Allison Dvaladze (second from left) stands with Dr. Julie Gralow, US Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland, Edward Roelofs, First Lady of Georgia Sandra Roelofs and Mary Hartnett at the Georgia Race for the Cure in October 2013. Allison is joining the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and will continue working on the REECA region.
I regrettably announce that Allison Dvaladze, who has been the Assistant Director for Outreach for the Ellison Center since 2005, left the Center this month to move to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance’s Global Oncology unit. In the time she worked at the Center, Allison was instrumental in enhancing all aspects of the center’s activities, from developing instructional materials for high schools to finding new community partners to improving the website and creating this very blog.
She was a good colleague and a tireless advocate for education and outreach on the REECAS the region. She will still be in Seattle, but we will miss her here.
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I have known Allison Dvaladze since July 2000, when I worked with her at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). She was an outstanding colleague, always hardworking, forthright, intelligent and charismatic. After I left NDI for the University of Washington, we kept in touch. I was thrilled to hear of her plans to return to the Seattle-area. As soon as an opening emerged in the Ellison Center, I knew we had to hire her. I was about to go on maternity leave and felt confident in leaving the office under her guidance while I was gone.
In her eight and a half years here, Allison has brought to the Ellison Center many great ideas, such as new poster designs and email backdrops to give the center a consistent and professional look. She does not just meet her responsibilities; she always is looking for ways to go above and beyond to improve the way things work for our center and the Jackson School at large. Students, faculty and the many constituencies of our outreach program (local schools, federal agencies, city organizations) regularly call on Allison for assistance. She is so personable and friendly that all feel at ease with her to discuss any issues that emerge. Allison is a very driven, intelligent, efficient and personable staff member with a combined wealth of international experience and deep knowledge of the non-profit and academic sectors. It has been a great privilege to work with her for most of my professional career.
I hate to lose her as a colleague, but Allison’s move to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance’s Global Oncology unit is a wonderful opportunity for her and for that organization. It will allow her to utilize her regional knowledge and network to improve breast cancer information and advocacy throughout the REECA region. Our loss, though deep, is the region’s gain. I wish her all the best.
— Marta Mikkelsen | Ellison Center Associate Director
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Allison is the very first person I met at the Ellison Center, just before my first day as a Jackson School graduate student. Not only did she introduce me to the most important Seattle app I will ever use (One Bus Away), she instilled from the start the motivation and confidence I needed to work through the REECAS master’s program and then return for a Ph.D. She instilled those same values and enthusiasm when I began working as the REECAS newsletter editor in 2012. Because of Allison’s diligence, we have moved into the modern age with this new blog, continuous Facebook updates and connections with prominent speakers for the region. These are just a few of her many, many accomplishments. In the spirit of interacting with the REECA community, please feel free to post your own messages to Allison below. I am so pleased that I have had the chance to work closely with Allison. She has a true talent for encouraging her colleagues and inspiring progress, and I’m sure she will continue this trend in her work with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
— Indra Ekmanis | Ellison Center Digital Content Editor
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While we hate to see Allison go, we are excited to welcome the Ellison Center’s new Outreach Coordinator, Andrew Shinn, who will be joining the Center in February!