On Sunday, June 14, the Department of Anthropology gathered over 800 family, friends, faculty, and staff at Kane Hall's Roethke Auditorium to honor the graduating class of 2026. The celebration honored the 258 combined graduate and undergraduate students who have completed degrees across our Archaeological, Biological, and Sociocultural Anthropology subfields and undergraduate degree tracks (Anthropology of Globalization, Archaeological Sciences, Indigenous Archaeology, Human Evolutionary Biology, and Medical Anthropology and Global Health)
Speakers
This year's commencement address was delivered by Dr. Robert Kopperl, a UW Anthropology PhD alumnus (2003) and professional archaeologist who has worked with tribal, local, state, and federal partners on projects across the Pacific Northwest. He is an Affiliate Faculty member of our department, an Associate Archaeology Researcher at the Burke Museum, and past President of the Association for Washington Archaeology.
Cyril Clement (BA, Medical Anthropology & Global Health / Environmental Studies) delivered the undergraduate address. Cyril is an Anthropology Honors student, a recipient of the Mary Gates Research Scholarship and the Martin and Anne Jugum Scholarship in Labor Studies, and co-founder of Narcare, a UW student organization focused on opioid crisis awareness and harm reduction. Following graduation, he will begin a two-year Climate and Environmental Justice Fellowship with the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance in Boston.
Dr. Imam Subkhan (PhD, Sociocultural Anthropology) delivered the graduate address. Dr. Subkhan's dissertation, The Desire of the State: Ritualization and Repetition in Indonesian Politics, reflects his scholarly interests in linguistic anthropology, ritual studies, and questions of race, class, gender, and sexuality in Southeast Asian and political anthropology.
Doctoral Graduates
We congratulate the following students on completion of their doctoral degrees:
Amanda Kunkle, PhD, Biological Anthropology (Advisor: Dr. Dan Eisenberg) Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a product of evolutionary mismatch: Identification of possible benefits using mixed methods Dr. Kunkle is the recipient of the 2026 College of Arts & Sciences Graduate Medal in Social Sciences.
Juan Luo, PhD, Sociocultural Anthropology (Advisor: Prof. Steve Harrell, Emeritus) Border Crossing, Collaboration, and Transition: Health Care Entanglements of an International NGO on the China-Myanmar Border
Yoli Ngandali, PhD, Archaeology (Advisor: Dr. Sara Gonzalez) Meaning is in the Making: A Relational Analysis of Ground Stone Belongings on the Lower Columbia River Dr. Ngandali was named as a Husky 100 in 2024 and is the past recipient of Social Science Research Council and the Wenner-Gren Foundation grants. She is currently conducting independent research and archaeological consulting on a large-scale project in Oregon using multispectral and technical methods developed for her dissertation.
Eileen Sleesman Calderon, PhD, Sociocultural Anthropology (Advisor: Dr. Laada Bilaniuk) "In All Things God Works": Ambivalent Agency and Christian Labor in Turkish Religious Marketplaces Dr. Sleesman Calderon is now in her third year as a Senior Research and Project Consultant at Seattle Jobs Initiative, a workforce development nonprofit, conducting applied research with government agencies, colleges, and community organizations.
