrees, navigated job searches, and found success. IAS is grateful for their service of our alumni mentors, who provide an important perspective on the value of interdisciplinary education. Learn about a few of our recent mentors.
Matt Albertson has dedicated his life to creating positive social change. He has focused his career in the field of philanthropy, enabling nonprofits to pursue their missions by ensuring they have resources to do so. He works for KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio as a Major Gifts Officer. Matt has been a public radio listener since his seven-grade social studies teacher used clips from Morning Edition to introduce debate topics to the class. He enjoys being surrounded by others who delight in obtaining and sharing knowledge and advocating for a service he relies on every day. Matt graduated from UW Bothell in 2006 after completing an MA in Policy Studies and a BA in Society, Ethics & Human Behavior (’04). He is member of the Bothell Parks Foundation, Seattle Four Rotary, and the Leadership Tomorrow 2018 cohort.
Jason Hampton is a Community Outreach Specialist for Sound Transit with a focus on East Link Extension, South Bellevue Station, and East Main Station. Previously, he served as Transportation Program Manager for Bellevue Downtown Association where he managed partnerships with City of Kirkland, City of Bellevue, and King County Metro. Jason earned a BA in Law, Economics & Public Policy in 2014, and while a student at UW Bothell, engaged in numerous efforts, including habitat restoration of Bothell’s North Creek Forest, leading a campus community garden initiative, and organizing the Capitol Hill Sustainability Walk. Currently, he sits on the City of Bothell Planning Commission.
Devi Sandhu, SHRM-SCP is the Talent Manager for UW Bothell Organizational Excellence & Human Resources, where she partners across business units to provide HR consultation and manage and deliver programs that meet goals and initiatives. Devi is a co-advisor to the student HR Club at UW Bothell and the HR representative on the UW Bothell Diversity Council. After eight years in non-profits, Devi returned to college to earn several credentials, including a BA in Society, Ethics & Human Behavior (‘12), a Human Resources Certificate (’14), and an MA in Education (’16).
Faith Simonelli is an advocate for youth and families experiencing housing crises. As Prevention Program Manager for Cocoon House, she oversees programs that provide intervention and support to teens facing homelessness. Previously, she managed Catholic Community Services’ Supportive Housing Program and Volunteers of America’s Dispute Resolution and Fair Housing Programs. Faith is a lifelong Snohomish County resident who’s been a volunteer leader with Everett School District and Everett Youth Soccer Club and served as a Cultural Arts Commissioner for City of Everett. She holds a BA in American Studies (’08) and an MA in Cultural Studies (’10) from UW Bothell.
T. Andrew Wahl (’96, Liberal Studies) has worked at newspapers throughout the Northwest, including stints at The (Everett) Herald, The (Longview) Daily News, and The Wenatchee World. His journalism experience included time as a writer, editor, designer and editorial cartoonist; his work earned several award, including back-to-back citations of excellence from the United Nations for his work as an editorial cartoonist. After earning a master’s in liberal studies (humanities) degree from Fort Hays State University, he worked as a communications director of Humanities Washington, a statewide nonprofit organization. He now heads the journalism program at Everett Community College.
