Meet Our Staff
Professional Staff
Dr. Samantha Powers (She/Her) – Director
Sam Powers is the Director of Student Veteran Life at the University of Washington. She provides oversight and management of hiring, development of new programs, and centralization of existing services and resources available to UW student veterans. She provides outreach and collaborates with internal and external constituents.
Sam is a combat veteran of the US Air Force Special Operations, where she served as an Aircraft Maintenance officer on the C-130 Gunship Spectres. Sam served in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom. She began her post-military career in the field of higher education, working in Facilities/Physical Plant Operations as an administrative manager. She has additional experience in Continuing Education and Customized Training. She went back to school while working full time at UW and earned her Masters in Social Work in June of 2020 at the University of Washington. She is now on her way to becoming a fully licensed therapist and owns a private practice in which she sees patients weekly. She volunteers for several veterans organizations in Washington State as a member and officer and is an adjunct professor at various higher education institutions across the state and nation.
Sam holds a BA in Military History from Virginia Tech, an MA in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma, a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Old Dominion University, and an MSW from the University of Washington.
Dr. Jordan Houghton (He/Him) – Assistant Director
Jordan Houghton is the Assistant Director of Student Veteran Life at the University of Washington. He assists SVL through programs, student needs, and day to day operations. Jordan formerly served as the President of Husky United Military Veterans (Now Husky Veterans) that founded the office in 2016.
Jordan is a combat veteran of the US Army, where he served as a Combat Medic with an infantry battalion from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Jordan served in Kandahar, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom, exiting the service in 2013 and continuing to the University of Washington. Jordan serves within The American Legion and is a founder and Adjutant of a local Seattle post named after Marine Sgt. William C. Stacey (Post 206). Jordan received his Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) from Northwest University in Kirkland, WA. His dissertation research focused on the therapeutic alliance between clinicians and veterans, specifically seeking to analyze the benefits of a veteran clinician in place of a non-veteran clinician.
Jordan holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Washington, a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Counseling Psychology from Northwest University, and a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Counseling Psychology from Northwest University.
Ying Ye (He/Him) – Office Manager
Ying is a Navy Veteran, and recently finished his public health undergraduate work at the University of Washington. He transferred from Bellevue College and is looking forward to pursuing a career in nutrition or the medical field. Ying served from 2009-2015 as a nuclear electrician on the USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) out of Pearl Harbor. He has served on two Western Pacific and one Eastern Pacific Deployments. Originally from Miami, Florida, before serving in the United States Navy, Ying and his wife decided to move with their son to Seattle for a change in pace.
Liz Oaksmith (She/Her) – UW Counseling Center SVL Liaison (Veteran MHP)
Liz Oaksmith is a therapist at the University of Washington Student Counseling Center (UWCC). She assists Student Veteran Life as a liaison who does outreach to the SVL center where she is available for general discussions, provides psychoeducation, answers any questions about mental health services, meets with vets for counseling, and provides support for veteran’s mental health at events.
Liz is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with over 20 years of experience as a therapist. She has specialized in crisis work and intensive treatment in a variety of settings including inpatient psychiatry, community mental health, an Emergency Department, an outpatient medical clinic, and residential substance abuse treatment. She has experience working with both active duty and veterans.
Liz has a BA in Psychology from Seattle University and a Master of Education (M.Ed) in School Counseling from the University of Washington. She is a Seattle native but has also lived in Tokyo and Massachusetts. She is an avid road cyclist and has a passion for international travel and exploration.
Student Staff
Evan Chen (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Evan is a veteran of the US Navy, where he served aboard submarines from 2013-2022. He worked in aerospace manufacturing at Blue Origin prior to attending the University of Washington as a full-time student.
Originally from southern California, he has lived in Washington for over 6 years and is attending UW to earn a BS in Engineering. In his free time, he enjoys playing sports, board games, and taking long walks on the beach with Shadow (pictured)
Raul Clavijo (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Raul is originally from Brooklyn, NY, and served five years in the Marine Corps as an avionics technician on harriers. After completing his BS in Biology in 2023, Raul has embarked on his academic journey, attending the School of Pharmacy at the University of Washington.
Raul spends his free time watching anime, going to the gym, spending time with his loved ones, and being sarcastic.
Brandon Green (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Brandon’s information will be updated in the near future, in the meantime….
Brandon served in the U.S. Army as a Combat Medic, deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Utilizing the skills he learned as a medic, he applied to the University of Washington and completed his bachelors degree, going on to be accepted to the MEDEX PA masters program. Presently, Brandon is in his second year of the PA program, embarking on his clinical rotations throughout the greater Pacific Northwest region.
