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Steering Committee & Working Groups

The Steering Committee, led by Joy Williamson-Lott and Daniel Pollack, provides overarching governance and strategic direction for the Ph.D. Taskforce, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and compliance with university policies. Working Groups are established to address specific thematic areas critical to advancing doctoral education, developing recommendations, and implementing initiatives based on the Steering Committee’s guidance.

The image below represents the current membership of each Working Group, including co-leads, contributing members, and student participants.

Working Group Name Group Status Member Status Unit
Academic & Research Excellence Angel Fettig Lead Faculty Education
Academic & Research Excellence Martine De Cock Lead Faculty Engineering & Tech, UWT
Academic & Research Excellence Carolyn Baylor Member Faculty Medicine
Academic & Research Excellence LeiLani Nishime Member Faculty Communication
Academic & Research Excellence Jade Orr Member Faculty Built Environment
Academic & Research Excellence Ellen Gregoire Member Staff Political Science
Academic & Research Excellence Minh Vo Member Staff Public Health
Academic & Research Excellence Mayumi Willgerodt Ad hoc member Faculty Grad School; SOM
Career & Professional Development Brandon Guthrie Lead Faculty Global Health
Career & Professional Development Becky Corriell Lead Staff Public Policy
Career & Professional Development Gerald Seidler Member Faculty Physics
Career & Professional Development Juhua Hu Member Faculty Engineering & Tech, UWT
Career & Professional Development Stefka Mihaylova Member Faculty Drama
Career & Professional Development Mark Scheuerell Member Faculty Environment
Career & Professional Development Rachel Arteaga Member Staff Simpson Center
Career & Professional Development Jessica Roberto Member Staff Business
Career & Professional Development Briana Randall Ad hoc member Staff Career & Internship Center
Career & Professional Development Jaye Sablan Ad hoc member Staff Grad School
Community & Belonging Maya Smith Lead Faculty French & Italian Studies
Community & Belonging Christine Noyes-Williams Lead Staff iSchool
Community & Belonging Corey Garza Member Faculty Environment
Community & Belonging Sarah Iribarren Member Faculty Nursing
Community & Belonging Jessica Werk Member Faculty Astronomy
Community & Belonging Joe Eckert Member Staff Engineering
Community & Belonging Ziyan Bai Ad hoc member Staff CIRCLE
Community & Belonging Kalei Kanuha Ad hoc member Faculty Grad School; Social Work
Funding Patricia Kramer Lead Faculty Anthropology
Funding Marta Scatena Lead Faculty Bioengineering
Funding Bing Brunton Member Faculty Biology
Funding John Gennari Member Faculty Medicine
Funding Rona Levy Member Faculty Social Work
Funding Amy Orsborn Member Faculty Engineering
Funding Ken Rice Member Faculty Biostatistics
Funding Trina Sterry Member Staff Public Health
Funding Helene Obradovich Ad hoc member Staff Grad School
Mentoring & Advising Payman Arabshahi Lead Faculty Engineering
Mentoring & Advising Chelsea Wood Lead Faculty Environment
Mentoring & Advising Alex Anderson Member Faculty Built Environment
Mentoring & Advising Douglas Ishii Member Faculty English
Mentoring & Advising Bill Mahoney Member Faculty Medicine
Mentoring & Advising Wanda Pratt Member Faculty iSchool
Mentoring & Advising Elizabeth Sanders Member Faculty Education
Mentoring & Advising Emily Bernet Member Staff Public Health
Mentoring & Advising Sarah Garner Member Staff Mathematics
TBD Mukhayyo Azamova Floating Student Jackson School
TBD Alexandros Peltekis Floating Student Chemistry