News Briefs – Wings Spring 2026

Philanthropist, business leader, and longtime supporter and friend to Heritage University, John “Jack” Bloxom Jr., passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 92.

Bloxom’s commitment to Heritage University and its students goes back more than 40 years. In the early 1980s, when he first heard about Heritage, he thought of the people who worked for his family businesses, Washington Fruit and Produce and Mount Adams Orchards, and their children. He recognized the limited opportunities they faced without an education.

“I started to get involved with Heritage because of the opportunities they presented to the children of the farmworker families with whom I was so familiar,” said Bloxom during an interview a few years ago.

Bloxom’s impact on the university touched nearly every aspect of the institution. He served on the Board of Directors for 10 years, starting in 1989. During his tenure, he led the university through its first capital campaign, raising $5 million and, ultimately, the construction of the first permanent building on campus, now called the Kathleen Ross SNJM Center, which allowed the university to open a full college library. Over the years, his support helped build many of the university’s cornerstone facilities, including the Arts and Sciences Center, the Gaye and Jim Pigott Commons, the Martha B. Yallup Health Sciences Building, and the Violet Lumley Rau Center, which houses the Jack and Connie Bloxom Classroom.

In addition to his support of the university campus, Bloxom was committed to helping students directly. He and his wife established two endowed scholarships, which will provide funding to students in perpetuity. He also provided support to establish student service projects, including the development of Student Life.

Heritage was only one of many Yakima-area nonprofit organizations supported by Bloxom. He was a third-generation Rotarian who served on 27 different committees within the organization, and he was a benefactor of many Yakima organizations in the areas of education, the arts, social services, healthcare, and the environment.

In recognition of his lifelong service to the Yakima Valley, Jack and his wife, Connie, received the 2018 Ted Robertson Community Service Award, and in 2025, United Way of Central Washington renamed its annual honor the Jack and Connie Bloxom Community Service Award.

At Jack’s request, his celebration of life was held at Heritage. His family requested that contributions made in Jack’s memory be directed to Heritage or organizations that continue his legacy of strengthening the Yakima Valley.

 

For more than two decades, Shawnta DiFalco has answered the same call: go where you’re needed.

That call has taken the Heritage alumna into wildfire zones across Washington state, flood- ravaged communities, and combat deployments in Iraq, Kuwait, and Jordan. It has placed her in command of hundreds of soldiers and millions of dollars in resources. And most recently, it led her to the White House, where she spent more than two years serving as a Military Social Aide, helping presidents and first ladies host some of the world’s most prominent leaders.

Yet despite the global reach of her military service, DiFalco’s motivation remains deeply local. Today, she is back home in Yakima, focused on the role she considers her life’s most meaningful: supporting children and preparing future educators.

DUTY TO COUNTRY AND COMMUNITY

DiFalco’s military career spans 20 years — a commitment marked by constant transitions between civilian life and service, none of which come with guarantees.

Reservists and National Guardsmen go where they are needed. For DiFalco, that has meant responding to natural disasters, providing life- saving aid during flooding, leading an oil spill cleanup in Alaska and leading by serving as a commanding officer. Her responsibilities have extended far beyond the traditional “one weekend a month.”

Her service has also included combat, where she experienced direct fire and the realities of war firsthand.

The return home after deployments can be isolating, she said, a feeling familiar to many service members. DiFalco credits her support systems — what she calls her “teams of women” — for helping her navigate the demands of dual careers.

“My ‘civilian team’ in the school district has always been sensitive to how difficult it is to juggle two very different occupations,” she said. “I could not do this without my staff understanding and supporting me.

“And my daughters, they learned resilience. They had to, and it wasn’t easy, and I’ve always been incredibly grateful for their acceptance of this work.”

A WHITE HOUSE CHAPTER

That sense of teamwork carried into DiFalco’s most unusual assignment yet: White House Military Social Aide. She was serving as an Operations Officer in the Pentagon’s Office of the Secretary of Defense when a supervisor encouraged her to apply for the role. The position requires commissioned officers from all military branches to assist the President and First Lady with protocol, guest engagement, and event logistics at high-profile gatherings.

The selection process was rigorous, including multiple interviews and a year-long “Yankee White” background investigation — one of the highest security clearances granted to personnel working near the First Family. When she was chosen, DiFalco became the first and only Army National Guard member to hold the role.

Beginning her service in 2023, DiFalco entered a world defined less by military operations and more by diplomacy. She helped facilitate visits from global leaders during NATO’s 75th anniversary celebration and assisted with events surrounding the state funeral of President Jimmy Carter, welcoming former presidents and first ladies from across administrations.

