Event Archive
Thursday, November 21, 2024
6:00-7:00
Introduction by Joe Eckert
Ph.D. Program Manager, Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
Panel Discussion Moderated by Sarah Elwood
Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Geography
Audience Questions Facilitated by Mia Bennett
Associate Professor, Department of Geography
7:00-7:30
Small Group Discussions
Meet Our Panelists
Rachel Kirschner | Engineering Technician in Construction Inspection, City of Redwood City
Currently serving as an Engineering Technician in Construction Inspection for the City of Redwood City, Rachel plays a critical role in assisting permit staff with the review and coordination of engineering and utility permits. Her responsibilities include inspecting construction and improvement projects within public right-of-way, where she identifies and resolves issues to contribute to the overall success and safety of projects. Prior to her current role, Rachel worked as an Outside Plant Engineer at Verizon, which involved designing, maintaining, and modifying GIS applications to enhance field efficiency and accuracy. Her role also involved training construction managers and inspectors on proprietary software, which significantly improved project execution. Her initial experience as a GIS Technician at Apple involved editing spatial data and updating geographic databases to improve data accuracy and reliability.
In addition to her professional experience, Rachel was the business owner of the 3GIS Mobile application and has been recognized as a participant in the 2021 Women of the World leadership program. Her education was further complemented by a course in Design Communication from UC Berkeley Extension and two certifications from the Maintenance Superintendents association. Most of her free time is spent with her high-energy Border Collie! She also has a deep passion for cooking, baking and film photography.
Rebecca Kuhn | Administrative Specialist III, City of Seattle
Becca Kuhn (she/her) graduated with a B.A. in Geography from the University of Washington (UW) in 2018. During her time at UW, she was a member of the UW Spirit Cheer & Dance program and participated in Departmental Honors. Following her graduation, she traveled to Minca, Colombia to serve as a Communications Intern with Misión Gaia through the Omprakash Social Impact Internships.
After returning back home to Seattle, she began her career in social service nonprofit work with the YMCA of Greater Seattle. During her time at the Y, she served in a variety of community engagement roles focused on capacity and relationship building, development and volunteerism, and administrative support. In 2020, when the country was faced with a global health pandemic and a public reckoning of racial injustice, she returned to school to complete her Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) understanding that policy and governance, while flawed, remain a powerful vehicle to enact change. After two years of juggling graduate school and full-time work, Becca graduated with her MPA from Seattle University in December 2022.
After obtaining her graduate degree, she sought out a new opportunity to work on a local campaign. She had, and still has, a deep interest in practicing community engagement and outreach to organize communities, namely those which have been historically, and are presently, disenfranchised. After joining Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth’s campaign as her Campaign Manager, it didn’t take long to see firsthand the importance of community connection in fostering authentic engagement and the power of collaboration in advancing shared goals.
Becca started working at the City of Seattle in the Human Services Department on the Legislative and External Affairs team in an Administrative role in January 2024.
Catherine Wendland | GIS Communications Lead, City of Seattle
Catherine Wendland is a key member of the City of Seattle’s centralized GIS Team in the IT department. She helps develop and enforce standards for the City’s GIS platform, creating a knowledge base for thousands of users. Catherine specializes in documentation and communication, making complex technical concepts clear and accessible.
Catherine graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Geography in 2012. During her time at UW, she interned at the City of Seattle on the GIS Team, where she documented workflows that became essential training resources. This initiative helped secure her a full-time position post-graduation.
Over the years, Catherine’s exceptional communication, documentation, and interpersonal skills have propelled her into her current role. She continues to leverage these strengths to make a significant impact in her field.
Outside of her GIS endeavors, Catherine plays a vital role in supporting her partner’s small business ventures—a restaurant group comprising four cafes and restaurants in South and Central Seattle. Balancing her career and family life, Catherine and her partner are also the proud parents of two toddlers who keep them joyfully busy.
