Our Staff
Our tutors are trained to see themselves as reflective and intelligent readers who -- by asking questions and reporting accurately their reading reactions -- can help you discover what you have said, what you might want to say, and how your readers are likely to understand you.
Though they are trained to be able to help you develop organizational and editing skills, they are not "correctors" or editors. Everything about the interactions between tutor and writer supports the OWRC's central goal of helping you achieve autonomy in your learning and writing. What does that mean? It means that, at the OWRC, our tutors are likely to help you by discussing with you things like the appropriate information for supporting an argument or laying the foundation for a claim. We can also help you with high-level, transferable skills like understanding the nature of information and its relationship to writing, thinking, and learning, or refining your understanding of the roles research and information literacy play in successful scholarship.
TOM BOLLING - Reference Librarian and Freelance Tutor
With a background in Philosophy, Tom arrived at UW in 1970 as a research librarian, and has been extremely happy here ever since. He loves the Great Game of Reference... empowering for lifelong learning in the vast world of information and stored experiences and adventures of the mind. His other passionate love is the Great Game of Kendo, the Way of the Sword... learning to sense The Force flowing through us and a life played for keeps. His home base is Odegaard, where he's always available at the reference desk. He is continually energized by working daily with students and supporting them in their research and information needs.
RACHEL BROWN - Undergraduate Tutor
Rachel has been working as a Writing Center tutor for two years and loves every part of the writing process. She likes to get to know the writers she's working with and figure out how to best help them, and she believes that the interaction between writer and tutor is meant to be dynamic and fluid. Structure and organization are her favorite things to work on, as she feels that everything else falls into place after that. She is an International Studies major with Persian and French as her language concentrations, and her degree focus is in Foreign Policy, Peace, Security and Diplomacy. As a South African, she am fluent in English and Afrikaans, and she is preparing herself for the grueling law school application process. A certified mediator, she spends just about every free second she has mediating in court and at various Dispute Resolution Centers concentrating on her love for Victim-Offender mediation. Her absolute passion is working with conflict -- in particular violent conflict -- understanding and transforming it. She will be in the U.S. for a little while longer and then intends to spend the majority of her time in Africa and the Middle East.
LILLY CAMPBELL - Graduate Tutor
Lilly is a second year graduate student in English Language and Rhetoric, beginning work toward her PhD this year and serving as one of the Assistant Directors of the Expository Writing Program (EWP). She is particularly interested in the role of language in framing women's health movements but also holds a special place in her heart for composition scholarship. Lilly has taught English 131 and is more than happy to help tackle the expository/persuasive essay in all its shapes and forms. She also has a range of experience with literary analysis, personal statements, and cover letters, and has dabbled in grant writing. She admits to being a bit of a neat freak and loves helping you organize your ideas during any stage of the writing process: from brainstorming to the final touches. Lilly spends whatever free time she can muster exploring the city on bike or foot, trying out new recipes, and fawning over other people's dogs.
JILENE CHUA - Undergraduate Tutor
Jilene is a junior majoring in Biology and minoring in African Studies. She enjoys asking writers about their ideas and how those ideas are being communicated onto their papers. In doing so, not only does she get to learn interesting information, but she also thinks that this encourages writers to examine the strength of their main claim and the relevancy of the evidence they present in their papers. Though she has experience in various types of writing, Jilene is especially fond of working with writers on their personal statements. In addition to learning interesting information from talking to writers about their papers, Jilene also likes being outside, hanging around bookstores, and people watching.
KATIE CORCORAN - Lead Graduate Tutor
Katie, a PhD Candidate in Sociology, is the most experienced tutor in the OWRC. She has MA degrees in Sociology and Comparative Religion and is at work on a dissertation in Sociology. She has taught for the past five years and aspires to be a professor in order to combine her passions for teaching and research. Although she enjoys helping with research and writing in any discipline, she has had most experience with work in the social sciences and humanities, assisting writers with research and term papers, abstracts, literature reviews, honors and Masters theses, conference papers, journal articles, and dissertation chapters. She believes the best way to develop a strong argument at any stage of the writing process is through discussion; consequently, she enjoys conversation with writers at all stages: understanding the assignment better, brainstorming ideas, developing drafts. On the rare occasion she is not studying or grading, you might find her at the bowling alley, listening to music, or curled up at home with a good book.