Brandon is an avid gamer, from Dungeons and Dragons to Call of Duty. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his friends, crafting, writing, and spending time with his beautiful daughter.
Kenneth Guyer (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Info to be updated, enjoy the picture of Griffin in the meantime.
Griffin Hubner (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Griffin Hubner is a Navy veteran who served from 2016-2021. He is originally from the PNW, but was raised in Sacramento, California. He’s been a Husky fan his whole life which is what led him to the UW. He started out at San Mateo College near San Francisco before transferring to the UW.
Griffin’s hobbies include snowboarding, football, soccer, aviation photography, and learning German.
Go Dawgs
Andrew Johnson (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Andrew is an Army Veteran, serving in Fort Bliss, Texas from 2017-2021 as a Medic. During this time, he fulfilled a variety of taskings from Funeral Honors to COVID Relief missions. After growing up in Hawai’i and spending four years in a desert, he decided it was time for cooler climates; moving to the Pacific Northwest for college. He is currently pursuing a degree in Biology and plans to work in disaster relief after college.
Andrew enjoys exploring new things in his free time: finding anything with a good story(games, books, shows) or finding new food places.
Sean Karl (He/Him) – Lead Veteran Peer Mentor & ASUW Representative for SVL
Sean is a US Navy veteran, having served as an Engineering Laboratory Technician from 2014 to 2020. As such, he was stationed in multiple areas, with his passions and virtues leading him to stay in the Pacific Northwest.
In Washington, Sean had begun his studies at Olympic College then transferred to UW to pursue a BS in Civil Engineering.
Sean’s hobbies include playing lacrosse, snowboarding, video games and hiking. In his picture, Sean is holding the Student Veteran Life’s own mascot, Naydean.
Linh Nguyen (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Linh is a USMC veteran who served as a Helicopter Technician for the CH-53E from 2014 to 2019. Stationed on the East Coast during his service, he returned to the Pacific Northwest upon completing his active duty.
In Washington, Linh began his studies at Highline College before transferring to the University of Washington Foster School of Business to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting.
Outside of his academic and professional pursuits, Linh enjoys building and riding e-bikes, camping, and spending quality time with his family.
Makana Ortega-Kalani (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Makana is a US Navy veteran who served as a Sonar Technician on Submarines from 2014-2021. Stationed mainly on the East Coast, he was able to make his way over to the Pacific Northwest where he decided to stay.
In Washington, Makana started his studies at Olympic College then transferred to UW to pursue a BA in Communications.
Makana is an avid gamer playing MMO’s like Final Fantasy XIV and Elder Scrolls Online, tabletop games as well as DND. When he’s not playing games he spends his time hiking or playing disc golf.
Olivia Phan (She/Her) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Olivia worked in the Army as an Abrams Tank Mechanic in Fort Bliss, Texas and Camp Humphreys, South Korea while fulfilling the duties of both tracked and wheeled mechanics. She served from 2018-2020 until she was eventually medically retired.
Currently, Olivia is pursuing a Bachelors in Physiology, Interdisciplinary Honors, and a Minor in Dance with the intent of one day becoming a Physical Therapist. In her free time, Olivia enjoys dancing salsa and swing, as well as painting and drawing cute animals.
Jeremiah Popa (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Info to be added
Ashley Rendon (She/Her) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Ashley is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. She served from 2016 to 2020 in the material management career field at Travis Air Force Base. From 2020 to 2022 she continued her service in the Arizona Air National Guard full time. In April of 2022, Ashley transferred to the Washington National Guard to attend school full-time. She is pursuing a BS in marine biology with the goal to work for NOAA one day.
Ashley spends her free time hiking, traveling, and enjoying the great outdoors. She also enjoys hanging out with her Bernese Mountain Dog named Truckee and photography.
Brian Rodrigues (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Info to be added
Larrianna Warner (She/Her) – Veteran Peer Mentor
Larrianna, a born and raised Washingtonian, served in the U.S. Air Force from 2019-2023 as a Russian Cryptologic Language Analyst at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. Her experience as a linguist in the Air Force led her toward the technical side of linguistics.
After her enlistment ended, she enrolled at Bellevue College to jumpstart her education in computer science. Larrianna then transferred to the University of Washington to continue her education at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.
Outside of school, Larrianna enjoys playing video games with her friends, starting books and never finishing them, walking her two Pomeranians, and traveling with her partner.
Tony Wiesner (He/Him) – Veteran Peer Mentor & BASW Practicum Student
Info to be added
