Author Bios

Jake Lally

Jake graduated with a BA in Law, Societies, and Justice from the University of Washington in June 2021. He also completed the prerequisites for medical school and hopes to pursue a career as a physician serving marginalized populations. It is his goal to incorporate the principles of expanded sources of knowledge for increased diversity of perspectives to ultimately decrease prejudice in medical practice. Jake is currently pursuing an MS from Brown University.

Emma Macdonald-Scott (she/they)

Emma will graduate from the University of Washington’s Masters of Education program in the Spring of 2023, with a focus on curriculum design, and instruction, as well as a certificate in Teaching for Environmental and Community focused learning. Prior to that she earned her Bachelors degree in Law, Societies and Justice, with a minor in Labor Studies from the University of Washington, in Seattle. Her work in the legal field, and undergraduate studies inform the social justice lens she brings to her teaching, and educational philosophy. Her research work has focused on valuing non-dominant forms of knowledge and knowledge production through the use of oral histories, art, land-based pedagogies, and getting students out of the classroom! She has Scottish, German, and Irish heritage, and identifies as a white non-binary person. Emma is currently finishing her Master’s degree and working with young children, in addition to working on building an educational zine about the land-based history of her hometown Olympia. In her time away from work and school Emma loves creating art in its many forms, and being outside whether it be in the working in the garden or walking in the forest.

Emily Willard (she/her)

Emily graduated with her Ph.D. in international studies from the Jackson School of International Studies in June 2020 from the University of Washington. She completed dissertation research in collaboration with a small Indigenous Maya Mam town in western Guatemala, learning about the experiences of women in conflict, and the ways that they are building bright futures for their children. At her time at the University of Washington, she designed and taught the course, “International Justice on Trial” for the Law, Societies, and Justice Department, and served as both Teaching Assistant and Graduate Instructor for the course “Human Rights in Latin America.” During her time at UW, Emily was a graduate research fellow at the University of Washington Center for Human Rights where she helped found the FOIA internship program, and assisted with FOIA research and litigation.

Prior to her time at UW, she was a research associate at the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C. conducting research on the history of U.S. foreign policy in Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, and Colombia in order to support international justice and human rights movements in Latin America. Emily is a queer person and has Nicaraguan, Italian, Scottish, German, Cajun, and Danish ancestry. She earned her BA in Spanish and International Studies, and an MA in International Studies from American University in Washington, D.C. Currently, Emily works with public defenders as a defense investigator in the greater Seattle area, where she lives with her two cats, snails, and goldfish. She enjoys gardening, cooking, and making multi-media art.