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Staff Pianist | Music | aboers@plu.edu | 253-535-7602 | Amy Boers is well known as a collaborative pianist, music director, singer, and church musician. As pianist and collaborator, she currently holds positions at Pacific Lutheran University (staff pianist), Symphony Tacoma (principal keyboard), and Symphony Tacoma Voices (pianist and assistant rehearsal conductor).

Fiction | MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency | Scott Nadelson is the author of four story collections, most recently The Fourth Corner of the World; a memoir, The Next Scott Nadelson: A Life in Progress; and a novel, Between You and Me.  His stories and essays have appeared in Harvard Review, AGNI, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, The Southern Review, Crazyhorse, New England Review, Prairie Schooner, and Alaska Quarterly Review, and have been cited as notable in both Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays.  Winner of the Oregon Book Award, the Great Lakes Colleges New Writers Award, and the Reform Judaism Fiction Prize, he teaches at Willamette University and lives in Salem, Oregon. Mentor.

Professor of Chemistry | Department of Chemistry | waldowda@plu.edu | 253-535-7533 | Application of Ring Opening Metathesis Polymermization to Polymer Battery Electrolytes and other membranes Use of macro and microphase separation techniques in energy related materials Statics and kinetics of phase separation in multi-component polymer blends both in bulk and as thin films Physical characterization technique include: light scattering optical and atomic force microscopy neutron scattering Monte Carlo techniques Use of metathesis, anionic, and controlled radical synthetic techniques to produce new materials for macro and microphase separation applications Polymer/structure relationships studied via spin-lattice relaxation measurements of local segmental dynamics in polymers Promoting the teaching and learning of research in an undergraduate setting via incorporation of research activities in traditional courses development of Internet resources for undergraduate research an active and externally funded local undergraduate research program Incorporation of information technology in lecture and laboratory settings .

Visiting Assistant Professor | School of Education | rdelcastillo@plu.edu | Rafael is a Visiting Professor teaching educational methods in science and social studies, integration of technology, and an integrating seminar in the undergraduate and graduate-level teacher education programs.

Director of Strategic Initiatives | Marketing & Communications | mhines@plu.edu | 253-535-7059 | For over a decade, MacKenzie has led numerous successful campaigns, from annual giving at a university to promoting local arts education programming, advocating for educational policy and research, and increasing access to evidence-based sexual and reproductive health services and resources for Mississippi youth.

Fiction | MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency | April Ayers Lawson is the author of Virgin and Other Stories, which was named a Best Book of the Year by The Irish Times and Vice, and a Best Foreign Book of the Year by Spain’s Qué Leer Magazine.  Virgin and Other Stories has been (or will be) translated into German, Spanish, Norwegian, and Italian.  She has received The Plimpton Prize for Fiction, as well as a writing fellowship from The Corporation of Yaddo.   Her fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Die Welt, ZYZZYVA, and Oxford American, among others, has been cited as notable in Best American Short Stories, featured by Huffington Post, and anthologized in The Unprofessionals: New American Writing from The Paris Review.  Her nonfiction has appeared in Der Spiegel, Granta, Vice, and Neue Zürcher Zeitung Magazine, and been named a Most Popular Read of the Year by Granta.  She has taught in the creative writing programs at Emory University and the University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and now teaches at Clemson University. Mentor.  Workshops and classes in fiction. Statement: “The most important thing your writing can be is interesting.  And by that I mean interesting to you, because when you’re deeply engaged in the process, the work sparks alive.  This level of engagement involves writing into places you didn’t expect and opening to the risk of surprise.

Poetry | MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency | Jenny Johnson is the author of In Full Velvet (Sarabande Books, 2017).  Her poems have appeared in The New York Times, Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics, Waxwing, and elsewhere.  Her honors include a Whiting Award, a Hodder Fellowship, and an NEA Fellowship.  She has also received awards and scholarships from the Blue Mountain Center, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Yaddo.  She is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at West Virginia University, and she is on the faculty of the Rainier Writing Workshop, Pacific Lutheran University’s low-residency MFA program.

Associate Professor | Department of Computer Science | caora@plu.edu | 253-535-7409 | My research interest is mainly focused on developing and applying machine learning and data mining techniques to solve biomedical problems, such as human genome data analysis and protein structure predictions.

Contingent Faculty of Marriage and Family Therapy | Marriage and Family Therapy | youngsy@plu.edu | | I have been a part of the PLU family since 2008, where I provide supervision to Master Degree students at the PLU Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic.

School of Business | facciamm@plu.edu | Maureen Faccia, MBA, is a Visiting Professor at PLU School of Business since 2016 teaching graduate level courses.  Maureen brings over 25 years of industry business experience in marketing, product and brand management, business strategy and operations leadership in a variety of sectors from consumer packaged goods and building products to non-profit human services and healthcare.   At PLU, Maureen has taught Marketing Management and Healthcare courses and is passionate about providing mentorship to students.   Maureen holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from University of Delaware and a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in healthcare from Pacific Lutheran University. Currently, Maureen is an Administrative Director of Women’s Careline at MultiCare Health System, the largest system of its kind in the state.  She has oversight of 23 ambulatory clinics, Women’s Health virtual programs, and Family Childbirth Education programming. In other professional roles, Maureen led the marketing and product management of Milgard Windows & Doors, a subsidiary of Masco Corporation.  In this role she created a product roadmap and led the development of a cornerstone product for the Manufacturer.  She also led a major brand refresh including an award winning website, selling tools for dealers, and a national marketing campaign. Maureen lives in Gig Harbor with her husband of 20 years and daughter.  She is a passionate advocate for children and seniors, and has held positions on the Boards of United Way of Pierce County and Franke Tobey Jones in Tacoma.   She enjoys water sports including kayaking and paddleboarding, as well as hosting creative Maker events at her home. Education: Masters in Business Administration, Healthcare                  Pacific Lutheran University Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering                                        University of Delaware Professional Certifications: Certificate of Executive Leadership, Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute of University of Washington Certified Trainer, Participative Leadership Areas of Emphasis or Expertise: Marketing, brand and product development Developing strategic business and operating plans Healthcare Ambulatory Operations Professional Memberships/Organizations: American Marketing Association (AMA) Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) .