25 Notable alumni of Central Washington University
Updated: June 12, 2026 EliteDegrees
Central Washington University is ranked #1,741 in the world and #431 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 25 notable alumni from Central Washington University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Central Washington University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Joseph Rose
1969-. (aged 57)
journalist
Joseph Rose is an American journalist and Episcopal priest formerly based in Portland, Oregon. He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is an associate rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Rose was on the staff of The Oregonian as a writer, columnist and multimedia producer from 1999 until 2016. He has written about crime, prisons, government, Portland's world-famous bicycle...
+ show more
2. David Boyd
1937-. (aged 89)
physician
David R. Boyd was an American surgeon and pioneer in emergency medicine. Boyd is considered to be one of the later fathers of EMS systems." His colleague John Otten noted that Boyd "had been responsible for saving thousands of lives - more than anyone in the medical profession."
+ show more
3. Cary Condotta
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
Cary Lawrence Condotta is an American politician from Washington. Condotta is a Republican member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 12th Legislative District Position 1 from 2003 to 2019. On May 1, 2018, Condotta announced he would be stepping down at the end of his 2017–2018 term, and not running for reelection in 2018.
+ show more
4. Aaron Reardon
politician
Aaron G. Reardon is an American politician and lobbyist who served as the Snohomish County Executive from 2004 to 2013. First elected to the post in 2003, Reardon was sworn in as the youngest county executive in the United States. On February 21, 2013, Reardon announced his resignation effective May 31, 2013.
+ show more
5. Myron N. Dobashi
1943-. (aged 83)
military officer
Myron N. Dobashi is a retired brigadier general in the National Guard of the United States and former commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard.
6. Alan Bates
1945-2016 (aged 71)
politician
Alan Curtis Bates was an American osteopathic physician and a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon State Senate, representing the 3rd District since 2005. Previously he was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2000 through 2004.
+ show more
7. Floyd Hicks
1915-1992 (aged 77)
lawyer
judge
politician
Floyd Verne Hicks was an American politician and attorney who served as an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court and member of the United States House of Representatives.
+ show more
8. Jim Honeyford
1939-. (aged 87)
politician
James Dwight Honeyford is an American politician of the Republican Party. He served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 15th district between 1999 and 2023.
+ show more
9. Valerie Jenness
1963-. (aged 63)
researcher
teacher
writer
Valerie Jenness is an author, researcher, public policy advisor, and professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Jenness is currently a visiting professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and prior to that, was a senior visiting scholar...
+ show more
10. Al Swift
1935-2018 (aged 83)
politician
Allan Byron Swift was an American Emmy award–winning broadcaster and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for eight terms from 1979 to 1995. He represented the Second Congressional District of Washington as a Democrat.
+ show more
11. Ron S. Jarmin
1964-. (aged 62)
economist
Ronald S. Jarmin is an American economist who serves as the deputy director and the chief operating officer of the United States Census Bureau. He previously served as acting director from January to September 2025 following the resignation of Robert Santos, from 2021 to 2022 following the resignation of Steven Dillingham, and from 2017 to 2019 following the resignation of...
+ show more
12. Mike Burns
1962-. (aged 64)
basketball coach
basketball player
Michael Edward Burns is an American assistant men's college basketball coach at Boise State.
13. Mary Jo Estep
1909-1992 (aged 83)
teacher
Mary Josephine Estep was a Shoshone child survivor of the Battle of Kelley Creek, "the last massacre" of Native Americans in the United States, in 1911.
+ show more
14. Matt Hume
1966-. (aged 60)
mixed martial arts fighter
Matt Hume is an American former professional mixed martial artist, trainer, and businessman. He is the co-founder and head trainer at AMC Pankration in Kirkland, WA. Hume and his AMC team have trained several champions and world-class fighters including Josh Barnett, Demetrious Johnson, Bibiano Fernandes, Tim Boetsch, Jeff Monson, Bob Sapp, Chris Leben, Hayato Sakurai, Akira Shoji, Matt Brown, Rich...
+ show more
15. Joey Gibson
1983-. (aged 43)
politician
Joseph Owan Gibson is an American right-wing activist and the founder of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, which is active in Portland, Oregon and other cities within the Pacific Northwest.
+ show more
16. Wanz
1961-. (aged 65)
singer
singer-songwriter
street artist
engineer
rapper
Michael "Mike" Wansley, better known by his stage names Wanz and TeeWanz, is an American R&B singer. He performs in various genres, including rock, R&B, soul, hip-hop, and pop. He was featured on fellow Seattle-based duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' international hit single "Thrift Shop", which received two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
+ show more
17. Ron Sims
1948-. (aged 78)
politician
Ronald Cordell Sims is the former deputy secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, having served in the position from May 8, 2009 to July 2011. He is also a former King County executive and councilmember, and he is the first Black person to hold each role in Washington. Sims ran unsuccessfully for higher office twice:...
+ show more
18. Jim Mattis
1950-. (aged 76)
army officer
military officer
James Norman Mattis is an American military officer who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
+ show more
19. Miesha Tate
1986-. (aged 40)
mixed martial arts fighter
model
Miesha Theresa Tate is an American professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Tate formerly competed for Strikeforce, in which she is a former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. She was also the vice president of ONE Championship. As of...
+ show more
20. Brian Thompson
1959-. (aged 67)
actor
television actor
screenwriter
film actor
film director
Brian Earl Thompson is an American actor. His career began with a small role in the 1984 film The Terminator. He played the villainous "Night Slasher" in the 1986 film Cobra. His first named role was on Werewolf, a horror series that ran during Fox's inaugural broadcasting year of 1987–1988. Thompson has played several characters in the Star Trek franchise—the...
+ show more
21. Douglas Albert Munro
1919-1942 (aged 23)
military personnel
Douglas Albert Munro was a United States Coast Guardsman who was posthumously decorated with the Medal of Honor for an act of "extraordinary heroism" during World War II. He is the only person to have received the medal for actions performed during service in the Coast Guard.
+ show more
22. Duane Davidson
1959-. (aged 67)
politician
Duane A. Davidson is an American accountant and politician who served as the 23rd Washington State Treasurer from 2017 to 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party.
+ show more
23. Craig T. Nelson
1944-. (aged 82)
writer
comedian
screenwriter
actor
film actor
Craig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Hayden Fox in the ABC sitcom Coach (for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series), Deputy Warden Ward Wilson in Stir Crazy (1980), Steve Freeling in Poltergeist (1982), Burt Nickerson in All the Right Moves (1983), Peter Dellaplane...
+ show more
24. Doc Hastings
1941-. (aged 85)
businessperson
politician
Richard Norman "Doc" Hastings is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 4th congressional district from 1995 until his retirement in 2015. The district includes much of central Washington including the Tri-Cities, Yakima, and Moses Lake. The most conservative Republican in Washington's Congressional delegation, he chaired the House Committee on...
+ show more
25. Chobin Zukeran
1958-. (aged 68)
politician
Chobin Zukeran was the mayor of Nanjō, Okinawa, and a former member of the House of Representatives of Japan, representing Okinawa 4th district (southern Okinawa Island and the Sakishima Islands).
+ show more