Information Tools

Alumni

Alumni Impact Awards

Distinguished Alumni Award

The Information School Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni who have made significant and exceptional contributions to the information field through their profession, in the community, or with their involvement with the Information School and the University of Washington. This award acknowledges those who continue to uphold iSchool values by helping others discover, learn, innovate, and solve problems beyond their UW years. 

2025 Awardee: Marcie Stone

Class of 1976

Marcie StoneMarcie Stone spent her career in public service with the Army and the Department of Defense. “When I started out, I was hand stamping things in my little Army library,” she said. “By the time I retired, 30 years later, everything was digital and the government structure for information had changed. It was an enormously exciting time to be in the information world.” Stone spent several years in user services at the Pentagon Library and the last 20 years of her career with the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). In the 1990s, the Clinton-Gore administration mandated that all Executive Branch agencies create public-facing websites. Stone’s team ultimately built about 100 websites. She later received the Department of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service and Career Service awards. 

GOLD Alumni Impact Award

The GOLD award celebrates recent graduates for their contributions to the information field.

2025 Awardee: Nishit Bhasin

Class of 2024

Nishit Bhasin

A 2024 graduate of the Master of Science in Information Management program, Nishit Bhasin has found early success as co-founder of a startup, Incskill, that is working toward a more accessible internet for people with disabilities. The company offers tools and services to help developers make websites and apps more usable for people with disabilities such as visual impairments. Incskill began as a hackathon project and has quickly grown, aided by the iSchool’s iStartup Lab and funding from Techstars, an early-stage venture capital firm. Incskill has partnered with major corporations such as Google, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, Bosch and GSMA, as well as national and international government agencies, including UNICEF, the Washington State Government, and the Government of India.