But among the many high-profile moments, one stood out most: meeting a group of “Rosie the Riveters,” the women who stepped into industrial roles during World War II.

“They were amazing patriots,” DiFalco said. “They knew what their country needed from them, and they went to work and did it. I relate to that.”

SEEING WOMEN LEAD

Her White House experience also highlighted the evolving role of women in leadership. At several events, including ceremonies focused on women’s health and safety, the military aide team was composed entirely of women — a milestone not lost on DiFalco.

She found a particularly meaningful connection with First Lady Jill Biden, a fellow educator. In one quiet conversation, DiFalco shared that she planned to return to Yakima to teach at Heritage. “Dr. Biden said people back home must be proud,” DiFalco recalled. “She told me that experiences like this put you in a position to impact others — especially young women — by showing them what’s possible.”

BREAKING FREE FROM STATISTICS

Long before the White House or military command, DiFalco’s life began in circumstances that might have predicted a very different outcome. Raised in a chaotic home, she left at age 15 and relied on the support of teachers, coaches, and a special family who took her in. Their belief gave her the stability to succeed academically and planted the seed for her future in education.

“If it wasn’t for the Dunnings (her foster family), Mr. Iverson, Mr. Maurus, Mr. Stewart, and Mrs. Hershaw (teachers at her school), I would be in a nmuch different place.”

After high school, she enlisted in the Army, gaining discipline and direction while earning the GI Bill that would later support her college education. She completed a degree in English, married, and became a mother to two daughters.

Years later, she felt drawn to teaching. She enrolled at Heritage University, earned a Master in Teaching, and began working in Yakima Valley classrooms. Still, she sensed her impact could grow. She pursued a doctoral degree in educational leadership while simultaneously rejoining the military through the National Guard and officer candidacy training.

Balancing parenting, work, academics, and service tested her resilience but also reinforced her purpose.

After earning her doctorate, she became a principal and later Executive Director of Special Programs for the Grandview School District. Along the way, she joined Heritage’s faculty as an adjunct professor, preparing the next generation of educators — a role she has held for a decade.

“HOW CAN I ADD VALUE?”

Through every chapter — soldier, educator, mother, and White House aide — DiFalco has carried the same guiding question.

“How can I add value?”

Her White House service offered a rare glimpse into the humanity of presidents and their families, moments that reinforced her belief in service and connection. Seeing former presidents and first ladies together without political divisions, she said, restored her faith in collaboration and community.

Her own journey, she reflected, is proof of what happens when others step in with support. The teachers who believed in her changed the trajectory of her life, and she now works to provide that same encouragement to students.

“I get to pay that forward in my work in education,” she said. “Just as I healed parts of my childhood by being a good mom for my girls, I get to help young people heal and grow through learning. Life really does come full circle.”

And so, after global travel, military command, and White House service, DiFalco’s focus remains grounded in Yakima — in classrooms, in mentorship, and in the quiet but powerful work of helping children see what is possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shawnta DiFalco’s experiences as a White House Military Social Aide could fill a book. Here are a few highlights.

WHAT SKILLS DID YOU MOST NEED FOR THIS ROLE?

First, I had to study guest lists and memorize names and positions. Then, to create a good experience for those in attendance at White House events — which is your main job — that might require your conversation skills or your ability to dance. You do what’s needed.

I’ve held famous babies, I’ve watched over Paul Simon’s guitar, and I’ve cleaned a spilled beverage off the Secretary of State’s suit jacket.

WERE THERE GUESTS WITH WHOM YOU HAD A PARTICULARLY INTERESTING CONVERSATION?

Many. After spending time with Michael J. Fox, I shared my admiration for him and said I thought he provided a lot of hope to others. He grabbed my hand and told me he wasn’t half as courageous as those who serve in the military. Talking with former Washington State governor Jay Inslee, I showed him a photo of the Washington State National Guard when we were activated to fight wildfires. He asked how someone from Yakima had gotten all the way to the White House. I started to tell him, and then I had to tell him to sit down because the President was coming, which ended up on the news! Later, when I checked my phone, all my friends had sent me screenshots of me telling the governor to have a seat!

Hands down, the best interaction I experienced was with former President George W. Bush before President Carter’s funeral. He walked in to greet the Clinton family in the inner sanctum prior to the event. He walked around the corner, looked at President Clinton, clapped his hands together, and said, “We’re back in the game, baby!” To which President Clinton laughed heartily.

AND YOU MET ROBERT DE NIRO?

