David Mazzeo ('04), left on stage, has performed hip-hop all over Seattle and the state of Washington. Photo courtesy David Mazzeo.

alumni CLASS NOTES

1970

Terry Tazioli is the new host of TVW’s weekly book series, Author’s Hour. His first show was filmed at Elliot Bay Books on August 27 in front of a live audience. The new format begins airing in September and is on every Sunday at noon (also available online at www.tvw.org). For the first taping, Tazioli interviewed former Microsoft VP and education reformer Scott Oki, author of Outrageous Learning: An Education Manifesto. Tazioli is a longtime journalist recently retired from The Seattle Times and is president of the UW Communication Alumni Board.

1972

Norman B. Rice was named president and CEO of The Seattle Foundation.

1982

Lorraine Howell, a media training specialist and top executive coach and author of Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift!, has been named the AWC Headliner Award winner for 2009 by the Association for Women in Communications.

1984

Bill Douthitt and Marla E. Salmon, dean of the UW School of Nursing, made major editorial contributions to a book that received the Book of the Year award from the American Journal of Nursing. NURSE: A World of Care is a tribute to the honorable work done by nurses worldwide. Douthitt is an editor for National Geographic.

1989

Chris Bredeson serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Steck Medical Group and has served in that capacity since 2000. Prior to Steck, Chris provided leadership to large, hospital-based physician groups in the Northwest and Florida. He completed his M.B.A. (emphasis in health care administration) from City University in 1993. Chris and his wife, Darla, live in Olympia with their three children. They have a horse farm where they breed Hungarian horses for the Olympic disciplines of dressage, jumping, and eventing (www.libertysporthorses.com).

1992

Alex Quade is the 2009 recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation’s John Reagan"Tex" McCrary Award for Excellence in Journalism. She received her award at the Foundation’s March gala held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. Quade joined about 750 invited guests at the event and was in distinguished company with fellow honorees General David Petraeus (Distinguished Citizen Award), actor Charles Durning (Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment), and former first lady Nancy Reagan (receiving a lifetime achievement award).

As an undergrad, recent alumnus Will Mari (’09) wrote a story about Quade and has this to say about his experience:

Alex was very modest about her many adventures, but you could really tell she deeply cared about telling a good story, and also cared deeply about the American military men and women she profiled in her stories. She would calmly and casually mention going in and out of war zones with the nonchalance of the pro that she is. Quade was also very proud of her time at the UW, and said it had given her a great start.

Read Mari’s story at: www.com.washington.edu/alumni/notes/profiles/quade.html.

2000

Karen Gaudette is a food writer with PCC Natural Markets and a freelance journalist. She left The Seattle Times in 2009, where she covered food, transportation, and residential real estate. Previously, she covered the city of San Bernardino for The Press-Enterprise and the California energy crisis for The Associated Press (AP) in San Francisco. She interned with AP during the UW’s Olympia program and also interned for The Wall Street Journal. Gaudette is a UW Alumni Association Career Connections (www.washington.edu/alumni/careers/hcn/index.html) contact for fellow Huskies. She reported and edited for The Daily during her undergraduate studies and in fall 1999 served as editor-in-chief.

Nathan Isaacs is a Business Development Manager at Optimization Technologies (http://www.myopconnect.com/).

2002

Jenni Hogan joined the Seafair hydroplane broadcast team this year in the hydro pits with Steve Raible, Angela Russell, and Guaard Swanson. Her biggest broadcast was on Seafair Sunday, broadcasting live for 8 hours. Hogan sits on the UW Communication Alumni Board.

2004

Priya Frank is in the Masters of Arts in Cultural Studies program at UW Bothell. The M.A. in Cultural Studies is the first graduate program in the Pacific Northwest, and one of very few programs nationally, to partner the interdisciplinary study of art and culture with a community-based learning network. Frank’s research interests for the program include race relations/institutionalized racism, inequality of education and the impact of arts integration in K-12 education, and human trafficking/immigrant exploitation in the United States.

