Alumni News
News and notes from your fellow iSchool alums

INFORMATICS
Darrin Mahlum (’05) has been working in technology at Washington Mutual since graduation. He is now in the Enterprise Data Warehouse group in Information Delivery doing business intelligence consulting and psyched about it! He also recently got engaged and is still living in the Seattle area.

John Oleinik (’05) recently changed jobs from Washington Mutual to AT&T, working on the B2B E-Commerce team as a business analyst.

Grant Yuan (’02) had his SEO firm acquired and has just started Coffee.net, a tasty web experiment that blends Citysearch-like features with charitable Web giving.

MLIS
Christi Bayha (’92) writes: “I have accepted a position with the Marine Corp as a librarian at Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan. I will be there for the next 2-5 years and I'm looking forward to the challenge and the new locale!”

Joan M. Browning (’70) writes: “I took my first and only library job as the city librarian in Sweet Home, Oregon...a bucolic experience for a younger adult. I rode Smokey, a grey Arabian gelding, on weekends. Sweet Home is nestled near the foothills of the Cascades (only 4,000 pop.) In April 1973 I left to pursue medicine, ultimately completing residencies in Public Health and Occupational Medicine at the University of Utah Medical Center. I joined Kaiser Permanente in Portland Oregon in l987 and retired in November 2006.
“Retirement is wonderful; I enjoy volunteering at a family history center and LDS temple, gardening, travel. I went to a friend's 50th birthday party in Los Angeles and (small world) sat next to his neighbor who happened to have graduated in 1973 from our school. He is now a law librarian at USC.
“I've wondered what became of Pat Hull (with whom I did an internship at the Los Angeles Public Library) and Yvonne Crane over the years.”

Libby Burke (’02) writes: “Aloha mai from Libby Burke. My husband Brad Robison and I moved from Seattle to the Big Island of Hawai`i almost four years ago. I am the lone archivist and librarian at the Lyman Museum, a museum of Hawaiian history and culture in the town of Hilo on the windward side of the island. The island is the size of Connecticut, and 11 of the world’s 13 climate systems exist here, so if we are tired of what’s going on where we are, we hop in the car and go somewhere else. We don’t have the white sand beaches or other resort amenities on the Hilo side, but we can drive 80 miles and be where they are, and great camping is available too. It’s nice to be able to take a Hawaiian vacation and then drive home.

Hilo is a working town, about the size of Everett. It is truly a step into old Hawai`i. It rains 175 inches a year here, so we feel right at home (except it’s always warm). We live about 20 miles below Hilo in the jungle very near the ocean. We are close to amazing lava flows and warm ponds on the ocean, and it is an easy drive to the active volcano Kilauea. There’s always something happening in nature here, so it’s always interesting. Brad and I have undertaken to learn as much about the Hawaiian culture as time permits, participating in hula and language classes, ceremonies, cultural travel; we immerse ourselves in the music, of course, and grow bananas, papayas, guavas and other amazing abundant plants. I’m not much of a gardener, but these plants just grow themselves!

Hawai`i is alive with a vibrant, warm and deeply-felt cultural community. It has plenty of problems, like anywhere, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather live. Me ke aloha kakou (deepest aloha to all), Libby. Contact Libby at: Archives@lymanmuseum.org; http://www.lymanmuseum.org.

Alumna Eydie Calderon Detera (’03) passed away this March after suffering profound complications from a four-week bout with a severe form of pneumonia. Detera was a community activist, writer, artist, full-time mother, partner, and public librarian. She was 37. She is survived by her husband, Viladeth “Dee” Saetia, her five-year-old son Po, three-year-old daughter Hansa, father, stepmother, two siblings and a nephew.

Patricia Devine (’69) is the DOCLINE/Network Coordinator at the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific NW Region, serving medical libraries and health-related community based organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. 

Amy Donahue (’07)  applied to and was accepted as a National Library of Medicine Associate Fellow for 2008-2009. The National Library of Medicine Associate Fellowship Program is a one-year postgraduate training fellowship at the NLM in Bethesda, Maryland, with an optional second-year component. The program is designed to provide a broad foundation in health sciences information services, and to prepare librarians for future leadership roles in health sciences libraries and in health services research. The Associate Fellows are introduced to a wide range of technologies and skills used in managing information at a national library. The program provides an opportunity to:

1. Gain exposure to and experience in many of the concepts, skills, and technologies that are shaping the future of the library and information fields.
2. Explore the role of research and development activities in providing biomedical information services to the health professions.
3. Examine current issues and trends affecting the library and information fields.
4. Prepare for careers in traditional and nontraditional settings in the fields of librarianship and information science.

Reese Evenson (’06) and husband Nathan had a baby on June 17th.  Her name is Samantha Rose Evenson and she was 8 lb. 2 oz, 20-1/2 inches long, and had a full head of hair.  Reese writes “She is a healthy and happy baby. “ Samantha is Reese and Nathan’s first child.

Jonny Forest (’05) has returned to the northwest after spending 2-1/2 years in Maine, where he was the library automation manager for the Maine State Library, managing the shared III system for more than 100 libraries.

In May 2008 he started a new job as systems librarian with the Library Information Network of Clackamas County (LINCC) near Portland, Ore..  LINCC has 13 libraries and Jon is currently managing the migration from classic Dynix to SirsiDynix Symphony, which is expected to launch in early 2009.

