Melissa Anderson  (2001) is now employed on the Older Adults Outreach team at Navos Mental Health Solutions (formerly Highline West Seattle Mental Health), wearing many hats: intake specialist for the whole team, case management, and art therapist.  She reports it is a great place to be as she works toward her mental health counselor licensure. Her road from working with children of domestic violence and teens transitioning out of the juvenile justice system to working with older adults has been fascinating, and in a nutshell was a result of government funding cuts in Colorado closing the agencies where she was to begin conducting her practicum. Initially, Melissa didn't anticipate using her WS degree to explore the marginalization of elders, but it soon became an area of focus near and dear to her heart.

A Letter from former Women Studies student Alicia Lazzarini:

Women Studies Alum Alicia Lazzarini, who wrote her Women Studies thesis on gender and political economy in Turkey, just returned from a year in Istanbul.  She was an intern with Maya Enterprise for Microcredit in Istanbus, which ws established by the Foundation for the Support of Women's Work.

"The Foundation is a local non-profit committed to economically empowering women in low-income areas primarily of Istanbul and the Southeast via women's cooperatives and support groups," said Alicia.

The work of the Foundation also includes women's spaces linked to childcare and education centers, the Nahıl shop which sells cooperatives' products, and gender-focused pre- and post- disaster development efforts. Maya, the country's first MFI, was established as a separate for-profit enterprise due to legal restrictions, and is housed under the Foundation.

In her free time Alicia volunteered with one of Turkey's only women's shelters, Mor Çatı.

Women Studies Alumna Zaedryn Mead (Class of 2004) describes herself as "a queer butch poet working for subversion and joy." She believes in social change through encouraging the sharing of marginalized peoples unique voices and stories. Though she has experimented with many art forms including calligraphy, graphic design, formal classical poetry, book arts, dramatic performance, event organizing, and consciousness-raising groups, she believes all her paths have led her to the pen, the page, and the stage.
Her work has previously been published in various literary magazines, including The Seattle Review, Penitalia: Collegiate Erotica, Bricolage, and online at Monkey Bicycle. Her stories have also been included in the collections I Had an Abortion and Best Lesbian Erotica 2006. She has produced two chapbooks, Covet (2002) and Valence: Fool's Gold in the Shape of Poems (2005), and one CD, For the Record (2005).

You can learn more about her work on her website: www.zaedryn.com

If you've graduated from the Women Studies Department at the University of Washington, we're interested in you! Please take our alumni survey, and make sure we have your contact information updated. We're interested in everything from answering that eternal question "What do you do with a Women Studies degree anyway?" to establishing a mentorship program between alumni and our graduating seniors. See our survey here!

Please send updates about anything you've accomplished in the time since you've matriculated. You can email those updates to womenst@u.washington.edu.

If you're willing to be a mentor to a graduating senior or a new Women Studies alumna, please email womenst@u.washington.edu with your contact information and your current occupation or area(s) of expertise.

We keep this information on file for students who are looking for someone to help them navigate the post-college job market and volunteer venues. Geographically distant as well as local alumnae are encouraged to volunteer, as our graduating seniors often find themselves all over the globe!