Dale Willman, M.A. Environment & Community, 2001
September 23, 2011
Dale is a Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellow in Indonesia teaching environmental journalism. He has been a national award-winning correspondent and editor for more than 35 years and a leading voice in environmental journalism who has held various positions with National Public Radio and reported for CBS and CNN. In 2010 he was named the AUS Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.
Judy Feldman - M.A. Organizational Psychology, 2006
August 29, 2011
Great article featuring Judy Feldman in The Whidbey Examiner titled “Challenges Ahead for Greenbank Farm Director.” The link is http://www.whidbeyexaminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=6511.
Rob Perry, B.A., 1980
July 27, 2011
Perry, the long time face of Jazzy Alley, is about to retire. Here is the link to a facinating Seattle Times article on him which appeared on 7/26/11:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2015736651_perry27.html?prmid=head_more
Kathleen O’Brien, M.A. Environment and Community, 2002
July 19, 2011
An AUS distinguished alum a few years ago, Kathleen will be the featured speaker for the Cascadia Green Building Council in September. Here’s the link: http://cascadiagbc.org/events/2011/september/transformational-lecture-series-newleaf-featuring-Kathleen-OBrien/view.
Cari Simson, M.A. Whole Systems Design, 2005
July 19, 2011
Cari Simson had her baby! It’s a girl! Rosie Simson Wiktorski came into the world at 9:21 am, July 16, 2011, everyone is doing great!! Cari is a WSD alum and was part of the very first Center for Creative Change cohort.
Psychology Alum Named 2011 AUS Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
July 3, 2011
Hal (Arval) Morris, M.A. Psychology ’06, is the recipient of the 2011 Antioch University Seattle Distinguished Alumnus Award and was honored both at Commencement ceremonies and a private reception held on Friday, June 26, at the Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle.
Antioch’s first president, Horace Mann, exhorted alumni to distinguish themselves by winning “victories for humanity.” Arval (Hal) Morris, M.A. Psychology ’06, responded to Mann’s call to action both dynamically and literally by building bridges between countries, between languages and between individuals.
His passion for travel has led him abroad extensively: to Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. While living in Guatemala prior to entering graduate school, he began to feel the pull that would eventually lead him to Brazil and to founding the Brazilian Children’s Charity (BCC), an organization that provides counseling and other services to low-income and homeless children.
The communities Morris found in Brazil resonated with his beliefs and the need he encountered there called him to action. “I saw so many problems and mental health issues not being addressed. It just wasn’t fair to the children,” he says. “But also, I found a culture that is unique in that Brazilians are the only people I’ve found that are in the Western system but also collectivists like those I met in Asia.”
Morris actually started the BCC before receiving his Psychology degree with a dual concentration in Mental Health Counseling and Couple and Family Therapy. He opened the first office in Rio de Janeiro, a vibrant but dangerous, city with dramatic socio-economic divisions, gang-violence and social upheaval.
In preparation for the 2014 World Cup, the Brazilian government has begun a program of “pacification” but while progress has been made in bringing the slums under control, often it is the children who are caught in the middle of the conflict. More than 80 percent of homeless people are addicted to crack. Murder is the number one cause of death for males 15-44 years of age and children in Rio are eight times more likely to die of violent causes than in the West Bank.
The homeless are left with few resources. Social and financial assistance is rare, so the work of the BCC is critical to helping children cope with poverty, violence, drug addiction, STDs and psychological ailments.
Both for reasons of privacy and for safety, Morris and his students usually provide their services outside the office. Frequently they travel to their patients and work in churches, schools, private homes or even outside at the beach.
To grow the organization, Morris has planned the BCC “capacity building” model as one which will expand to include three non-profit funding organizations (in Brazil, the United States (US) and Germany), a guest lecture series, a restaurant to provide-job skills training and an education program to train new staff.
An important part of the work is training new therapists. The BCC offers Brazilian University psychology students paid, year-long internships and Morris hopes to grow the program from training its current capacity of two students a year to ten. He is also looking toward opening branch offices in other Brazilian cities such as Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Natal, Belo Horizonte, Sao Paulo and Vitoria.
Whether he’s taking therapy to the streets of Brazil or building bridges between nations, Morris’s efforts are working. The world needs Hal Morris and he’s answering the call.