NICK CROWN - Undergraduate Tutor
Nick, a senior, is a double major in History and Italian Studies. Though he is particularly interested in advocacy and persuasive writing, Nick is familiar with a wide variety of writing genres, from literary analyses to research essays to scientific reports. He looks forward to helping with any stage of the writing process. When off campus, Nick watches Christopher Nolan films, plays guitar, and coaches high school Mock Trial teams.
LINDSEY DEUEL - Undergraduate Tutor
Lindsey is a senior majoring in Linguistics with a Latin minor. Although she enjoys writing in many genres, she is especially interested in scientific reports, research/term papers, literary criticism, and creative writing. Lindsey loves helping writers refine convincing, provocative claims by using appropriate evidence and organization. She is conversational in Japanese and dabbles in many things when away from campus, including sports cars, fashion design, afternoon tea, bookstores, and mischief.
CAMMIE DODSON - Lead Undergraduate Tutor and Targeted Tutoring Lead
Cammie is a senior majoring in International Studies. She enjoys writing across many genres but is especially familiar with writing and research for the International Studies core. Her personal writing style involves talking about her ideas with anyone who will listen, and she encourages the same discussion with other students who come into the writing center. She loves traveling and studying abroad and is now semi-competent at Spanish and Swahili. After graduation she wants to pursue a career in International Human Rights Law. Apart from her work tutoring Swahili for student athletes, she spends her spare time drinking coffee, singing the blues, playing catch, and contemplating a career in competitive eating.
KARL ECKHARDT - Assistant Director and Undergraduate Tutor
A senior pursuing a double degree in International Studies and Business with concentrations in International Political Economy and Finance, Karl hopes to work with non-profit organizations that specialize in economic development and education. He is also considered a Masters in Teaching. Although he has spent most of his time writing social-science research papers, he has been lucky enough to do writing in many other fields (that often tempt him away from his own) and in a variety of formats including presentations, speeches, and publications. As a tutor, he believes in organization, structure, and good, old-fashioned, logical arguments. Outside the center, he can usually be found climbing in the mountains around Seattle or sailing on Lake Washington.
NORAH FAHIM - Graduate Tutor (on leave)
Norah attended Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt for her undergraduate degree in English. She then earned her Master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the University of Washington, where she worked extensively with international students. She is currently pursuing her PhD in English Language and Rhetoric. Norah has taught Academic English in both Cairo and Seattle, and she is currently teaching Freshman Composition here at UW. She strongly believes in the importance of talking through the writing process and finding one's unique voice in each writing task. Norah enjoys reading from her Nook when she has enough time, and she never ceases to be fascinated by UW libraries!
JENNY HALPIN - Director
Jenny has been the Director of the OWRC since 2009. In addition to being full-time staff, she is a PhD Candidate in English Language and Rhetoric (though officially on leave at the moment, working on her dissertation, which explores developing programs to better support English Language Learners). She has many years of experience as both a tutor and a teacher of writing at the University of Washington, having worked for the English Department Writing Center, the CLUE Writing Center, and the Expository Writing Program. Jenny is delighted to help the OWRC grow and expand both its traditional one-to-one mentorship of writers and its new programs for multilingual and graduate students.
MANDY HOBMEIER - Graduate Tutor
Mandy received her MA in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse in 2010 from DePaul University and is currently pursuing her PhD in English Language and Rhetoric at UW. She has worked in a variety of contexts as a professional writer and educator, ranging from grant writing to adult literacy tutorship to International secondary English as a Foreign Language teaching, but her main professional focus is in teaching Composition and Rhetoric and researching issues relevant to English Language Learner populations. She is continuously fascinated by writing pedagogies and processes and is dedicated to helping students grow as writers, readers, and thinkers both in and out of the academic context. She enjoys working with both undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines and is especially qualified to work with students on expository and genre-specific writing of all kinds. In her free time, Mandy tries to travel as much as possible and spends her summers teaching English in Switzerland at an International High School.
JOHN HOLMES - Reference Librarian and Freelance Tutor
John is a reference librarian at Odegaard. His specialties include writing, teaching, and information literacy (the ability to interact effectively with information from defining needs and finding relevant sources through evaluation, use, and management of sources). He has a strong understanding of the ways in which thinking, reading, conversation, research, and writing converge in the process of learning and enjoys helping students develop a strong understanding of their own uses of these abilities as writers. He has taught a research strategies course in International Studies and a thousand information workshops for UW courses. A Michigan native, he has a B.A. in English from Michigan State University and an M.S. in Information Science from from Wayne State University. An experienced and published writer, John is finding tutoring just as satisfying as his librarian gig at the reference desk. Away from his job, John is a movie, theater, and popular music fan, as well as a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan who has reluctantly transferred a few ounces of his loyalty to the Mariners.