Thursday, November 16, 2023
6:00-7:00
Introduction by Heather Tarr
Head Coach, UW Softball
Panel Discussion Moderated by Michael Brown
Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Geography
Audience Questions Facilitated by Gretchen Sneegas
Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Geography
7:00-7:30
Small Group Discussions
Meet Our Panelists
James Alexander | Political Officer, U.S. Department of State
James Alexander works as a Senior Client Associate at Standish Management, a Venture Capital Fund administration firm. In this role, he is able to use his excel skills and working with others to support solutions that integrate services to provide an efficient and investor-friendly experience. Before attending UW, he spent more than 8 years in the US Army. After his honorable service, he took advantage of the GI Bill and attended UW as an undergraduate from 2018 to 2020. In 2020, he was honored with the Outstanding Senior Award by the faculty and staff of the Department of Geography.
Never one to rest, he used his pandemic lockdown period to enroll at the iSchool in the Master of Science in Information Management program while also enrolling in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate program offered by UW Tacoma. At the iSchool, he was honored to receive the 2021 Faculty Award for Student Excellence. His collegiate work focused on geographic genealogies and activity-based intelligence. Recently, he has accepted an offer to work for the State Department.
In his time away from the office, he enjoys time with family, cooking, and traveling.
Ashley Fent | Campaigns Researcher, HEAL Food Alliance
Ashley Fent is an ACLS Leading Edge Fellow at HEAL Food Alliance, a national multiracial coalition of over 40 organizations that works to transform our food and farming systems. At HEAL, she conducts research to inform and raise public awareness about ongoing campaigns and policy advocacy. Previously, she taught courses on environmental justice issues at Vassar College and worked as a researcher at Community Alliance for Global Justice, a small nonprofit in Seattle. She holds a PhD in Geography from UCLA, an MA in Anthropology and African Studies from Columbia University, and a BA in Geography from the University of Washington. Her work and research has taken her to numerous countries in West Africa, including Senegal, Mali, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. She has also been involved in producing short documentaries on climate finance, mangrove afforestation, and agroecology. Ashley lives in Tacoma, Washington, on the occupied land of Coast Salish peoples. When not working or chasing after her two young children, she enjoys dancing, painting, and growing food.
Hamdi Mohamed | Senior Project Manager, General Mills
Hamdi Mohamed is a Project Manager at the Boeing Company supporting Fabrication and Supply chain organization. Hamdi has twelve years of project management experience both in software development, customer relations support, and managed IT investment Portfolio growth across an organization. After graduating from University of Washington in 2008 with Bachelor’s degree in Geography, Hamdi began her career at the Boeing Company as a Business Analyst supporting the beginning stages of development of integrated systems for the Sales & Marketing organization. She then transitioned to the Mobility space, working on the development of mobile apps for the Paris & Farnborough Airshows. Hamdi moved into a Project Management role, where she managed the renovation and technology upgrades of the Customer Experience Center and supporting suite of tools for the Network & Fleet Planning team. Hamdi also pursued and graduated with a master’s degree in Business Administration at University of Phoenix. She then had an opportunity to be part of the Commercial Aviation Services team to perform deployment training to international airline customers on how to utilize aircraft maintenance manuals and performance systems. Being part of that team, Hamdi greatly appreciated her valuable experience of having a geography degree. It helped her build connections with airline customers and regulatory agencies to coordinate communications and deployment plans with the customer support team. Last year, Hamdi had an opportunity in Minneapolis, MN working as project manager at General Mills where she supported the North America Food Services Sales organization. On a personal note, Hamdi is married and has a daughter (8 yrs old). She enjoys traveling with her family and loves cooking as well.
Thursday, November 17, 2022
6:00-7:00
Introduction by Tiffany Calverley
Assistant Director of Advancement for the Social Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences
Panel Discussion Moderated by Sarah Elwood
Professor and Chair, Department of Geography
Audience Questions
7:00-7:30
Small Group Discussions
Meet Our Panelists
Jeevon Durkee | Communications Manager, murmuration
Geography and education have been central themes throughout Jeevon’s life. In third grade, his parents took him and his sister out of their public school to travel the world, during which he spent hours flipping through paper maps to understand where his family were going and where they had been. After studying in Argentina in high school, Jeevon took a gap year to hike, volunteer, and enmesh himself in cities across South America.
