Welcome to the new staff in the Department of Chemistry!
Melanie Cash, Scientific Instructional Technician 2
Started June 2022
Melanie earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Washington in June 2022. As a student, Melanie conducted undergraduate research in the group of Professor Brandi Cossairt and worked in our department as a teaching associate and student assistant in the Undergraduate Stockroom. As a permanent member of our staff, Melanie will be supporting upper division lab courses.
Christopher Arnette, IMOD Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Started July 2022
Christopher is a coastal Georgia native who is new to the University of Washington and Seattle. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University and went on to earn the Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Vanderbilt University. Christopher conducted postdoctoral research at Northwestern University then worked as a scientific editor for a series of journals at John Wiley & Sons before accepting this opportunity with the NSF Science and Technology Center for the Integration of Modern Optoelectronic Materials on Demand (IMOD). Christopher enjoys baking, hiking, and experiencing new restaurants. He is excited to join IMOD and the Department of Chemistry and looks forward to meeting and engaging with you all.
Lisa Neshyba, IMOD Director of Education and Human Resource Development
Started August 2022
Lisa began her science journey as an organic chemist in a biotechnology start up designing molecular bridges for melanoma diagnostics. Transitioning to education, Lisa continued in science as an educator - primarily in high schools, and at times through the UW Robinson Center. She earned her Master’s in Curriculum & Instruction, Science in 2016, then co-founded the Young Data Scientists League where she served as Director of Teaching & Learning. Lisa is inspired by the work being done at the UW, and is excited and honored to join IMOD and the Department of Chemistry.
Cassie Davis, Seminar & Event Coordinator
Started September 2022
Cassie is thrilled to be joining Chemistry as a seminar and event coordinator, which is a new role for the Department. Cassie grew up in Kansas City, KS, but spent the last four years in Minneapolis where she graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a B.A. in Psychology. During her time as an undergraduate, she worked in a variety of student services roles, conducted research on the harassment of runners with Professor Pat Frazier, and was a leader of the Minnesota Running Club. Outside of work, Cassie volunteers with the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association and loves running, hiking, and trying new food with her partner!
Hiba Mazhar, Budget/Fiscal Analyst
Started September 2022
Hiba has a bachelor's degree in finance from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and moved to Seattle last year. Prior to joining the UW, Hiba was a tax analyst at Amazon. She will be graduating with a Master’s in Finance from Seattle University in December. Hiba is already in love with the UW and the people here and is extremely grateful to be a part of the UW.
Brie Harman, Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Started October 2022
Brie’s skills in administration, clinical management, project management, and customer service from her background in healthcare will be put to good use in this new role for the Department. Brie is a Bremerton, WA native who studied audio engineering and music theory at Front Range Community College in Colorado before relocating back to her home state of Washington to join the workforce. Brie is a lover of art and music, as well as hiking and the outdoors.
Kit Sczudlo, Research Engineer
Started October 2022
Kit graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He joins Rachael Huffman and Bill Beaty in the Department’s Electronics Shop as our newest engineer. Kit came to us from Amazon where he was a programmer for the Kuiper satellite internet project and the Prime Air drone delivery project. Previously he worked on robotic arms for a variety of projects in both deep sea and space research at the UMD Space Systems Lab. Outside of work, Kit is a serial project-starter, which has led to several hobbies including photography, board games, video games, a functioning payphone collection, mechanical puzzles, and more! If you need to be distracted by an overly in-depth explanation of some esoteric aspect of computers or a wide variety of topics, stop by the Electronics Shop to say hello to Kit!
David La Voy, Scientific Instructional Technician 2
Started November 2022
David earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Washington in 2022 where he gained research experience in the group of Professor Charlie Campbell. He is a native of San Jose, CA, who enjoys being outdoors and experiencing what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. David will be supporting organic chemistry lab courses.
Priyanka Doni Naresh, Fiscal Specialist 1
Started November 2022
We are delighted to have Priyanka supporting Academic HR, HR, and Payroll in the Department of Chemistry in this new fiscal specialist position. Priyanka hails from India and spent a few years in Finland before moving to Seattle in 2017. She has a bachelor’s degree in computer applications and was a Relationship Banker at Bank of America for about three years before coming to the UW.
We are so pleased to have these additions to our Finance, Administration, STC, and Instructional teams. 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.