Frank has this to say about going back to school for an M.A.:
Because the program is designed for students interested in careers in community-based arts, culture, advocacy, education, and social service organizations, I feel like this program will be a great fit, allowing me to build on the experience I already have working in the non-profit field.

Frank currently works on campus as Individual Giving Coordinator for the UW World Series, a performing arts organization presenting world music, theatre and dance on campus at Meany Hall, while providing free arts education opportunities for local students and adults. She also sits on the UW Communication Alumni Board. She plans to continue working full time while completing the M.A. program. In the future she would like to start her own organization focused on providing opportunities for underserved communities. 

Edgar Gonzalez is Director of Development at the Alliance for Education in Seattle. Gonzalez began his career in Development at the UW, working as a student manager at the Office of Annual Giving while still in school. He graduated with honors and eventually joined the College of Arts and Sciences team as an Associate Director of Development for the Natural Sciences division, covering 11 departments for the College. Along the way he worked as a Program Coordinator and Stakeholder Relationship Officer for the Michael G. Foster School of Business. Gonzalez continues to stay involved with the UW through his position as an officer on the UW Communication Alumni Board, where he chairs a sub-committee on fundraising. He took sometime off before joining the Alliance for Education to get married and go on his honeymoon.

David Mazzeo has been a hip-hop artist for the past 12 years under the stage name Wizdom. He has performed all over Seattle and the state of Washington. He has two professional studio albums, The Book of Wizdom" and Music: Soul of the Man (with Wash. DC producer Epidemmik), both available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and in local record stores. Mazzeo was named by a standout act of 2008 by Seattle Weekly and has been on radio stations KUBE 93, KEXP 90.3 and Sports Radio 950 KJR. He performed at the Seattle Weekly Reverbfest 2008, a show at Neumo’s to support the return of the Seattle Sonics, and opened for acts such as NYC's Large Professor, Macklemore and super-group Dyme Def. He has also been written about in URB Magazine, The Seattle Times, The Stranger, Sound Magazine, and okayplayer.com. Mazzeo just released a free seven song EP on his web site: www.wizdomsound.com.

2005

Cristina Brendicke began her career in media with KOMO TV's local talk show, Northwest Afternoon. While working at KOMO, she gained invaluable experience in all aspects of production as well as the intricacies of the local media landscape. She quickly moved up the ranks from research assistant to Daytime Drama Producer where she was responsible for creating twenty minutes of live TV everyday for TV personality Cindi Rinehart. After Northwest Afternoon ended its 23 years on air, Brendicke pursued a career in sales and marketing. She most recently helped real estate agents grow their business through online advertising. She recently joined Thrive, an Advertising Agency and looks forward to helping local businesses Thrive by achieving their marketing and advertising goals.

Robin Ernst founded Thrive, an Advertising Company, and Huskies Cristina Brendicke (‘05) and Hayley Hines (see her bio under the Class of 2008) have joined the team as Account Executives.
Robin started her career at KOMO TV's local talk show Northwest Afternoon where she coordinated public service announcements for non profits and spent time pitching show ideas. She moved into KOMO TV's newsroom working exclusively with Emmy Award Winning Reporter John Sharify and News Anchor Connie Thompson. Witnessing the power and influence of television; Robin became an Account Executive for KOMO's Sales Department. There, she helped local businesses achieve their revenue goals and create positive images within the community through the power of TV. She guided media buyers and negotiated advertising buys with large accounts such as Honda National, Acura National, Les Schwab, Puget Sound Energy and the American Heart Association. Robin founded Thrive, An Advertising Company because she saw first hand how difficult it is for business owners to negotiate advertising buys with the media on their own.

2006

Britta Smith is in finishing her Masters degree in History from Western Washington University and recently relocated to Syracuse, NY with fellow Husky Carl Schillhammer (MD, 2009).