His first day at the University of Washington included GEOG 123: Intro to Globalization. Within a year, he had declared his major and proceeded to take as many human geography classes as possible, focusing on urban dynamics and the intersection of race, gender, and class. He graduated with a B.A. in Geography in 2013.
Jeevon married the skills and mindset he developed studying geography with his passion for public education by serving with City Year in a South Bronx middle school, after which he ran a college access program for Bronx high schoolers based on the value of mentorship. Looking to scale his impact, he joined Murmuration, an organization transforming education politics by partnering with organizing and advocacy groups across the country. He is currently responsible for building and implementing the organization’s external communications strategy.
Melissa Espinoza | Managing Director of Strategic Investments and Impact, We Are In
Melissa graduated with a B.A. in Geography and Comparative History of Ideas at UW in 2011. During her undergraduate years Melissa participated in five study abroad opportunities across India, Iceland, and Northern Ireland. After graduating Melissa pursued a career in addressing affordable housing and homelessness. She eventually went on to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Glasgow in Public and Urban Policy and a PhD at Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland) in Urban Studies.
She is a specialist in comparative public policy and the impacts of racial inequalities. Her professional experience in North America centers on racial inequalities within housing and homeless urban policies. She has extensive research experience in the United Kingdom, studying and evaluating homelessness programs in Greater Manchester, Newcastle, and Birmingham. She has published research on ageing populations’ housing needs and other anti-poverty work. She advocates for the participation and shared knowledge of people with lived experience in funding, policy formation, implementation, and program evaluation. She is involved in numerous BIPOC expert groups, charities, and movements that aim to elevate and promote women of color’s expertise in a variety of fields.
In her spare time, she is heavily involved in supporting movements that help to elevate and promote Black, First Nations, Latinx and other people of color voices. She also volunteers year-round for Minga Indigena, a movement that elevates First Nations voices and knowledge in UN Climate Change (COP) negotiations. She continues to support the facilitation of higher education access for underrepresented and under-resourced communities. When she is not working, she is playing with her dog and taking up new hobbies that she never finishes.
Carmen Settineri | GIS Analyst, Valocity Limited
Carmen Settineri works as a GIS Data Engineer/Analyst for Valocity, a globally awarded FinTech company transforming and digitising the property decisioning process with customers across Australia, New Zealand, India, and Asia. She utilizes tools such as FME, Geoserver, and Databricks to produce property analytics and visualizations used to enhance valuation and lending decisions across rural and urban areas. Previously she worked for INRIX in Seattle as a GIS Analyst, maintaining the underlying road network data required for mapping traffic analytics across the globe. She received her B.A. in Geography from the University of Washington in 2012. In her spare time she enjoys hiking and exploring New Zealand with her husband and two children.
November 18, 2021
6:00-7:00
Introduction by Raquel Chavez
Program Manager, Office of Educational Assessment
Panel Discussion Moderated by Sarah Elwood
Professor and Chair, Department of Geography
Audience Questions
7:00-7:30
Small Group Discussions
Meet Our Panelists
Wendi Pedersen
Wendi Pedersen is a GIS and Remote Sensing specialist in the Humanitarian sector. Based in Geneva Switzerland, she works at the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). She currently provides capacity development for the mine action sector, implements GIS based information management systems, develops and conducts training courses, and provides GIS and Remote Sensing services.
Prior to joining the GICHD, Wendi worked for UNITAR-UNOSAT. Based at CERN, she was a Remote Sensing and Geospatial analyst for six years, providing analysis on disaster events and human security. She also developed custom GIS systems for humanitarian organizations and delivered Remote Sensing training courses offered by UNOSAT. Prior to UNITAR-UNOSAT, Wendi worked for the UN High Commission for Refugees in its Field Information and Coordination Support Section.
Wendi has a degree in Environmental Studies and Geography, in addition to a certificate in Restoration Ecology from the University of Washington.
