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Associate Professor | School of Education | gardinwl@plu.edu | 253-535-8342 | Wendy Gardiner teaches literacy courses in the Education Department.

Mental Health Counselor | Counseling Services | guizare@plu.edu | 253-535-7206 | My name is Evelia Guizar; I am a 4th-year student in the Doctorate in Psychology (PsyD) program at Northwest University in Kirkland, WA. My passion for psychological well-being started early in my teenage years as I navigated the complexity of integrating my cultural identity as a first-generation immigrant.  Before becoming a graduate student, I worked in the field of Logistics, focusing on person-to-person interactions and professional relationships. I believe in a holistic approach to therapy to understand the whole person and how life experiences, environments, and situations impact a person’s well-being.  I embrace and respect diversity in cultural values, which make each client unique in their perspectives and experiences.  I believe that we all experience moments in our lives where a therapeutic relationship helps promote healing and emotional strength as we navigate challenges in our daily life. .

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.

Nonfiction, Poetry | MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency | Lia Purpura is the author of eight collections of essays, poems, and translations, most recently, Rough Likeness (essays) and It Shouldn’t Have Been Beautiful (poems).  Her honors include a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, National Endowment for the Arts and Fulbright Fellowships, three Pushcart prizes, the Associated Writing Programs Award in Nonfiction, and the Beatrice Hawley, and Ohio State University Press awards in poetry.  Recent work appears in Agni, Field, The Georgia Review, Orion, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Best American Essays.  She is Writer in Residence at The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and teaches at writing programs around the country, including, most recently, the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference.  She lives in Baltimore with her family. Mentor.

Professor of Constructive and Lutheran Theologies | Religion | marit.trelstad@plu.edu | 253-535-7232 | Marit Trelstad is Professor of Constructive and Lutheran Theology at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.

Master of Business Administration | sweberva@plu.edu | Vic Sweberg has been an Adjunct Professor in the Pacific Lutheran University’s School of Business from 2013 to the present.  He has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate-level courses.  Prior to 2013, he had a successful career with The Boeing Company for nearly 30 years.  At Boeing, he served in many capacities and held assignments in program management, strategy development, business development, and leading a variety of innovative growth areas.   As an Executive during the latter part of his career, he formed and led a new division inside of Boeing, the Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS) division, reporting to the President of Boeing Military Aircraft.

Clinical Instructor of Nursing and Lecturer | School of Nursing | yoos@plu.edu | Substantial and progressive education and experience in the medical field as a registered nurse, researcher, lecturer, and unit manager, providing knowledge, skills, expertise in:  Primary care expertise in ICU/ER, Med-Surg/Psychiatric/School Training/teaching field/student nurses Management of critical care units/ acute care setting/ general ward/home care/school health Nursing language: NANDA, NIC, NOC Nursing data management: Linkage Database on NANDA, NIC, NOC Research methodology: Quantitative/Qualitative .

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.

Founding Director | MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency | Stan Sanvel Rubin is founding director of the Rainier Writing Workshop at PLU.  He served for over twenty years as Director of the Brockport Writers Forum and Videotape Library (SUNY), a multi-faceted literary arts program.  He holds the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.  His most recent book of poetry is There.

Clinical Instructor of Nursing | School of Nursing | noglerla@plu.edu | Arisa (she/her) has worked in acute care as a Registered Nurse since 2012.  Her experience includes work in acute mental health, the operating room, hospice, and progressive care.  She hopes to help students understand the importance of compassionate care, and navigate the ethical and moral questions underlying equitable nursing care delivery. .