Submitted by Diana Knight
on
Welcome to new staff in the Department of Chemistry!
- Maddie Eakman, Budget/Fiscal Analyst
Maddie, a UW alumna with a degrees in biochemistry and Germanics, joined our central administrative staff in May 2021, after spending a few years in our department as a biochem major, undergraduate researcher, purchasing & accounting and front office student employee, and teaching associate. Maddie's proven business acumen and stellar customer service skills allowed her to hit the ground running. Her analytical dexterity and familiarity with our funds serve us well. - Rachael Huffman, Research Engineer (Electronics Shop)
Rachael is managing the electronics shop and, along with Bill Beaty, will handle the wide array of new instrumentation projects and equipment repair that our department and others bring in. Rachael comes from an extensive aerospace electronics background, most recently including avionics design for Blue Origin and Project Kuiper. Rachael has degrees in both electrical engineering and anthropology, as well as lab experience from benchtops to beamlines. - Ella Miltner, Assistant Chemstore Manager
Ella joined the team in the research stockroom in March 2021 and will assist Chemstore Manager Loch Hickok with day-to-day operations. Ella will also support department purchasing alongside Mike Zimmerman and Hong Sze. Ella brings with her several years of operational and inventory management experience and is no stranger to highly regulated, customer facing, fast-paced environments. Ella is a UW alumna with degrees in English and Photomedia and has a penchant for organization. - Allison Spooner, Assistant to the Chair
Allison has spent the last few years working as a supervisor in UW’s Housing & Food Services managing students and office administration. She is a graduate of Saint Joseph’s College in New York with degrees in psychology and sociology. Allison joined us (remotely) in February 2021 and has already made great strides in contributing to our administration. She brings fresh ideas to such a central position. - Lynsey Tafreshi, Director of Personnel
Lynsey, a UW alumna with degrees in public health and public administration, joined the department in May 2021. She is well versed in policy and administration and will bring a fresh perspective on managing the department’s personnel and research coordinator teams well into the future.
We are so pleased to have these additions to our Finance, Personnel, and Technical Services teams.
Staffing Changes
We are also delighted to share that Diana Knight, who served as assistant to the chair for nearly a decade, was recently hired into our new Advancement & Communications Manager position. Diana's new role is broadly focused on supporting the Department’s advancement goals, through cultivating and expanding constituent relations, managing outward-facing communications, and handling special events and projects. Working directly with the chair and key stakeholders, she will oversee the expansion of our outreach efforts, research visibility, and overall marketing and external relations. Given her successes to date, we have every confidence in Diana as she takes on these new responsibilities.- We wish the best to long-time colleague, Director of Personnel Kim Quigley, who left the Department in March 2021 after nearly 18 years of service in Chemistry. Kim is nearby (well, working remotely for now, but still at the University of Washington) as the academic human resources manager in the School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Kim has been part of the department backbone since she started here in 2003 and we wish her well in her future endeavors.
Many thanks to our retired colleagues for their many years of service:
- Sally Weaks, Computer Support Analyst, retired April 2021
- Lon Buck, Research Engineer (Electronics Shop), retired December 2020
- Catherine Holliday, Research Coordinator, retired September 2020, and is enjoying time with her grandchildren
The staff in the Department of Chemistry continue to be dedicated to our mission of inclusive excellence in learning, teaching, research and community service with the highest standards of safety.