Alumni Profiles | Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences

Alumni stories

Toxicology Grad's Role in the Chemical Safety Act

Nancy Beck never imagined she would influence policies being made on Capitol Hill when she was a student in the department. A key part of Beck’s current role at the American Chemistry Council (ACC) is to actively engage with agencies on proposed policies, procedures, and guidance related to chemical risk assessment. She will focus in the coming year on the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century, signed into law by President Obama in June.

Vivian Yu

Vivian Yu graduated from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health's undergraduate program in 2011. She is now an M.D. Candidate at Georgetown University School of Medicine where she's expected to graduate in 2017. After graduation, Yu worked for the University of Washington's Gynecological Tissue Bank, then moved to Washington D.C. to serve as a member of Americorp, before attending medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Robert Duff

Robert Duff knows that certain environmental health issues can be contentious, especially with so many different stakeholders involved. He is currently a senior policy advisor to Governor Jay Inslee on natural resource and environmental issues.

Wafa Tafesh

Wafa Tafesh Taco graduated from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health's undergraduate program in 2014. She now works for the Washington State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water as a Public Health Advisor. Tafesh Taco loves that she gets the opportunity to work with many parts of the DOH's drinking water division. She gets to support the disinfection and coliform programs as well as get out in the field to see a water system in action.

Xiaoqiong "Christy" Huang

Xiaoqiong "Christy" Huang graduated from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health's undergraduate program in 2012. She now works as a Health and Enivronmental Investigator for Seattle and King County Public Health. Huang loves the opportunity to educate food workers, restaurant operators and the general public about the significance of food safety, thereby protecting people from foodborne illnesses.

Dalila Zelkanovic

Dalila Zelkanovic graduated from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health's undergraduate program in 2014. She now works for the Clark County Health Department as an Environmental Health Specialist. Zelkanovic loves the the satisfaction of serving the public, and being on the frontlines of her evolving and developing community.

Will Bond: Protecting Amazon Workers

Will Bond is passionate about protecting employees at one of the nation's largest on-line retailers from work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Boeing is part of the family for Brie Paske

Worker safety resonates for Breyan (Brie) Paske, in part because members of her family are employed in the manufacturing industry. Paske is a safety administrator with The Boeing Company in Everett.