My Tam Nguyen graduated from the 26th Leadership Tomorrow class. She joined 79 of her colleagues On June 23, 2009 at Woodland Park Zoo for the commencement ceremony. Leadership Tomorrow is a regional servant leadership program bridging the public, private, and non private sectors, sponsored by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Some have described it as an intense condensed MPA with the area's best, brightest movers and shakers to improve our region and to incubate compassionate, well informed, connected leaders. Nguyen reports that for her the experience was also “…an opportunity to make 79 new friends and to learn from their collective wisdom.” Nguyen is a committed global citizen and a servant leader in the Seattle and Puget Sound area. She is an alumna of the 2008 Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation (ACLF) Community Leadership Program. She works in community relations at the City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development on inclusive outreach strategy and materials on the neighborhood plan updates for 24 Seattle neighborhoods, in Southeast Seattle Light Rail Station Area planning, and sometimes hosts urban planning delegations from around the world. She has traveled with the Washington Council on International Trade (WCIT), Washington’s Lieutenant Governor, and local private and public leaders on a sustainable development mission to Brazil studying social change and nonprofit models. Through the World Affairs Council and WCIT she founded and mentored a youth program hosting international youth and professional diplomatic delegations, with a curriculum that includes leadership, social justice, community service, global citizenship, and college entrance and financial aid education. She has studied architecture in Rome, and economic, political and social change in Viet Nam. Her community service work includes being a mentor for Ashoka Foundation’s Youth Venture, the Thomas C. Wales Foundation, Helping Link, ACLF’s Alumni Leadership Committee, LT’s Alumni Leadership Committee, Washington State’s Youth Suicide Prevention Program, and the UW Communication’s Alumni Board.

2007

Michelle LaBuwi accepted a volunteer English teacher position with Volunteers In Asia (VIA) after completing her internship with the Laura Crowell Fund and graduating in March of 2007. She taught English at An Giang University in Long Xuyen, Vietnam. The time LaBuwi spent in Vietnam was instrumental in the development of her post-undergraduate views about the role of government and the importance of public service. Upon returning to the US she lived in San Francisco, California and worked at Horn Group, a digital communications firm. She is currently living in working in Washington, DC for Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). LaBuwi plans to pursue an advanced degree in the future.

2008

Stacey Engle just finished a year long assignment as the Program Coordinator for the UW Athens Program in the Jackson School of International Studies. This past spring she spent two months in Greece with 14 students and two instructors shooting a documentary about the aftermath and reactions of the 2007 Greek wildfires. She is currently working in marketing and development for GVA Kidder Mathews Consulting, which has public clients such as Sound Transit and King County and continues to seek more opportunities with communications and nonprofit work. Engle plans to return to school for a public affairs/administration advanced degree.

Hayley Hines began her career editing daily clips for live TV talk show Northwest Afternoon. After gaining valuable experience on the production side of the business, the lead producers put her on-air twice a week with Cindi Rinehart to give updates on American Idol. She juggled editing video clips, writing scripts, acting as an on-air talent, as well as assisting in the cross promotion between the KOMO TV sales office and the producers. With her combined experience in the industry and her Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Washington, Tacoma, Hayley is more than excited to help companies THRIVE!

2009

Jaime Bourn has been working at Merrick, Hofstedt & Lindsey PS, a downtown law firm, for almost two years and will stay with the firm while applying to law school. She is exploring schools with strong international law and entertainment law programs, two areas of particular interest to her. She plans to spend most of her post-grad time working, saving money for law school, traveling, and prepping for 3 more years of school. She also hopes to find time to volunteer with local non-profits. Bourn serves on the UW Communication Alumni Board.

Sandy Thuntarug works in the Marketing department at T-Mobile doing Analytics for their web sites. She started at the company as an is an Enterprise Information Technology Intern.

Vaun Raymond, an MCDM graduate, was recently awarded a $4,000 King County 4Culture grant for work on his Lake Union Virtual Museum, a multimedia history web site. Raymond established this web site as a final project in the MCDM program, with help from advisors Kathy Gill and Hanson Hosein. The virtual museum includes exhibits about Gasworks Park, houseboats, boat building and the lake’s native Duwamish people and offers documentary video, text stories, archival images and displays of artifacts to visitors. Raymond’s 4Culture grant allows him to develop new exhibits, including the story of Lake Union’s role in Seattle’s first world’s fair: the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909. He began work on this new exhibit in July of this year. Explore the virtual museum at www.lakeunionhistory.org/museum/Home.html.