May 22, 2026

Well-Being

As you read from Chari on Wednesday, some in our community have been deeply affected by the shooting in San Diego. Around us, the Bothell and Redmond Mosques as well as other Muslim-serving agencies have all increased security and vigilance. Next week is Eid al-Adha, representing sacrifice and one of two sacred holidays on the Muslim calendar. Many of our students and employees will honor that holiday, especially this year, and I want to remind everyone that these are excused absences next Wednesday and Thursday. Students must have given notice to faulty in the first two weeks of spring quarter to be excused. Well-being in times of violence is especially needed and we encourage all employees to help us lift each other.

Speaking of well-being, I attended Bothell’s State of the City address yesterday in Mobius. The city is doing well and their leadership is focused on the quality of life for all individuals in Bothell. The Mayor offered inspirational examples of how Bothell is working to create a sense of belonging. We know that they embrace our UW Bothell and Cascadia presence. We know that they are working to improve sustainability, equity, inclusion, and responsible leadership. Kudos to our city colleagues.

I wanted to preview another well-being effort for fall.

As our chaotic world continues to spin, we know that being in community and positive relationships with each other are keys to stability, well-being, and growth. For a long time, our faculty and front-line staff have been met with student behaviors that can be demanding and challenge this well-being. These behaviors can cause class disruption, can inhibit the ability of others to learn, and can provide uncomfortable (if not threatening) situations.

While we have in place our student conduct system as well as the CARE team, there are often situations that lie in the middle. These gray areas might require intervention or a team member to help out. Often, consultation and mediation may be necessary.

To this extent, we will begin offering the services of an Ombuds, also known as Ombudsperson.

We will begin a pilot program of this service in the Fall of 2026. The Program will be an additional tool to further Cascadia’s vision that every individual is supported and engaged in lifelong learning. The primary function of an Ombuds is to assist with opening communication channels to facilitate conflict resolution. The Ombuds listens, suggests and assists in developing options, facilitates resolution, and provides referrals to appropriate channels and resources between employees and students, and between employee and employee. The Ombuds also assists the College in identifying systemic issues. The Ombuds does so by operating based on informality, impartiality, independence, and confidentiality.

The Ombuds differs from other services offered by Cascadia College in many ways – the initiative does not replace or supersede them. The Ombuds processes will be informal and collaborative. The Ombuds will not conduct formal investigations and will not make findings of fact. The Ombuds provides a safe space for collaborative problem solving and refers issues outside their scope of authority to the appropriate campus resources. The Ombuds, thus, supplements services offered by the College without replacing other processes available at the College.

I am pleased to announce that in addition to her duties as Director of Inclusion and Advocacy Programs, Dr. Ana Nina will add this role to her current portfolio. In addition to her law degree and doctorate, Dr. Nina is also a trained mediator. We look forward to having Ana in this role as she defines, pilots, and tracks the program through next year.

Ana will be reaching out shortly seeking input before the spring quarter is over. As well, she will have sessions in the fall explaining the program. As this is a pilot, we will evaluate its success over the year and make adjustments as necessary.

We all must continue to find ways to support our learning environment. Should well-being be one of our new values?

Shoutouts

From the IN Box:

Shoutout and thank you to Bee Bradbury for their contribution to our ITS e-cycle pickup last Thursday and Friday. Bee lent dollies and a cart for inventory transport, provided temporary storage in the shipping area, and assisted with cart transport during pickup, resulting in a flawless process that took less than an hour. Thank you, Bee, for your generosity and time!

AND

A huge shout out to Ginny Jackson and Shannon Bath for sharing their time and talents with our community! Their sewing and knitting workshops sparked calls for a repeat - stay tuned! Thank you, Ginny and Shannon!

Shoutouts can be sent to FLShoutout@cascadia.edu.