2024 Recreation Management & Leadership Newsletter

Greetings from Bellingham and the great Pacific Northwest. I write to you all this year from a different perspective and perch. It is one that has taken me through the foggy haze of “Imposter Syndrome,” to generally being terrified when I woke up each morning wondering what I had gotten myself in to, to a strange sense of calm and presence over the last four months. On August 1st, I started in my new position as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Last February, I reluctantly penned a letter in support of my application, and three months later, was offered the position. I say reluctantly because I knew I would miss the faculty, staff, and students in the department of Health and Human Development and my role as chair of the department. Moreover, I also knew I would miss my teaching and research in in Recreation Management and Leadership. All of that is true, but I am slowly settling in to my new normal and getting accustomed to the role during these challenging times in higher education and the world around us. I feel fortunate and grateful to have the support of the 16 different departments and programs and the amazing chairs and staff I get to work with in the college.

Sheri and I are adjusting to our new empty-nested life, as our two girls are all grown up and out adventurously living their lives. Alena is in her first year of an MFA program in Art History at NYU and living in the Bronx. She loves being at the center of the arts world but misses the PNW and wide-open spaces. Maysee is in her senior year at the University of Oregon studying Urban and Environmental Planning and Public Policy and is working at a coffee shop. It will be fun to see where they land in the coming years. Sheri is still running Bellingham Mediation and teaches two courses a quarter for the College of the Environment on Environmental Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution. We had an amazing trip to Italy this summer as a family that we will never forget.

We hope you have a healthy and adventurous year and please stay in touch. Also, hold your loved ones tight as we continue to navigate the unrest in the world. My thoughts are with you all during these challenging times. Stop by if you are ever in the neighborhood. It would be great to catch up over a cup of tea!

Like every year it feels as though the only thing that stays the same is constant change! I’m sure that I won’t be the only one to comment on the retirement of Katey Roemmele. I remember my first days at Western almost 20 years ago bantering with Katey and gaining such a deep appreciation for her professional abilities, clever wit, and kind heart. My productivity may have decreased a bit, but the laughter and smiles were certainly a worthy exchange. The students often referred to her as “Phase Mom”, and while we’re so very happy for her to begin her retirement, we feel the loss every day. Also, the inevitable progression of Keith from RML Program Coordinator, to Department Chair, to Dean of the College took place. Fortunately, he still joins for some RML events and lectures!

As always, my family is the other wonderful center of my world. We have one son at WSU and another getting ready to drive, which absolutely boggles my mind. Professionally I’m working on some scholarship around trauma-informed care and the rewilding of natural areas. Totally divergent subjects, but as I always joke, I’m a two-trick pony (at least in my mind). I also have to add that last quarter was an absolute blast with a great Phase 4 cohort who filled the office lounge on a daily basis!

I hope everyone is out there thriving in these difficult times, and as always, we love to hear from you! Please keep in touch!

Greetings RML alumni! As I reflect on the last couple of years, I am filled for the first time in many years with gratitude and hope. After several years of upheaval and uncertainty, it feels incredible to say that RML is finally back in full swing. We have returned to overnight retreats and raft trips, all classes are in-person, and you can feel the amazing energy of phase. Every day, as I walk to my office, I find myself navigating a maze of RML students who have made our wing of Carver their home away from home. In between classes, you will find our students playing hacky sack, drinking coffee/tea, studying, laughing, and supporting each other as they navigate the many stressors that the academic quarter can bring.

The fall 2023 quarter brought much change as we are now without Dr. Keith Russell and Katey Roemmele. The RML program is simply not the same without them and they are sorely missed by students and faculty alike. 

Professionally, I have been busy as ever. In fall 2022, I was elected to the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT) as an Educator Representative. COAPRT accredits baccalaureate programs in parks, recreation, tourism, sport management, event management, therapeutic recreation, and leisure studies within the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I have sense joined the executive committee and am serving as Vice Chair. In January 2024, I will also join the editorial board of the Therapeutic Recreation Journal, which is a renowned quarterly publication devoted to publishing scholarship in the field of therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. When not at work, you can find me recreating with my family (Greg, Orion, and our dog Loki). Please stop by Carver 209 if you are in the neighborhood and say hello. Wishing everyone a wonderful new year.

This past year has been such a wonderful one on both the personal and professional fronts. Both of my parents visited Bellingham over the summer, and my dad finally got to meet Harper, my two-year-old super mutt. I traveled to New Orleans with college friends, and my found family in Bellingham continued to adventure our way across the PNW and Canada. I also, like so many others, caught the pickleball bug. I had played volleyball, starting in grade school and then for traveling clubs and my high school’s and college’s varsity teams, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed and needed competitive sport in my life. To parrot so much of what we discuss in our RML classes, this new hobby has done wonders for my mental health and has introduced me to an incredibly diverse, welcoming community in Bellingham I’d never have met otherwise. My dogs Scout and Harper continue to be the best snuggle buddies and to grace many a class PowerPoint.

On the professional front, this past year has been tremendously fulfilling. I received tenure, so I officially started this year as an associate professor. The History of Education Society asked me to co-chair its Presidential Taskforce on Access and Inclusion, and I worked with the other co-chair to intentionally create space for disabled scholars and work on disability history both in the society and at our annual conference in Atlanta last November. In that vein, I had the privilege of teaching WWU’s first ever Critical Disability Studies course for our new Institute for Critical Disability Studies. Our Phasers continue to be so engaged both in and outside of class, and working with community partners the Max Higbee Center and the Mount Baker Care Center gave our TR students the opportunity to practice both individual and group program planning. Our new Phase I students ran an incredibly fun, jam-packed Surf’s Up themed Camp TEAM at Bloedel Donovan Park, and Western Today published a story on it here. I also got to cheer on recent RML graduate and Honors student Logan Cornwell as he researched the history of the Recreation major at WWU and mapped the location of over 650 Phaser internships—complete with site details, local activities not to be missed, and other vital information—for the benefit of future Phasers.