Imam Subkhan, PhD, Sociocultural Anthropology (Advisor: Dr. Celia Lowe) The Desire of the State: Ritualization and Repetition in Indonesian Politics
Master's Graduates
Archaeological Heritage MA
- Kara Johnson — Cultural Resource Assessments for the Jane Cammon Park Improvements, Day Property Acquisition, and Little Hoko River Restoration Projects, Washington
- Anna Swenson — Negotiating compliance-based capacity draws through workflow and data management: contextualising work undertaken with the Duwamish Cultural Preservation Department
- Jodi Ellen Yoshimi — Cultural Resources Assessments for the Issaquah Creek and Little Bear Creek Park Riparian Restoration Projects, King County, Washington
- Isaac Miller
- Georgia Schafer
MA, Biological Anthropology
- Emma Anastasi
- Yesenia Navarro-Aguirre
MA, Sociocultural Anthropology
- Toelau Ronalei Gasetoto
- Tiffany-Ashton Gatsby
MA, Archaeology
Setareh Shafizadeh
Undergraduate Honors
The following students completed the Departmental Honors track, each producing an independent research thesis:
- Zoe Bradley-Hart — From Paganism to St Patrick: The Archaeology of Religious Change in Fifth Century Ireland (Advisor: Dr. Marcos Llobera)
- Kali Boone — Psychedelic Care in the Shadow of Policy: A Qualitative Analysis of Practitioner Self-Governance in Washington State (Advisor: Paula Saravia)
- Sofia Geherin — Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Restaurant-Origin Foodborne Illness Rates in King County, Washington (Advisor: Dr. Darryl Holman)
- Chengbo (Hunter) Hou — From Silk Road to Cafe: Micro-spaces of Social Transformation (Advisor: Dr. Sven Haakanson)
- Lucille Katzman-Tranah — Metrics of Mobility: Residential Structures in the Archaeology of Kodiak Island (Advisors: Dr. Ben Fitzhugh and Dr. Jade d'Alpoim Guedes)
- Raquel Matthews — "The ties that ordinarily bind children": A Comparative Analysis of Enslaved Children's Toys on 18th and 19th-Century Plantations in the Anglophone Atlantic (Advisor: Dr. Ben Marwick)
- Ishan Mehta — Navigating the Dark: Seasonal Affective Disorder, Mitigation Behaviors, and Student Lived Experience at the University of Washington (Advisor: Dr. Darryl Holman)
- Heather O'Corry-Crowe — Impact of Field-Friendly Storage Conditions for Dried Blood Spots on Downstream Molecular Analyses (Advisor: Dr. Tiffany Pan)
Departmental Honors Award (Best Undergraduate Honors Thesis): Lucille Katzman-Tranah — Metrics of Mobility: Residential Structures in the Archaeology of Kodiak Island
Senior Distinguished Research Recognition
The following students received Senior Distinguished Research Recognition for independent research:
- Aidan Maynard — Is Gambling a Possible Form of Healing or Is It Justification for an Addiction? (Advisor: Dr. Paula Saravia)
- Brandon Nguyen — Using Radiocarbon Ages as a Proxy for Human Population Dynamics in Late Pleistocene Mainland Southeast Asia (Advisor: Dr. Ben Marwick)
- Juliana-Symone Tabura — Assessing a Framework for Leveraging Classroom Volunteers to Support Asset-Based Approaches in a Diverse Pre-K–5 School (Advisor: Dr. Melanie Martin)
Undergraduate Class of 2026
(Listed below are only those students who have consented to publication of their names)
Anthropology (BA)
