In celebration of the Information School's 25th anniversary in 2025-26, we are inviting alumni to share their memories of favorite professors, words of wisdom from their time at the school, and chance encounters with fellow alumni.

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Favorite Professors

We asked alumni to tell us about their favorite iSchool professor. Here are some of their responses, which have been lightly edited.

Joe Janes was such a generous and thoughtful mentor, offering advice when asked for it, and always as honest in praise as in critique. He gave me a real sense of purpose as a reference librarian. 

— James Rosenzweig, MLIS ’11

Mary Ellen Soper was my favorite professor. Her lectures stayed with me for my entire career.

— Michael Maben, M.Lib ’88

Joseph Tennis’s knowledge organization courses sparked my interest in knowledge organization systems and set me on the path to pursue their application in cultural heritage contexts.

— Melissa Gill, MLIS ’13

Professor David Hendry was easily the most influential professor I had at the iSchool. His reading seminars completely changed the course of my master’s journey — they pushed me to think deeper, speak up, and engage in ways I didn’t know I could. I came into the program more hesitant to share my perspective, but his encouragement and the environment he created helped me realize that my voice mattered and that it would be heard if I made the effort to use it. What I loved most about his classes was the balance he created between listening and contributing. He showed me the value of hearing others fully while also giving myself permission to take space in the conversation. That balance not only made me more involved in class, but it also inspired me to step up in my community, take on leadership roles, and trust myself more. I can honestly say his influence reshaped how I show up, both professionally and personally.

— Susan Acharya, MSIM ’25

I told Greg Hay I was feeling down from getting rejected from multiple internships fall 2020 and couldn't focus on my coursework. He gave me an amazing pep talk that re-energized me. I ended up landing an internship later that quarter that ended being my full-time job! The SQL skills I learned were one of the reasons why I got my job and which I use every day to make informed product decisions.

— Louis Ta, Informatics ’22

Claire Scott’s LIS 565 really let me explore and learn more about my interest and passion for children's resources and taught me SO much about running storytime and dealing with difficult research requests (such as books dealing with and explaining grief and death of family members for children), and she helped me connect with one of her school librarian colleagues for my directed fieldwork internship, which is still one of my favorite experiences to this day.

— Chloe Bryant, MLIS ’22

Terri Eccles was my PM teacher and taught me SO much about how to approach business problems and think strategically. She was very helpful and quite an inspiration. 

— Riyana Patel, MSIM ’24

Lorraine Bruce was flexible to work with when I was hospitalized during my pregnancy in the second year of my program. I felt she cared about students, was dedicated to her position and teaching, and also supported me with letters of recommendation even after taking time away from my career to care for my young children. 

— Katherine Bouchard, MLIS ’15

I really admire Hala Annabi. The way she talks about management and lessons learned is really wonderful.

— Ananya Nandi, MSIM ’25

Andy Herman is super cool and a deeply inspiring professor who really cares for his students. His class allowed me to learn and understand the real-world applications of enterprise risk management! 

— Pournami Varma, Informatics ’25

Although our meeting was for a short quarter, Professor Nam-Ho Park empathized with my introvertedness and listened to my concerns while offering guidance on how I can begin to reach out of my shell so that I can achieve my personal and social goals. Even if the course I took wasn't of my expertise in SWE, I am glad that I was able to gain perspective from it, and to be able to have these chats with Professor Nam-Ho.

— Harold Pham, Informatics ’24

Nancy Pearl affirmed the importance of connecting people with good books for them. Lynne McKechnie, so knowledgeable and passionate about children's literature; Helene Williams, smart and no-nonsense; Allyson Carlyle was a great cataloging instructor.

— Michelle Young, MLIS ’08

The deeply questioning approach to statistical methodologies Joe Janes employed in his quantitative methodology class left a lasting impression on my thinking process as a quantitative analyst.

— Adam Lathrop, MLIS ’16

Cindy Aden was my portfolio professor in my second year, and that changed my outlook on the career field. She helped me understand how capable I was, even if I didn't have the exact (transferable) skills, and was always rooting for my success! She was always reminding me that the career process isn't just a direct route but often a long journey that eventually brings us to where we are meant to be. With that in mind, I was able to broaden my search and relax my expectations; it was a huge help to the after-school job hunt. 

— Natalie MacLagan, MLIS ’25

Trent Hill really had the best classes, information/knowledge-wise and fun-wise! 

— Olivia Davis, MLIS ’23

Robin Nicklas was the best professor at UW. He showed me how the enterprise program and project management play an important role and how to knock it out of the park. 

— Alark Patel, MSIM ’14

Terry Brooks fostered creativity and encouraged out of the box thinking.

— Jon Norris, M.Lib, ’95

I've always had good relationships with teachers, but my Capstone mentor and Metadata for Interactive Media professor Jin Ha Lee has been one of my most valued mentors. She is very in tune with her students' needs, ensured the classwork was always relevant to them, and was always willing to help us find the most meaningful and creative outcome for our work. I would take a million classes with her if I had the chance!

— Joe Lollo, MLIS ’24

Andrew Reifers was my favorite iSchool professor as a student. He fostered my love and passion for cybersecurity and brought the best out of me as a student and challenged me to be the best I could be. He left the greatest impact on me because he didn’t just care about my well-being as a student, but as a person too. 

— Tom Jubin, Informatics, ’24

Joe Janes has had a huge impact on my time at UW and beyond. Having been a TA four times for his INFO 200 has taught me immensely. I have loved learning from him and working under him. 

— Manav Agarwal, Informatics ’25

Helene Williams worked to get me a paid DFW in the Seattle Room at Seattle Public Library. Throughout the quarter when I was taking her Digital Humanities class, she continually checked in with me to make sure I was on the best path to get the internship. When I eventually got to applying for post-grad jobs, the DFW experience was instrumental to my application!

