News from the School of IAS

Category: Alumni

Alumnus of the year: David Ryder

Seattle photographer and filmmaker David Ryder, who received a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies (MACS) in 2011, has been recognized with a 2020 University of Washington Bothell Alumnus of the Year Award. In the highly competitive realm of freelance photojournalism, Ryder’s skill and hard work over the last 15-plus years also has earned him recognition and commercial success with an impressive list of media outlets. Ryder credits his success, in part, to MACS, which gave him space to “think about what I was doing and reflect on doing it in a more meaningful and ethical way, thinking about all the different ways power intersects with journalism, photography and using someone’s image.”

May 14, 2020

Writers of UW Bothell come together

Two graduate students and one alum from the MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics program have created a quarterly reading event that aims to connect current and past students. The Gamut Literary Series is led by alum Woogee Bae and current second-year students Ashley Noelle and Matt Porter. The event normally takes place at Open Books: A Poetry Emporium, which serves as a community bookstore and literary hub.

May 14, 2020

Frances Lee on becoming a bridge person in precarious times

Cultural Studies alum Frances Lee (’18) has published a new essay, “Becoming a Bridge Person in Precarious Times,” through their Bainbridge Residency with The Seventh Wave. Lee asks, "As people who are called to do bridge work, how do we do so now, in the time of quarantine, global pandemic, and personal, communal and global grief?" Read their essay.

May 12, 2020

Fredrika Smith: LEDEing the way

Seven executives in the Monroe School District are graduates of the Leadership Development for Educators (LEDE) program, which IAS alum Fredrika Smith (’94) helped establish. The program’s influence on Monroe is due in large part to Smith, who was superintendent from 2015 until this year. Smith helped found the LEDE program and still serves as an instructor and one of the University’s contacts in a network of professional administrators.

May 7, 2020

Helen K. Thomas nominated for Fulbright grant to Nigeria

Master of Arts in Cultural Studies alumn Helen K. Thomas has been nominated for a Fulbright grant to Nigeria, to pursue an independent project entitled, “Cultivating Self-Determination and Global Citizenship in Girls Through Young Adult Literature”. The proposal is grounded in academic work she completed as part of the Cultural Studies program, and is deeply rooted in her long history of community involvement, particularly with ...

May 1, 2020

Pandemic shortens Mariah Crystal’s Fulbright research in Namibia

Making the most of her time, Mariah Crystal (M.A. in Policy Studies ’10) was able to conduct much of her Fulbright research in Namibia before she was told to return home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Crystal’s research and writing focus on the role of women in the movement that led to Namibia’s independence from South Africa in 1990.

May 1, 2020

IAS names 2020 Hall of Alumni Excellence inductees

Each year IAS honors the extraordinary achievements and contributions of its alumni through the Hall of Alumni Excellence, and we are excited to announce our 2020 inductees: Jacob Allen, Ray Corona, EJ Juarez, Courtney Normand, and Kat Sweet. The IAS Hall of Alumni Excellence recognizes alumni at varying stages of career who are established or emerging leaders in their fields, policy changing public servants, and devoted and inspiring mentors. They are remarkable individuals who ...

April 24, 2020

Amani Sawari advocates for release of Michigan prisoners amidst COVID-19

IAS alum Amani Sawari (’16) is the statewide campaign coordinator for the Michigan Prisoner Rehabilitation Credit Act (MPRCA), an initiative for the November 2020 ballot that would restore "good time" credits to the prison system, which were eliminated in the state's 1998 Truth In Sentencing law. Michigan is one of three states in the U.S. that does not make earned credits available to incarcerated people. For several years Sawari has ...

April 16, 2020

Robbie Christmas creates “Work From Home Seattle” concert livestream

Many full-time musicians in the Seattle area are finding their incomes frozen as events and venues across the state remain closed. One of these affected artists is IAS alum Robbie Christmas (Media & Communication Studies ’11), also known as RX. Like many of his professional musician friends experiencing the consequences of quarantine first hand, RX “felt compelled to get involved and give back to the community that had made [him] feel whole and welcome.” RX began working with fellow local musicians to organize Work From Home Seattle, a series of virtual concerts. The event livestreams ...

April 10, 2020