IAS Advisory Board members act as strategic advisors to the Dean. They are advocates for diversity, inclusion, and equity, both in higher education and in other community and industrial sectors. They help foster increased public awareness of the value of the School of IAS - its students, staff, and faculty - to the sustainable development and well-being of the region and they are role models for IAS students.
Mission
Cultivating opportunities for scholarship, experience, and connection to lift students in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at UW Bothell.
Members
Most recently, Jonathan C. Cluts served as the director of strategic initiatives at the University of Washington Bothell, where he provided leadership for cross-campus initiatives that advance and support UW Bothell's academic mission and goals.
Previously, Cluts worked at Microsoft for over 24 years various groups from usability to the systems group. As director of strategic prototyping, he led the group that created prototypes of consumer technologies that look out five to ten years in the future. The team conceived tangible realizations of ideas and technologies that they believed would enhance consumers' productivity, lifestyle and entertainment. As part of its charter, the team also created, managed and operated the Microsoft Home, a prototyping facility located on the company's Redmond, WA campus. Cluts holds numerous patents and patent applications for technologies related to software systems and user interface design.
Before joining Microsoft, Cluts worked in the music business; he owned and managed several recording studios in addition to producing and performing music. He also taught computer classes and worked for Tandy and several smaller computer companies. Cluts studied music and audio engineering at Indiana University and received a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from the University of Washington Bothell. He is married to a former Microsoft employee and they have an adult son
Wanda Gregory has worked as a designer, producer, and marketer in the industry game for companies including Sierra Online, Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, and Microsoft. She holds a doctorate in Human Sciences, with an emphasis on game studies and health, from the University College Dublin. Across her industrial and academic work, she is interested in finding new ways through games, avatars, and technology (AI, virtual reality, wearables) to advance and transform health and medicine. In addition, she teaches courses at the University of Washington Bothell in game and interactive media design and media studies, where she focuses on empowering students to be the next generation of content creators and designers. She has served on the board of trustees for the Cornish School of the Arts, On the Boards, Powerful Voices and Reel Girls, and as an advisor for several technology and educational startups and labs.
Mike Haykin has worked in education and mental health in elementary, middle, high schools, and colleges. He has also served in hospital, clinic, and social service agency settings. Mike's career has focused on developing innovative support programs and resources that help individuals understand how to maximize strengths and address obstacles. Mike believes that it is the critical role of educators to help students define their goals and values and then figure out how to align their actions with their goals and values in a world of competing and conflicting demands and challenges. He is currently an assistant head of school at Seattle Academy where he recently launched the new Upper School Options Program and provides oversight for the Learning Support Department he formerly developed and directed. Mike received his Masters Degree in Education from the University of Washington in 1980. Mike has served on boards, advisory boards, advisory committees, and has co-authored two books for K-12 school administrators. Mike is excited about the opportunity to support the dean and faculty at IAS and help students find relationships and opportunities that promote growth.
Amy Janas is Marketing Manager at R. H. Brown Co, which specializes in automated material handling solutions. Janas has been a professional marketer for more than 20 years with companies such as PopCap Games, Her Interactive, and Nintendo of America. Janas is also an active community volunteer who has served as PTSA president of Queen Anne Elementary and co-founded Save Ballard’s Community Centers and Friends of Webster Park.
As a proud IAS graduate and champion of interdisciplinary education, Janas hopes other IAS alumni will reconnect and invest in student learning. Says Janas of IAS, “It’s quite a legacy, and it’s very strong. I proudly throw that ‘B’ at the end of UW.”
Ernest Kandilige is a human resources professional and continuous improvement leader who has worked in both private and public sectors. He currently serves as Deputy Director for the Mobility Division for King County Metro Transit. Previously, Kandilige was the Continuous Improvement Training Manager with global responsibilities for Terex Ariel Work Platforms. He is also a board member for the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) West Region and a member of the Society for Human Resources Management. Kandilige holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies (’06) from UW Bothell.
“I am honored to serve on the IAS Advisory Board. UW Bothell invested in me and I am glad to have the opportunity to give back to a community that supported my dreams and aspirations. My IAS education had an important influence and subsequent selection of my profession,” says Kandilige. Kandilige hopes to work collaboratively with the Dean to explore ways to increase awareness of IAS programs, share practical work experiences with IAS students to help connect their education with external opportunities, and solicit support from community leaders to advance student learning experiences at UW Bothell.
Leslie J. Olson (Chair of the Advisory Board) is managing partner at Olson & Olson, PLLC where she has practiced for 16 years, forming financial plans after divorce, restructuring families, and guiding new life trajectories for her clients. A graduate with honors of UW law school, she served as judicial clerk to the Honorable William Baker of Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals. She is an active member of Seattle Art Museum Supporters and a long-standing advocate for students’ access to effective, meaningful education.
“I am a big believer in the innate talent, integrity, grit, and drive of the UW Bothell student body. These students are the key to a vibrant professional community and I am honored to work with the IAS Advisory Board to help build a pathway for them to achieve their goals.”
Carol Anderson Shaw (retired) works as an Executive Consultant, collaborating on strategy and communications with a range of businesses and non-profit organizations. Shaw is also an adjunct instructor in the UW Bothell School of Business, and is active with the Washington Women’s Foundation, WA State Parks Foundation, and Dartmouth alumni organizations. Shaw, who earned an MFA from IAS’s Creative Writing & Poetics program, says: “It is both an honor and a delight to serve on the IAS Advisory Board. IAS is breaking new territory with its interdisciplinary, multi-genre, creative and scholarly approach. The students at UW Bothell bring international and cultural diversity, and many are first-generation college students. This is an inspirational environment for new thinking and a crucial time to focus on the future of higher education.”