CHELSEA JENNINGS - Graduate Tutor
Chelsea received her MFA in Creative Writing from UW in 2008 and is currently working on a PhD in English and serving as one of the Assistant Directors of the Expository Writing Program (EWP). Before coming to UW, Chelsea taught creative writing to middle school students and ESL to adult immigrants, and she is now in her fourth year of teaching in the English department. Chelsea believes that understanding the context for a piece of writing is a crucial part of writing effectively, and she enjoys talking to students from all disciplines about how they can say something that interests them while fulfilling the assignment. When working with graduate students, Chelsea is especially interested in helping writers articulate the importance and originality of their ideas by situating their work in a disciplinary conversation. She is also excited to talk with students about their poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. When not at the writing center, Chelsea can be found biking around town (often in full rain gear), cooking elaborate vegetarian meals, listening to public radio, and finishing her first book of poems.
JORDAN JUNGWIRTH - Undergraduate Tutor
Jordan is currently a junior undergraduate pursuing a double degree in Biochemistry and Anthropology. He enjoys helping writers explore their ideas through engaged conversation, thereby developing the essentials of a solid paper. Though he has spent most of his time on argumentative papers and personal statements, he certainly takes pleasure in working with creative writers as well. Outside of school and work, Jordan tries to find time to wander into new and curious places, people-watch from park benches, or catch up on his Parliamentary Procedure knowledge reading his beloved copy of Robert's Rules of Order
RON KELLER - Undergraduate Tutor
A recent transfer to UW, Ron is pursuing a double degree in Neurobiology and Philosophy. He worked as a GED tutor for a year, a philosophy and psychology tutor for just a quarter, and as a writing tutor at Highline Community College's writing center for two years before transfering to UW. His favorite stages at which to help writers are early brainstorming and the development of supporting evidence. When he's not studying or working as a TA at Highline, you can find him reading, exercising, or listening to music.
ANASTASIA 'KARIN' KHARINA - Graduate Tutor
A graduate student in Aerospace and Aeronautics, Karin (KHAR-eenq
)
considers herself a very easily amused person. If not for her deep love of
airplanes, she could easily have spent many more years in college studying
everything she could: languages, cultures, even psychology, dentistry,
photography! As an Aerospace Engineering grad student, she hopes to one day
be involved in making air trips as common as road trips for everyone,
especially in her home country: Indonesia. In writing, she especially loves
the brainstorming and organizing ideas phases, discussing ideas with writers
and thinking about how they will impact readers. Karin's newest hobby
is cooking and trying out new recipes, and she would love one day to do a
round-the-world trip just to sample authentic, home-cooked meals from
different parts of the world!
KERRY LAM - Undergraduate Tutor
Kerry is pursuing a Computer Science major. She spent two years gaining experience as a writing tutor at Highline Community College's writing center before coming to the OWRC. Kerry's favorite stage of the writing process is brainstorming ideas, especially when working with personal statements. She hopes to study abroad in the near future, but she hasn't quite decided where she has the greatest desire to study. Outside of school, Kerry finds herself wishing she had more time for photography, practicing her limited Mandarin and Cantonese, and reading Calvin and Hobbes.
DAVE LAWRENCE - Graduate Tutor (on leave)
Currently a PhD student in Ecology at UW's School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Dave is equally passionate about science and communicating about science via writing. He has expertise with technical writing, journalism, research, and literature reviews, and grant and proposal writing. When he is not snorkeling a river for his research or wracking his brain with statistics, he likes to play music (drums, mostly), hike, cook, and (of course) read.
KATY LUNDGREN - Undergraduate Tutor
Katy is pursuing a double major in Comparative Religion and Geography. As such, most of her writing experience lies in the social sciences and research papers, though she also enjoys and has some experience with literary analysis and fiction writing. In general she is game to discuss and learn about writing in any genre, because learning new things is how we grow, and who doesn't like growth, right? Katy loves brainstorming ideas -- the question-asking, problem-posing, and creative thinking that go with it make her excited about any piece of writing. On the other hand, she likes refining phrases and arguments until they are 'just so' and is happy to whittle away at a full-bodied piece of work until it reaches something like that feels to the writer like 'perfection'. In her non-academic life, Katy reads, dances, engages in labor activism, talks/thinks about/does religion, nerds about to things like good ol' HP and LOTR, whistles, enjoys the outdoors, enjoys good company, and bakes bread -- among other things!