Andrew Grove (’90) is no longer working for Microsoft.  His immediate plans are to finish an encyclopedia article (ELIS, “Taxonomy”), edit the ASIST 08 Conference Proceedings, and generally live life at a more human tempo. He can be reached at: andrewg_00@hotmail.com.

Amanda Hornby (’05) and Suzan Parker (’02) wrote a chapter for a just-published ACRL book:
Hornby, Amanda, Suzan Parker, and Kari Lerum. "Zines!  Librarians and Faculty Engaging Students in Creative Scholarship." Practical Pedagogy for Library Instructors: 17 Innovative Strategies to Improve Student Learning. Ed. Doug Cook and Ryan Sittler. Chicago: ACRL, 2008.
Read more about the book.

Anne Murphy (’03) was hired as the full-time teen librarian at the Oak Harbor public library, on Whidbey Island, Wash., in November 2007.  Oak Harbor Library is part of Sno-Isle Libraries.

Eric Palo (’82), library director at Renton Technical College, is co-author of a chapter in the new Association of College and Research Libraries book, Practical Pedagogy for Library Instructors: 17 Innovative Strategies to Improve Student Learning.  The chapter, “It’s Showtime! Engaging Students in Library Instruction,” outlines the use of humor and Universal Design for Learning strategies in library instruction, particularly with ESL students. (See link above.)

Bill Parton ('81) has been library director at Arkansas Tech University for 18 years.  He and his wife, Ellen, expect to become grandparents in December, and promise more news in the spring!  He is on Facebook and is one of the fans of the University of Washington Information School Facebook group.  He remains in touch with a few of his '81 classmates and wonders where all of the rest of them are and what they are doing.

Robert Perrin (’69) writes: “Having left the library world 18 years ago I'm  full-time self-employed representing contract furniture manufacturers in the Carolinas and Dakotas operating out of Inman, S.C., where I live with my wife, Susan, a member of the ordained Episcopal clergy.”

Eva Piccininni ('03) will be moving on from Serials Solutions, where she’s been working for the past four years. She is rejoining the UW family as an applications system engineer, doing ETL development work for the Decision Support Services team within the Office of Information Management.

Jennifer E. Roseman (’07) is happily working as a substitute reference librarian for Spokane Public Library.  She continues in her position as director of communications and development for the Sisters of Providence.

John Sheller ('92) completed his Master of Public Administration degree from Seattle University in December.

Kathleen Sidwell (’78) writes: “I enjoyed my UW experience so much that I recently went back to school and received my Certification in Editing from the UW Extension Program.  Thanks to all the wonderful instructors I had, I now have started an editing business (still working as an editor for a real estate appraising office also).  The business name is KLS Editing and my Web page is at www.klsediting.com.  I still use many of the skills I learned in research techniques and organizing/cataloging materials.  And I’ve honed my management skills dealing with five children and through PTA officer positions.  My thanks to the University for the foundation of knowledge they provided.”

Kathy Stice (’04) is working as an analyst for an Internet compliance company in the Seattle area.

Marna Tisdel (’75) worked at Washington State University Libraries as a cataloger for a few years, then later worked as a cataloger at Fort Vancouver Regional Library for several years.  After her time at Fort Vancouver, she went back to school to get her teaching credential.  She has been teaching school ever since. She writes: “I thought I would be a school librarian but that never happened.  I have been teaching for the last 18 years at the Community Transitional School in Portland, Oregon.  I belong to a walking group and do walks all over the country.  I always go into the library and talk to the librarian.  They are always interesting and informed people.”

Alumni Dan and Joanna Trefethen (’78) write: “Dan recently completed a 3-1/2 year term of office on the Board of Directors of Special Libraries Association.  He works for the Boeing Company as an ‘embedded librarian’ in a company program.  Joanna continues to work for Seattle Public Library, serving primarily at the Fremont branch.  Their son Danny will enter the UW Business School in the autumn.  Danny is the third Daniel Trefethen in a row to attend the UW. Their son Alec will be a senior at Ballard High School this fall.”

Rose A. Welton (’87) has been a cataloger for the Alaska State Library since 1990.

Mary Silva Whittaker (’79)  will be on the Knowledge Management panel at the World Library and Information Congress of the 74th IFLA General Conference and Council in Québec City, Canada, in August 2008, presenting best practices in taxonomy development for the Knowledge Management section. Mary is currently a librarian at The Boeing Company.

MSIM
Ken Cam (’07) has been working with Ascentium, an interactive marketing and technology consultancy firm.  As a project manager, he’s managed teams (IA, design, content, and development) collaborating with Fortune 100 clients such as McKesson and Microsoft.  He can be reached at: ken.cam@ascentium.com for those who'd like to get in touch.

Duane McCollum (’04) writes: “This fall I am starting my second year in the Masters In Public Administration program at The Evergreen State College. I had an article published in the SLA's "Information Outlook". It was one of two feature articles in the May issue. The citation:
‘Keeping a State Library Open’. Information Outlook. Washington: May 2008. Vol. 12, Iss. 5; p. 10 (4 pages).

The article is about the Washington State Library surviving closure in 2001-02 and instead becoming a unique and important institution among public libraries in Washington State. I am still employed at The Boeing Company.”

Josepha Rood (’05) moved to Singapore in January 2008, and is now Project Manager at SENTRYi Pte. Ltd, which provides software for financial advisers in the region.