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Associate Director of Study Away & Semester Program Manager | Wang Center for Global and Community Engaged Education | megan.grover@plu.edu | 253-535-8754

Associate Director of Clinical Operations / Director of Training / Counselor | Counseling Services | jfadden@plu.edu | 253-535-7206 | I am very excited to be back on the PLU campus!  I graduated from the PLU MFT program in 2012, and am looking forward to assisting the PLU community through our amazing counseling services. I have over 12 years of experience as a therapist, along with an extensive professional history within the social work and social justice field.  I have guided many people throughout the years, and feel it is my calling to be present for those who need support through this grand adventure called LIFE! My main goal is to help you cut through the minutiae of your own mind, implement tools that will help you take back the authority of your life and propel you forward on the path of your choosing.  I believe in creating “brave spaces” within the therapy room.  My style of therapy is a little different as I believe therapy does not have to be a long drawn out process, nor a deep dive, in order to make significant changes in your life.  Sometimes, you just need a place to breathe, focus and figure out your next steps.  I combine various therapy techniques, in order to challenge you, keep you focused and allow space for you to discover your authentic self.  Humor is also an important element of the process! If you are ready for deep and lasting change, then contact PLU Counseling Services and let’s get started! .

Lecturer - Euphonium | Music | gilliajm@plu.edu | 253-535-7602 | Jason Gilliam is a native of Tacoma, Washington.  He holds the Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in Teaching form the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where he studied with Peter Ellefson, Ron Munson, and Steve Fissel.  Jason currently holds the position of Lecturer of Euphonium at the Pacific Lutheran University, and is also a Kindergarten teacher in the Steilacoom School District. Jason has enjoyed an ever increasing demand as a clinician and euphonium soloist.  Gilliam has been a featured euphonium artist at the 2012 International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Linz, Austria, the Northern Rockies Tuba Euphonium Festival, Monroe High School Wind Ensemble, Emerald Ridge High School Concert Band, the Northwest Regional International Tuba Euphonium Conference, the University of Idaho, University of Oregon, University of Victoria, Pacific Lutheran University, Puget Brass, Brass Band Northwest, the Harvey Phillips Northwest Big Brass Bash, Sun City Concert Band (Sun City, Arizona), Sitka High School Band (Sitka, Alaska), Tacoma Community College Wind Ensemble, Tacoma Community College Orchestra, Bremerton High School Symphonic Band, Grays Harbor Symphony, and the Northshore Concert Band (Evanston, Illinois). Gilliam was the solo euphonium in the Tacoma Concert Band for over 20 years, and was a featured soloist in over 50 performances.  In 2015, Jason was a featured soloist with the band on a tour of Spain.  Jason also was soloist with the band on their 2007 tour of La Croix Valmer, France, and the 2011 tour of Prague, Salzburg, Vienna, and Budapest.

Professor of Mathematics | Department of Mathematics | stuartjl@plu.edu | 253-535-7403 | Professor Jeff Stuart teaches mathematics and statistics for the Mathematics Department.

Lecturer | Music | boazhm@plu.edu | 253-535-7602 | Soprano Holly Boaz enjoys a varied career in opera, oratorio, chamber music, and small ensembles.

Lecturer - Jazz, Improvisation | Music | kate.olson@plu.edu | 253-535-7602 | Kate Olson is an improvising saxophonist and music educator based in Seattle, WA.

Lecturer | Music | buchanml@plu.edu | 253-535-7602 | Marlette Buchanan is an accomplished performer of opera, musical theatre, and other genres of music.

Poetry | MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency | Jennifer Elise Foerster is the author of three books of poetry, Leaving Tulsa (2013), Bright Raft in the Afterweather (2018), and The Maybe-Bird (2022), and served as the Associate Editor of When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry. She is the recipient of a NEA Creative Writing Fellowship, a Lannan Foundation Writing Residency Fellowship, a Hermitage Artist Retreat Fellowship, and was a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford.

Nonfiction | MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency | Sherry Simpson is the author of Dominion of Bears: Living with Wildlife in Alaska, which received the 2015 John Burroughs Medal for a distinguished book of nature writing, and two collections of essays, The Accidental Explorer: Wayfinding in Alaska and The Way Winter Comes, which won the inaugural Chinook Literary Prize.

Lecturer - Saxophone | Music | steighev@plu.edu | 253-535-7602 | Praised by the Tacoma News Tribune for his “effortless lyricism” as well as his “smooth tone and fluid virtuosity,” saxophonist Erik Steighner has performed with ensembles including the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Federal Way Symphony, the Northwest Sinfonietta, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony, and Symphony Tacoma.