Welcome to our newest graduate student cohort! Please find their biographies below.
Zachary Cudney
B.A., Geography, Globalization Studies, SUNY University at Albany; Education Abroad, University of Cape Town; M.A., Geography, Graduate Certificate in GIS and Spatial Analysis, SUNY University at Albany. Pronouns: he/him. Research interests: cultural geography, critical cartography, metaphors, and representations; mobilities, embodiment, and phenomenology; memory, archives, and landscape; science and technology studies and polar regions. Regional focus: Arctic, Nordic Europe, Southern Africa. Originally from Western New York, I have worked as an adjunct instructor of geography at Nashville State, training assistant at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, and barista at several co-ops, cafes, and bakeries. When not writing or reading academic geography, I love engaging with landscape and place on foot and through novels, poetry, art, and film.
Daniel Ha
B.A., History and Geography, University of Denver. Pronouns: He/Him. Academic Interests: Labor and Migration in the American Southwest; Demography; Intellectual History of the American West, Rural and Agricultural Labor. I did my undergrad senior history thesis on the Politics of Hollywood Gossip Journalism in the Golden Age of Hollywood. My hobbies include watching movies, playing basketball, and exercising.
Olivia Horwedel
B.S., Environmental Studies (Marine Ecology & Sustainable Food Systems), Minor - Native American Studies, University of Michigan; M.M.A., Marine and Environmental Affairs, Certificate in American Indian & Indigenous Studies, University of Washington. Pronouns: she/her. Research interests: marine ecology, marine mammal conservation, Indigenous food systems, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, environmental justice, visual modes of storytelling. Regional Focus: Pacific Northwest & the North Pacific. My background has been a blend between ecological research and education positions for marine mammal conservation nonprofits as well as working for Indigenous led environmental organizations focused on environmental conservation and its connection to cultural revitalization. I just recently finished my master’s degree at UW studying the impacts of sea otter reintroductions on Indigenous food systems of the Pacific Coast, where I held a fellowship with the Cross Pacific Indigenous Aquaculture Network. Additionally, I have taught courses on sustainability, urban farming, and food systems. My hobbies include hiking, camping, farming, surfing, cooking, creating art and exploring the wonderland of Washington State!
Izzy Sanchez-Foster
B.A., History and Politics, Oberlin College, 2023. Pronouns: She/her. Research interests: Communal housing, Community land trusts, Cities, Black geographies, Racial capitalism, Gender, Health, Labor, Homelessness Incarceration, Geographic information systems, Revolutionary studies, Praxis. In my free time I enjoy baking, playing guitar, swimming, gardening, walking my cat, cooking creative meals with my partner, and staying active in my community.
Ben Trumble
B.A., Geography and History, Macalester College; M.A., Teaching Secondary Education Social Studies, New York University. Pronouns: he/him. Research interests: Social capital, political geography, historical geography, post-material culture, and educational polarization. I also have a longstanding personal interest in rural America and education policy. Before beginning my studies at UW, I taught for two years in a rural, Title I school in New Hampshire. I have worked at the Minnesota Historical Society and spent a summer researching Minnesota's Iron Range. I greatly enjoy reading, journaling, and coffee.