Yes. A fellow guest approached him, insisted they knew each other, and cozied up for a selfie. Bob — that’s what he asked to be called— looked at me after the man walked away and said, “I have no idea who the hell that was!”

HOW ABOUT BILL NYE?

He lived up to his reputation as a nice guy. He was super happy to take a ton of selfies with us in the State Dining Room.

AND MARSHAWN LYNCH, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS’ BELOVED RUNNING BACK?

Charming and personable. At the end of the evening, he asked me to drive him home and tried to hand me his car keys.

HOW ABOUT BONO, U2 FRONTMAN?

I met him at the Presidential Medal of Freedom event. Even at the White House, famous people are asked for autographs, and people want their attention, and it can be physically and emotionally tiring for them. Military social aids are there to protect their privacy. So I assisted Bono, Denzel Washington, Magic Johnson, and the late great Jane Goodall to a quiet area. I felt very protective of them all.

AND LYNDA CARTER, AKA WONDER WOMAN?

That was awesome! I got to see the iconic “Wonder Woman spin” in the China Room! Some Secret Service guys asked, and she delivered!

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SPEND TIME WITH THE OBAMAS, THE BUSHES, AND THE CLINTONS ALL IN ONE PLACE?

The interaction between the past presidents is so unique — they’ve had a shared experience unlike any other. They’re no longer under the scrutiny and the pressure of the office, so there’s a lightness and a mutual respect and just a lot of smiles. I was really privileged to be able to see them interact in a way that was so lighthearted after all their responsibilities were behind them.

 

Elaine Harvey has gathered huckleberries her whole life. But a few years ago, her experience with them began to change. They seemed smaller and less plentiful.

Then one day, Harvey, a member of the Kamíłpa Band of the Yakama Nation, was washing her just- picked berries when she spied a tiny flesh-colored larvae amid the fruit. She didn’t know it at the time, but what she saw was a spotted wing drosophila, a fruit fly native to Southeast Asia, first seen in California in 2008. Harvey, who holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Conservation, knew the worm might be the cause of the change in huckleberries she and others had been observing.

For years, Harvey worked to get government agencies to study the troubling situation — to no avail.

Then, in 2024, a connection she had to Heritage University led to action, ultimately resulting in the creation of a research project undertaken last summer by Heritage environmental science majors — all Yakama.

What the students documented in 10 weeks of research may ultimately signal the end of the spotted wing drosophila’s presence in the traditional huckleberry fields of the Yakama people.

FROM WORRY TO ACTION

The change in the huckleberry is troubling to many Yakama people. It’s a sacred ‘first food,’ a huge part of native life and cultural identity.

The “spotted wing,” as project participants would come to refer to it, lays its eggs inside berries as they ripen. The larvae feed on the fruit, causing berries to soften and rot. Like all invasive species, they quickly infiltrate their host plants, ultimately destroying ecosystems.

Harvey knew what the huckleberry might be up against, and in early 2024, a chance meeting with Jessica Black, Ph.D., director of Heritage’s Center for Indigenous Health, Culture & the Environment, revived conversations they’d had about steps that might be taken to protect the important fruit.

Harvey had worked for Yakama Nation Fisheries and Wildlife for several years, and Heritage had a longstanding relationship with the tribe, and both women were ready to ask the tribe for its attention and support.

“At that moment at the Center, we had everything in place — funding, the ability to help with leadership for the project, equipment, and relationships. The timing was right to try to get something done.”

After months of meetings, the Tribal Council passed a resolution in support of the research on Yakama land and assigned Cyrus Dick, invasive species coordinator with Yakama Nation Wildlife, as the lead research scientist and mentor for the Heritage students.

The work on behalf of the Yakama people would be led by the Yakama Nation and executed by Heritage students of the Yakama tribe.

THE DAILY WORK OF RESEARCH

By June 2025, it was time for the student researchers to come on board. Ilene Goudy, Kyal Shoulderblade, James Williams, and Virginia Yelechchin, along with another student — Corey Edgar from Northwest Indian College — joined the team. Each brought their own experience and personal reasons for wanting to take part.

“When I started picking huckleberries with my mom, I could barely walk,” said Williams. “Hearing about this work last year really struck a nerve back to my childhood. I had to jump at the opportunity.”

“I just had this deep feeling that I wanted to be part of this project,” said Goudy. “I want to learn how to advocate for first foods, whether it’s a fish or water or huckleberries or roots.”

As the students prepared to begin their work, Dick created maps, established collection methods, taught the students species identification methodology, and showed them how to use the spatial data collection app “Survey123.”

They created the bait — a mixture of yeast, sugar, and water. The students filled plastic sacks that would act as traps, then made their first of many three-hour drives to the closed area of the Yakama reservation.