MELANYA MATERNE - Undergraduate Tutor
Melanya is a senior in English Literature and hopes eventually to teach high school English. Her eclectic academic interests and her experience in the UW Honors program have introduced her to a wide variety of writing styles, but literary analysis papers remain her specialty. She believes that strong organization and thoroughly analyzed evidence are the cornerstones of all good academic writing. That's right: she believes in outlines. When she's out of the ivory tower, Melanya enjoys movies, concerts, photography, creative writing, light hiking, and humiliating her friends at Scrabble.
RAPHAEL MONDESIR - Graduate Tutor (on leave)
A Raphael is a fifth year PhD grad student in Sociology, in which he also has completed a Masters and taught courses over the past four years. He also served as an English instructor for UW's Interdisciplinary Writing Program (IWP). His philosophy is that writers can fulfill the requirements of an assignment or projects without sacrificing their own creativity. Raphael believes that the most interesting arguments are those that are couched in a rich, substantive debate, and he enjoys engaging writers in conversations that help elucidate the object of those debates. He is especially qualified to assist students with journal articles, literature reviews, master's theses, research papers, and literary analyses. He enjoys helping writers at all stages -- refining arguments, brainstorming, or organization. He looks forward to helping writers in any field or genre.
JESSE O'DUNNE - Graduate Tutor
Jesse is pursuing a Masters in Library and Information Science. After earning his degree, he plans to work as an urban young adult librarian. Jesse has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Haverford College and has worked with a wide variety of academic writing, written research reports and political speeches as a consultant, and even composed an epic poem. He is particularly interested in the challenge of producing clarity in writing, exploring the differences between intended and interpreted meaning. When he is not reading or practicing his shushing, Jesse enjoys rowing, hiking, yelling about politics, going to concerts, watching horse racing, and writing terrible pop culture haikus.
BEN OVERTON - Graduate Tutor
Ben is a first year public affairs student pursuing a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree. Ben also completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington in Political Science and Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese Language & Literature. He has a wide breadth of writing experiences, including professional experience in journalism, grant writing, and business communications. He enjoys working with writers of all genres and is especially keen to assist writers in creating and analyzing logical, compelling arguments. He is happy to work with writers in all stages of the process, and especially enjoys working with writers near the end of the writing process. Beyond working with writers, Ben is passionate about running, cooking, and traveling. He is especially proud (perhaps too proud) of his knowledge of world capitals.
ERICA PETRU - Undergraduate Tutor
As a senior double majoring in Environmental Science and Resource Management and International Studies, Erica has experience with a wide variety of written work. She loves the beginning stages of a paper, the process of formalizing abstract thoughts into a solid argument. Though she is most practiced in research papers, she also enjoys working with short stories and other creative writing. After traveling to Panama through a volunteer teaching program, Erica found that she greatly enjoys teaching English. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, playing ultimate Frisbee, and adventures.
DEBORAH PIERCE - Reference Librarian and Freelance Tutor
Deborah is a reference and instruction librarian at Odegaard. Her background includes
a MM in Musicology (aka the study of the history and
literature of music) and a MS in Information Science along with 25 years as
a music information specialist and educator. She is an armchair
philosopher who has been described by peers to have the ability to find the
weak link in any argument
. She believes that life is a path of
ongoing inquiry and learning and that writing is an important communication
skill which can help us understand each other and ourselves.
Her own research, teaching, and writings are in the areas of information
literacy, adult education, musician wellness, and human potentials. Her
interest in tutoring is to help you find your own voice to express your
understanding and growth in your learning process. Deborah's true loves
are singing, composing, cooking vegan delights, playing tai chi in nature,
and hanging out with canine friends.
BIANCA SHI - Undergraduate Tutor
Bianca is majoring in Business, but at the same time, she is open to many things and directions. After practicing a lot in different styles of English writing, she has accumulated writing experience and developed her own strategies in response to various genres, especially in social-science papers and literature analysis. As a bilingual student who has been exposed to both eastern style implicit writing and western style explicit writing, she focuses a lot on the connections between different points in a paper and the logic that fosters the line of inquiry. Also, as she believes that writing is an expression of thought, she takes a great interest in the process of brainstorming and would love to talk with writers about that. In her free time, she is obsessed with reading arts (especially contemporary arts), novels and philosophy, spends a lot of time with music, friends and movies, and regards traveling as an indispensable part of life.