Sean Megy, M.S. Management ‘01
May 26, 2011
Teacher and cyclist Sean Megy, M.S. Management ‘01, is mentioned in an article that recently appeared in the Kitsap Sun newspaper. Here is the link to story: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/may/20/hundreds-pedal-in-for-bainbridges-bike-to-school/
Karin Landsberg, M.A. Whole Systems Design 2003
April 27, 2011
From Karin Landsberg, M.A. Whole Systems Design ‘03, to Betsy Geist, core faculty member and interim director of the Center for Creative Change:
“Hi Betsy, I’m headed to Anchorage, AK!!! I start my new job with the AK Department of Environmental Conservation on 5/16. I’ll be in their Air Quality Program.
To start with I’ll be focusing on cumulative air quality effects of multiple operations on the outer continental shelf. Should be very interesting - both technically and how it plays in to politics and policy around energy and drilling. They’ll likely also pull me into some transportation related work because I have experience with that. And should AK get interested in mitigating climate change, I hope to be able to work on that, too. At this point, they are mostly focused on adaptation issues, however.
Besides letting you know what I’m to, I was prompted to send you this note because I am going through my notebooks from Antioch, attempting to let some of the paper go - so hard!!! I’ve reread a few things and am impressed with the work I did. Most of all, however, I want to thank you again for your guidance and encouragement throughout grad school.
I see that I have been effective in my current position and was offered my new job because of my ability to cross lines between areas, especially between the technical and policy, and explaining the technical to the non-technical. While these were never specific topics of a class, nor a focus of my work, I know the freedom to explore and the discipline (provided by instructors) to do something with those explorations helped me develop my intellectual abilities.
So, Betsy, thank you!!!!!!”
Wendy Maguire, B.A. 1996
April 18, 2011
I need to reduce my work hours as I am returning to Antioch University Seattle as a Whole Systems Design student who is focused on sustainable business models. As a result, I have left the position as Controller for a local coffee roaster and am touting my bookkeeping services. The goal is to build a client base with 20-30 hours of scheduled work per week.
As a Certified Public Bookkeeper, QuickBooks Pro-Adviser (Enterprise Certified), you can count on me for help with strategizing and setting up a seamless accounting system.
As a consultant, it has become evident that many times resources are not designated for bookkeeping systems up front. This can lead to a clean-up that is more costly and time consuming. That said, I have helped many companies to organize their accounting systems and taken chaos to order. Simply stated, I can help you put together a top rate accounting system whether you are a start-up or have a major clean-up.
In many cases, small business owners and non-profit organizations will spend accountant rates on simple bookkeeping services, or the inverse, pay an entry level person to do bookkeeping service which are outside of their range of experience. One cost saving measure is to create a system where the basic data entry is done by an entry level person, overseen by a part time bookkeeper who reviews entries, files monthly and quarterly taxes, processes payroll and prepares financial statements. In turn the financial statements are passed on to an accountant at year end who completes income taxes and year- end adjustments. It is good to have a working relationship between accountant and bookkeeper so that high level questions on process can be sorted out.
If you are in need of bookkeeping services or you know someone who can use my help don’t hesitate to call me. Eric Warn has my resume upon request and references are available as well.
Warmest regards,
Wendy L. Maguire, B.A. ’96
wenmagui@yahoo.com
206-293-5570
Kathleen O’Brien, M.A. Environment and Community, 2002
April 6, 2011
Kathleen O’Brien was recently recognized as a longtime champion of energy efficiency with her win of the Better Bricks Award in the category of Advocate.
The BetterBricks Awards celebrate the champions of energy efficiency whose forward-thinking business practices set the industry standard for sustainability in commercial real estate. The Awards recognize architects, engineers, developers, building owners, property managers, building operators, facility managers and other building professionals for their leadership in reducing the use of energy and other resources in buildings.
Better Bricks defines Advocates as champions who work both within their professions and throughout the commercial building market to preach for and support the design and operation of high performance buildings.
The award recognized many of Kathleen’s milestone achievements:
•Technical Manual and Field Guide for Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) 1991 Residential Energy Code
•Building With Value Conference
•Creating Sustainable Building Advisors
•Merrill Hall at the Center for Urban Horticulture, University of Washington, LEED Silver
•Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP)
•Ellensburg Energy Conservation & Efficiency Strategy
BetterBricks is the commercial building initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), which is supported by Northwest electric utilities. Through BetterBricks, NEEA advances ideas to accelerate energy savings in new and existing commercial buildings. BetterBricks education & training, online resources and recognition of industry leaders guide and inspire building professionals to embrace best practices, improve energy performance and achieve their sustainability goals.
These Awards honor the best and brightest in the commercial building industry - those steadfast leaders who challenge the status quo and redefine the standards for energy efficiency and sustainability in our region. It’s time to recognize these standout individuals for their contributions to high performance buildings.