Each week, they set 30 to 40 traps — almost 400 over the course of the summer. At least once a week, they checked each trap for the spotted wing.

Upon their return to the Yakama Nation Wildlife office, students examined the contents of each sack, then moved whatever insect may have climbed inside to under a microscope for more accurate observation.

“The first two weeks, we didn’t find a single one,” said Williams. “Then the third week, we started seeing the results we were looking for.”

When they finally found one, Dick made sure the significance was noted.

“Cyrus said, ‘That’s never happened before — you are all part of history now,’” Williams said. “That was exciting.”

By summer’s end, 17 fruit flies had been found, for the first official documentation of the spotted wing drosophila on the Yakama Nation reservation and in the Gifford National Forest — identified by students.

INTEREST FROM POTENTIAL PARTNERS

Word on the findings has spread since then. “The National Forest Service, as well as other tribes, are very interested in what’s happening,” Black said. “I think there’s going to be a concerted effort over the next few years to get on top of this. “It could very well lead to a much larger effort in the Pacific Northwest.”

The Yakama Nation scientists and the Heritage students will present their research methods and findings to the Yakama Nation Tribal Council in the spring.

To everyone’s delight, the work will continue this summer. Black is working with Yakama Nation Wildlife scientists on research objectives, with Heritage providing two additional student research stipends for 2026.

NO HERBICIDES OR PESTICIDES

Since huckleberries are culturally sensitive, the tribe won’t use herbicides or insecticides to kill the spotted wing. “We have to find solutions outside of the ‘norm,’” Dick said. “One of those is ‘biocontrol,’ which means methods that utilize living organisms to reduce pest populations.”

Eradication methods might include fungi parasitoids, which are parasitic fungi that infect and kill their host, in this case the spotted wing. Another possibility is nematode bacteria viruses, which would be natural predators of the Drosophila.

Prescribed burns — where planned, intentionally lit fires are managed by experts under specific, safe weather conditions — could also be used. It’s a management effort that’s been used by indigenous peoples to manage huckleberry fields for thousands of years.

THE WORK CONTINUES

“The students dedicated a lot of work toward this project,” Dick said. “It’s important to them but also to our tribal members that we continue what they’ve done and not let it disappear. Infestations with invasive pests grow fast, so we need to keep going.”

“What we’re telling the elders is that there’s room for us to help you, to take a load off your plate,” said Shoulderblade. “The salmon, the deer, the plants all gave their lives to nourish us. I think doing research for us, by us, as Yakamas is super important.”

Dick said the work will continue to build on the pilot study conducted last summer as researchers explore additional collection and monitoring methods.

Dick would also like to see outreach to tribal members expand.

“We’ve sent emails and posted flyers at multiple sites with photos of the spotted wing and a note to ‘visit this website for more information or to report a sighting.’”

“The huckleberry becoming less plentiful is a day none of us want to see,” Dick said. “And we don’t want the students’ data to go idle or be forgotten.”

“Our role is to help train the next generation of natural resource managers and stewards,” said Black. “With strong partners like the Yakama Nation, that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

 

Huckleberries: A Crossroad of Culture and Commerce

Aside from their cultural importance, huckleberries are also a sought-after agroforestry commodity. The small, intensely flavored fruit is in high demand for everything from pies and ice cream to syrups and jellies. In active seasons, more than 1,000 commercial harvesting permits are issued on Washington public lands, with buyers paying pickers $25–$30 per gallon. At specialty markets, prices can reach $40 per pound — reflecting both scarcity and the labor required to gather them by hand.

Huckleberries are one of several crops that fall under the agroforestry label, alongside wild mushrooms such as shiitakes and morels, floral greens, and medicinal plants. Harvested from forest ecosystems rather than cultivated fields, these non-timber forest products contribute tens of millions of dollars annually across the Pacific Northwest, with huckleberries representing a meaningful share.

That economic dimension underscores the importance of the Heritage University students’ research on multiple levels. Their documentation of spotted wing drosophila on Yakama lands is not only about protecting a sacred first food — it also safeguards a forest-based economic resource supporting harvesters, small businesses, and regional specialty markets.

The work has been supported by funding through several federal grants, including a USDA grant administered through Ecotrust.

“We are really pleased to support this important work for this key regional species, the huckleberry,” said Kara Briggs, vice president of Ecotrust’s Tribal Lands and Waters Stewardship program.

The investment reflects what the students’ findings make clear: preserving huckleberries strengthens cultural sovereignty, ecological stewardship, and Washington’s broader agroforestry economy.