Koji Pingry
Koji Pingry is a farmer and aspiring educator. After graduating with a B.A. in Geography at the UW in 2016, Koji has been trying to figure out a way to connect all of his different interests. Through working in and around restaurants, schools, the center for race and equity, and farms around the world, he and his partner Lizzy landed on farming! Our food system is interconnected with issues of institutional racism, economic justice, education, public health, and the environment; all things that they care deeply about. They also love food and the way it brings people together. Koji, Lizzy and their dog Maple have been running a 2 acre CSA vegetable farm in the Snohomish valley, focused on regenerative agriculture, Japanese vegetables, and good vibes for the last two years. Koji was born and raised in Seattle so he is unreasonably averse to umbrellas, loves evergreen trees and thinks that there are very few better ways to spend a 70 degree day in September than hiking in the cascades or olympics. When he is not farming, Koji spends the bulk of his waking hours thinking about what meal he is going to cook next.
Kuang Sheng
Kuang Sheng is a Geographer and GISer. He received his B.A. in Geography from UW in 2017. At UW, Kuang took several great opportunities that the geography department had offered, including an honor program that allowed him to research the development of Shanghai and Tokyo, the Mary Gates Endowment that supported him on a field trip to Asia, and a Husky 100 honor (2016-2017). After graduation, he joined Esri to pursue a career in the world of GIS. During his time at Esri, Kuang became familiar with the concept of Web GIS and acknowledged the power of geospatial analysis in the commercial world. Kuang now works as a Senior Research Analyst in GIS at Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate services firm. His research senses cultivated in the UW Department of Geography and technical skills learned from Esri are helping local clients optimize their real estate decisions and recognize the power of GIS.
November 19, 2020
6:00-7:00
Introduction by Emma O’Neill Meyers
Associate Director of Employer & Student Engagement, Career & Internship Center
Panel Discussion Moderated by Sarah Elwood
Professor and Chair, Department of Geography
Audience Questions
7:00-7:30
Small Group Discussions
Meet Our Panelists
Anisa Jackson
Anisa Jackson is a writer, artist, DJ, and curator based in New York. Anisa’s research-based practice works at the intersection of architecture, Black studies, and urban studies. Their work has appeared as installation, moving image, sound, and as print and digital text. Currently, Anisa works as the Public Programs Curator for the Aspen Art Museum and is a doctoral student in American Studies in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. Anisa received their B.A. in Geography from the University of Washington in 2015.
Mamie Jallow
Mamie Jallow works at T-Mobile as a Sr. Architect, Domain, where she ensures Enterprise data use is protected and compliant with state mandates and CCPA regulations. Prior to this position, Mamie worked as a Network Engineer within the Network Engineering team at T-Mobile. Mamie earned her Master’s in Geography with a concentration in Geographic Information Systems from CUNY in NYC and a Bachelor’s in Geography from the University of Washington. With her degrees in Geography, Mamie had the opportunity to intern for the New York City Department of Education, and the New York City Office of Emergency Management. Mamie works with the iUrban Teen STEM program by mentoring and working with High School Students as well as mentoring women of color college students interested in tech. In her free time, you can find her hiking the amazing mountains in the PNW.
Matt Manolides
Matt Manolides grew up in the Seattle area and has strong ties to the pacific northwest, with several generations of his family being UW alumni. At UW, he initially studied economics, accounting, and computer science, but ended up falling in love with Geography and GIS. After graduating in 2004 with a degree in Geography, he did contract work helping to build the map used in Microsoft Flight Sim X. In 2006, Matt pulled up stakes and moved to California for a job working on Google Earth and Google Maps. He’s spent the past 14 years building one of the largest and most complete maps of the world to ever exist, and currently spends his time strategizing on how to achieve the next big leap forward in mapping capability. On the personal side, Matt married in 2008 and currently lives in San Jose with his wife, two children (9 and 7), 4 chickens, 4 cats, and 1 dog. He enjoys spending time outside, swimming, bbqing, reading, and spending time with his family.
November 21, 2019
Meet Our Panelists:
Isaiah Berg, Performance Auditor, Office of the Washington State Auditor
Jacob Gonzalez, Senior Planner, City of Pasco
Natasha Rivers, Senior Research Analyst & Consultant of Demographic Data and Housing