— Shaye Anis, MLIS ’24

Professor Martin Saveski is the coolest. He made learning fun.

— Anuj Sinha, MSIM ’25

Helene Williams taught me so much about collection development. She inspired me to really dig into the topic so much that I felt confident to engage in advocacy efforts surrounding library collections and adverse legislation in Wyoming. As guest faculty now teaching the online LIS 522 course, I'm honored to continue Helene's commitment to teaching the theory while incorporating real-life examples of how library collections impact and are impacted by their communities.

— Conrrado Saldivar, MLIS ’21

I keep score at baseball games because Joe Janes taught me how. 

— Emily Cabaniss, MLIS ’14

Knowledge management!

— Elisabeth Linn, MLIS ‘23

Learning and thinking critically about stances on tech ethics issues keeps me grounded in my work and personal opinions on the rise of AI usage in the workplace and everyday life.

— Abigail Quinsay, Informatics ‘22

Lasting Impressions

We asked alumni to tell us about something they learned at the iSchool that stays with them in their day-to-day lives. Here are some of their responses, which have been lightly edited.

Organization pays dividends. ... There are a lot of ways to frame things, and knowing how you need to frame and organize certain requirements will bring you more peace as you do your work.

— Harold Pham, Informatics ’24

Many of the courses at the iSchool centered on community. When I go to work and have to make a decision, I ask myself if my actions will benefit my hometown community. If they won't, I'll reconsider and look at alternate solutions so that my community comes first.

— Conrrado Saldivar, MLIS ’21

Just keep at it. You will find a way.

— Anuj Sinha, MSIM ’25

The importance of empathy in all aspects of life!

— Nicole Nobbay, Informatics ’24

I learned to be proud of who I am and what I can bring to the work I do in librarianship. I entered the program knowing I wanted to be a librarian but dealing with imposter syndrome from the start. The program gave me a voice and taught me how to use it. I am a better library faculty member now because of what I learned during my time in the iSchool.

— Kawanna Bright, MLIS ’03

So many things, but the top ones are libraries as community pillars; creating a place, collection, environment that is welcoming and valuable for ALL community members; the impact of early literacy programs and resources; fair use laws and open source information.

— Katherine Bouchard, MLIS ’15

Information wayfinding was one of my favorite projects. I still constantly think about how everyone finds information differently. I use this at work when I look at signage or work on library websites. 

— Stacey Akahoshi, MLIS ’18

Advocating for yourself and making unconventional connections!

— Shaye Anis, MLIS ’24

Flexibility. Cultural humility. Shelving books helps you know what's in your collection.

— Natalie MacLagan, MLIS ’25

How you communicate your message is as important as the message itself.

— Adam Lathrop, MLIS ’16

Love for puzzle solving of all kinds (informational, social, physical, etc.) through reference interviews and growth mindset.

— Jon Norris, M.Lib, ’95

Oddly enough, how to make personas for assessing community needs and accessibility of programs. I work essentially as a freelance, self-employed librarian, and being able to immediately, on instinct start assessing types of people in the community and what their barriers to access and life situations might be lets me start thinking about what programs or resources might be of use to them.

— Chloe Bryant, MLIS ’22

The joy of collaboration. I had never had group learning experiences in my other higher education programs that were as positive and as constructive as they were at the iSchool. Some of that was our professors and classes, I know, but so much more of it was just the caliber of people I got to work with as my peers — people who were brilliant but unassuming, outgoing and friendly, dedicated to their work but also very easy to laugh with.

— James Rosenzweig, MLIS ’11

The practical skills you learn that actually emulate industry.

— Louis Ta, Informatics ’22

Nancy Pearl's exhortation to make reading suggestions based on what the reader is interested in and in the mood for, and the suggestion to challenge them a little, expand the reader's horizons.

— Michelle Young, MLIS ’08

Dr. Levi sparked my passion for book history and conservation, which has been a focus of my research and continuing education since graduation. He rekindled my love of bookbinding and book arts while inspiring me to take up calligraphy. He also helped me cultivate mindful practices that keep me grounded in a fast-paced, ever-changing world.

— Ron Martin-Dent, MLIS ‘24

Nick Hernandez taught me the value of kindness as a leader. 

— Devansh Ojha, MSIM ‘23

Allyson Caryle was an excellent teacher when I took LIS 530, and I was very happy to have her as my advisor. Joe Janes was both entertaining and a good educator; I wish I could have taken more classes with him. I feel very lucky to have taken a summer reader’s advisory course with Nancy Pearl. 

— Jeanette Mills, MLIS ‘02

Greg Hay created opportunities for fellow students and me to work on real-world projects both inside and outside the classroom. Those experiences allowed us to collaborate with major companies on meaningful work. That work strengthened resumes, expanded professional networks, and gave us students an opportunity to showcase our abilities.

— Gavin Murphy, MSIM ‘22

David Levy was such an inspiration to me. He radiated quiet joy and curiosity when it came to finding stories and connections; his attitude and teaching has impacted the way I work with historical belongings, reminding me to find depth and meaning in everything. In a world of speeding information, he gave his students permission to slow down, look, and listen. 

— Emma Butbank, MLIS ‘21

All of them. However, it would be Harry Bruce (although not a professor but the dean during my higher educational journey). With his faith and forward support, I was able to go beyond my capabilities. His everlasting contribution to my success continues to fuel my drive for excellence.

— Lit Phansiri, Informatics ‘17

Amy Ko – her vulnerability and teachings stick to me to this day. 

— Abigail Quinsay, Informatics ‘22