KIRIN WACHTER-GRENE - Graduate Tutor
Kirin received her MA in Liberal Studies in 2009 from the Graduate Center, CUNY in New York City where she was also a professional editor. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in English Literature and Culture at UW, as well as serving as one of the Assistant Directors of the Expository Writing Program (EWP). She has been a tutor for over a decade, working with a diverse population ranging from high-schoolers, to college students, grad students, and professional adults working in a variety of academic and non-academic genres. During the school year, in addition to teaching composition and taking her own coursework, she mentors the freshmen football team (Go Huskies!). Above all, she believes in helping writers strengthen their critical thinking skills as a means to apply those skills to their reading comprehension and writing development. Helping writers realize and articulate their argument, and develop that argument with comprehensive support, evidence, and analysis thrills her (yes, she's a nerd). On her days off, you can find her record shopping, going to shows, looking at art, traveling as much as possible, and running around loving life.
ARIEL WETZEL - Graduate Tutor
Ariel Wetzel is currently working on her PhD in English Literature and Language and a graduate certificate in Feminist Studies. She is writing her dissertation on prisons and science fiction. Ariel has taught composition for four years at UW and Western Washington University. As a writing teacher, she believes in teaching students how to make smart choices as writers when they face a new writing situation. She especially enjoys helping students develop complex, persuasive arguments. Outside of school, Ariel enjoys playing videogames, jogging and cycling, as well as reading, watching, and writing science fiction.
STEPHANIE WHITNEY - Undergraduate Tutor
Stephanie is an English major and an Education, Learning & Society minor. She has mentored with UW's Dream Project for three years, helping local high school students through the college application process. She has a ton of experience navigating expository writing and the expository writing process and looks forward to helping writers at all stages. Figuring out how an individual's personal interests and strengths can come through in their writing and talking through ideas and road-blocks (such as paralyzing writers block) are some of her favorite tasks. Stephanie is semi-proficient in French, loves doing anything out-of-doors, and is addicted to foreign films.
JANE WONG - Graduate Tutor
Jane is a doctoral student in English Literature at UW and holds a MFA in Poetry from the University of Iowa. At the University of Iowa, she taught Rhetoric and Creative Writing and misses her students dearly. She tutored at Bard College's writing center for three years and has lead poetry workshops for high schools students across the country. She loves talking to writers about their ideas and believes in clear, elegant writing. In her spare time, you'll find her roaming the city for cheap eats, leaving poems by your door, or carefully folding laundry.
CHRISTINE WOODWARD - Undergraduate Tutor
Christine is currently pursuing two majors, one in Latin American Studies and one in Geography. Her background gives her plentiful experience with social science and research papers, but she also likes helping out with personal statements and proposals of any sort. Although Christine recognizes the importance of all stages of the writing process, she particularly enjoys the initial brainstorming and outlining phases, when anything is possible. She loves helping others discover their agency over their own work and believes that writing in essence a social activity. Christine is newly returned from study abroad in Brazil. In her personal life, Christine likes clothes fresh out of the dryer, holding and reading books, crisp snow, and new beginnings.
CHRISTINE YANG - Undergraduate Tutor
Christine is pursuing an International Studies major and a minor in Psychology. Christine holds a fascination for all things classical and medieval history, and finds herself deeply captivated by existentialist philosophy, which she feels to be both provocative and beautiful. Her approach to strong academic writing is largely grounded in the basic structuring of a paper. She believes the development of strong writing skills begins with a focus on a central argument, claim, or theme that anchors the cohesion between all parts of a paper. Her writing experience includes History, Philosophy, Art History, International Studies, Geography and English Literature. In her free time, Christine enjoys spending time with friends, watching period films and baseball games, indulging in Haagen-Dazs and doing a healthy dose of ruminating about the meaning of life. She would love to someday travel the world, of course, and in the process touch as many historical ruins as possible!
YUNFEI ZHAO - Undergraduate Tutor
Yunfei is pursuing a Communication major. Although he has had frequent instruction and practice in writing academic research papers in this environment, he still prefers working with writers on personal statements and cover letters. Since the summer before he came to UW, he has helped many students with their personal statements for college admissions. He looks forward to the challenge of working with writers working in many different genres. No matter what stage an essay is at -- brainstorming to revising -- Yunfei believes that conversations with tutors help writers come up with many new ideas, so he never tires of discussing an assignment with someone. An international student, Yunfei was born in Tianjin, China; he speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. In his spare time, he love playing table tennis, hanging out with friends, and (best of all) photography.