Abigail Aamodt (also Art History), Stasia Arkham, Vivian Augustine (also History), Allison Bell, Sergio Bermudez, Mia Bernhard, Joshua Boiles, Gentre Carlsen, Kiele Chu (also Political Science), Nikolai Crawford, Sarah Desai (also Environmental Studies), Margaret Downer, Grace Fang, Lesly Gomez, Madeleine Green, Vivian Guy, Moira Harris, Chloe Hite, Lucas Huguet, Abigail Hulst (also Global Literary Studies), Halle Jarrett (also Environmental Studies), Zoe Loughnane (also Drama), Easton Mann, Camille Martin, Isabella Martinez (also Art), Seya Masalkar, Raquel Matthews, Samuel Michael, Daniela Morales, Mathilda Myerhoff (also Environmental Studies), Milani Ornelas (also German Studies), Luka Painter (also Linguistics), Emily Paisley, Lanna Park (also History), Cody Pender, Owen Prentice, Alexandra Quist, Eliyas Redwan, Allen Richardson, Josie Riskin, Jason Souphommanichanh, Emily Souza (also History), Natalie Spencer, Matthew Stephan, Emily Strassman (also History), Nathaniel Uran, Bethany Ware, Hannah Whitemarsh (also American Ethnic Studies), Lucinda Yardley, Olivia Yoon, Sydnee Zirker
Indigenous Archaeology (BA)
Natalie Weinstein
Archaeological Sciences (BA/BS)
Mary Amiotte (BS), Thomas Boyd (also History), Zoe Bradley-Hart (also History: Religion & Society), Neev Chattopadhyay (also Philosophy), Remy Cogan (also History), Audrey Cousins (BS), Morgan Dulitz, Devon Gerik, Mary Guzman (BS), Benjamin Hash, Charlotte Houston, Zhihui Jiang (also Art), Lucille Katzman-Tranah, Andrew Lansell (also History), Joanna Mianowany (BS), Emily Michaud (BS), Brandon Nguyen, Laura Reeders, Amanda Schmidt (also History), Lily Spencer, Mckenzie White (BS), Xiaozhou Yang
Anthropology of Globalization (BA)
Olivia Driscoll, Maceo Glenn, Chengbo Hou (also International Studies), Suzanne Kobzeff, Alexandra Krepsik (also Comparative History of Ideas), Anika Palep, Ahnika Triplett, Arden Mackenzie, Remy Cogan
Human Evolutionary Biology (BA/BS)
Julia Bagriy (BS; also Medical Anthropology & Global Health), Liberty Bell (BS), Hailey Chadrow (BS), Alexander Fournier (also Political Science), Sofia Geherin (BS), Elsie Hedberg (BS), Lisa Isaacs (also Classical Studies), Georgia Livesey (BS), Addie Lomax (also Psychology), Heather O'Corry-Crowe (BS), Lilly Reaves (BS), Stella Schwappach (BS), Elissa Simons (also Psychology), Annali Snyder (BS; also Medical Anthropology & Global Health), Chloe Troyer (BS), Haylee Weisner (BS), Gillian Wolfe (BS)
Medical Anthropology & Global Health (BA/BS)
Aisha Ahmed, Rheana Andaya, Abril Balderas-Rojas (BS; also Human Evolutionary Biology), Don Beeson, Isabel Bennett, Theodore Berman, Kali Boone, Nia Brice, Alise Castaneda, Jasmine Chao, Lisset Chavez (also Communication), Frances Chilton, Nolan Clayton, Cyril Clement (also Environmental Studies), Aaliyah Corbett, Carla Orella Costa, Karen Cruz, Lucian Davis (also Human Evolutionary Biology), Elizabeth Desmarais, Hami Dinh, Mabel Gahan, Talaya Garcia (BS; also Human Evolutionary Biology), Anna Ha, Isabella Haldi (also Psychology), Fey Harkness, Cassandra Hernandez, Anh Ho, Judy Hong, Natalie Hutts, Aaron Hwang, Birdie Jine (BS; also Human Evolutionary Biology), Katheriya Kannathip, Chanelle Keith, Mina Kim, Samantha Kuhia, Emma Lee (also Psychology), Elodie Lemma, Adela Lizde, Alfredo Loera, Luke Lowry, Jovan Luna, Aidan Maynard, Milat Mengstab, Catinca Mosley, Leah Nash (also Food Systems, Nutrition & Health), Madeline Odegaard, Olivia Parrish (also Human Evolutionary Biology), Kianna Peebles, Genevieve Perkins, Caitlyn Perritt, Kim Pham, Mia Rapp (also Food Systems, Nutrition & Health), Karely Rojas-Hoyos, Pradumna Sachdeva, Rylie Sapp, Delila Shami, Catherine Shurygailo, Brady Smith, Suorsdey Sou, Rebecca Stevens, Juliana-Symone Tabura, Ethan Thomas, Andy Tran, Katherine Tupling, Eliza Herrera Vega, Elisha Velazquez, Mamasa Waggeh, Polina Worthington, Andrew Woo, Lydia Wondwosen, Alexandra Yang, Ling Yang, Bowen Yao, Sarah Yosef, Margaret Young
Congratulations to the class of 2026! We are proud of your accomplishments and excited to see the contributions you will make to the discipline and the world.