Class Notes

Maya Matheis, MSW ’14, created a free online mental health toolkit to help people after the 2023 wildfires in Maui. The toolkit, which was downloadable just two months after the fires, includes trauma-informed workbooks and resource cards with clear language and visual aids, with versions tailored for children and adults, ensuring accessibility for all affected. The project was backed and funded by the Hawaii Department of Health Developmental Disabilities Division.

Ale Uriostegui, AB ’23, was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. The award offers full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. The Gates Cambridge mission is to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others. Uriostegui is interested in social movement theory and, in particular, transnational and transracial/transethnic social movements in Latin America and the possibility of collective change. 

Henlay Foster, BM ’21 (music), is a U.S. Army veteran who held leadership positions in Washington, D.C., including national director of Head Start, the pre-school child development program, and associate commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families, both in the Department of Health and Human Services. Foster also was deputy associate chief of the U.S. Children’s Bureau in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He is on the faculty of the Community Music School in St. Louis (now part of Webster University) and is a piano teacher and an organist for the United States Religious Retreat House in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

Daun Lee, AB ’20, was selected as a 2023 Fulbright-National Geographic Award recipient. The award allows recipients to undertake in-depth explorations of pressing global issues over the course of an academic year. Lee works toward equitable, holistic climate mitigation strategies. She will research the social impact of converting agricultural lands to solar farms on Jeju Island, South Korea, uncovering the cultural and heritage value disruptions that citrus farmers are facing due to the nation’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. Lee will share her findings through a journal article and short-form documentary film.

Meredith Rose, MSW ’19, opened Integrated Counseling in St. Louis. She is an IFS-informed therapist working with adults and adolescents who need support and guidance to restore wholeness and choice in their lives. Rose specializes in sexual health and sees clients dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship issues and more. Website: http://wholenessandchoice.com.

Brandi Pikes, JD ’18, was named as states counsel for President Joe Biden’s campaign. Pikes is providing legal advice and guidance on employment, contracts, campaign finance and other matters. Previously, Pikes worked as an associate attorney at Winston & Strawn and served as a federal law clerk for Vanessa D. Gilmore, then a U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Kaiwen Ku, MArch ’18, MLArch ’18, was promoted to associate at CO Architects in Los Angeles. She has worked on projects at UCI Health and Wichita State University.

Karen Hinkley, JD ’18, joined Davis Hartman Wright as a partner in the firm’s litigation and appellate practice groups. In December 2023, Hinkley was admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and certified by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. She was named to the 2024 North Carolina Rising Stars list in the business litigation practice area and honored as Business North Carolina’s 2024 Legal Elite for her appellate law practice.

Christine Montero, MSW ’17, is currently working at an abortion fund in the South and has been interviewed by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal about Florida’s six-week abortion ban.

Ophelia Yuting Ji, MArch ’17, MLArch ’17, was promoted toassociate at CO Architects in Los Angeles. Since joining the firm in 2018, she has worked on complex projects for Cedars-Sinai, Kaiser Permanente, LAUSD and UCLA.