Courses

Becca Allen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and End-of-Life Guide. She helps individuals and their families navigate their end-of-life with thoughtful planning, compassion, and support. Her particular focus is on completing Advanced Directives and getting a person's affairs in order. Becca has more than 25 years of experience in leadership positions in the fields of behavioral health, homelessness, and philanthropy.

John Altson has been involved in hi-tech since 1961. During the years 1965-1967 John managed the team that wrote the software that flew the SR-71 spy plane missions.

Julie Averbach recently graduated from Yale University with a double major in History of Art and Psychology. Her interests encompass areas as diverse as Indian graphic novels, activist poster art, and decorative arts of the Belle Époque. Julie leads smARTee, a virtual arts enrichment platform that promotes museum access and emotional well-being. To date, she has led virtual art museum tours for 4,000+ people from over 21 countries. 

Don Barkin MA received an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.A. in English literature from Cambridge University. He's taught undergraduate seminars in poetry and prose writing at Yale for several years and [ more ]

Phillip L. Beard has taught modernist literature in universities for over twenty years, (including a Fulbright year in Germany, and in an abroad program in Vienna) has published articles on twentieth century literature and philosophy and is currently an editor for the Bulletin of the George Santayana Society

Harriet Bergmann, after retiring as Professor of English at the US Naval Academy in 2002, moved to New Haven. Since then she has taught creative writing at Yale and works a [ more ]

Susan Birnbaum, owner and operator of SusanSez NYC Walkabouts is a native New Yorker obsessed with its history and food. Since 2002, Susan has been a licensed NYC Sightseeing Guide. Susan has had a lifelong interest in history (Hunter College - bachelor's in history ) and is a member of The Bronx, Brooklyn , and New York Historical Societies .In 2010, Susan was the recipient of The Bronx Tourism Award from The Bronx Tourism Council for her unparalleled commitment to sharing the rich history of The Bronx.

Dr. Marc J. Blosveren holds Chemistry and Psychology degrees, and a Doctorate in Science Administration. He has done extensive work in Curriculum Review and Development, was the Science Supervisor (retired) for the New Haven Board of Education and was an OSHA Health & Safety Consultant. He was an Adjunct Professor at Quinnipiac University and Western Connecticut State University.

Carol Boynton received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Albertus Magnus College. After retiring, she enrolled in bridge lessons which have led to many enjoyable years of playing bridge. She hopes to help others to develop an interest in playing this game which involves memory, skill and perseverance.

Gabriella Brand is a bilingual educator, writer, and public speaker. She has over thirty years' experience as a teacher of French language and literature. In addition, she has served as an intern at the United Nations during her university years. She was a program director at an Alliance Francaise. She holds a diploma from the Universite de Neuchatel, Switzerland and an MA in French pedagogy from Middlebury College, Vermont.'

Rita Brieger has been teaching bridge in the New Haven area for 35 years. She is a Bridge Life Master, which is the highest ranking you can achieve in bridge and is also an accredited American Contract Bridge League teacher.

Leo has led hikes in and around Connecticut for more than 25 years.

The Haven String Quartet embodies a different way to be a professional string quartet – one that is grounded in the Music Haven community. Music Haven is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing free individual music lessons, mentoring, group classes, ensemble and leadership development opportunities, and a safe, supportive place to play to young people (ages 6-18) in New Haven.

The Haven String Quartet (HSQ) members divide their time between the rigorous performance calendar of the string quartet and the demands of a full teaching schedule. In the mornings, they rehearse as a quartet. In the afternoons, each of the quartet members teaches a studio of 15-20 Music Haven students, including one-on-one lessons, weekly studio classes, coaching student ensembles, and mentoring the young musicians in their studios.

Leonard Engel, Professor Emeritus of English at Quinnipiac University, served as Chair of the English Dept for 18 years; in 1989, he was selected "Outstanding Faculty of the Year"; in 2013, he received Quinnipiac's "Excellence in Teaching Award." He has edited seven collections of essays beginning with The Big Empty: Essays on the Land as Narrative in 1994 and concluding with The Films of Clint Eastwood: Critical Perspectives in [ more ]

Justin Farmer is a community organizer, environmentalist, and form City Councilor who served Hamden's 5th District for 6 years. Justin has organized a host of issues both locally and at the state level ranging from the abolition of prison gerrymandering, right to council, and reproductive justice issues. Currently he's the Lead Organizer of the Six Lakes Park Coalition which is working to clean up a 102.5-acre brownfield in Southern Hamden. He also hosts a Radio segment on New Haven Independents WNHH 103.5 Just-In-Time Conversations

Joel N. Feimer PhD taught undergraduate and graduate level English Literature and Composition at Mercy College in New York from 1967 to 2010. He earned a PhD in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York in 1983. He [ more ]

Karen Fenichel, DMD,  has taught Mah Jongg at several venues including synagogues and adult education at high school. She has played more than 10 years. It is a good way to meet new people and make friends.

Alan Franzi, MS C-IAYT, PAS has over 25 years' experience teaching Yoga and doing Yoga and Posture Therapy in the New Haven and Shoreline area. Alan is a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) thorough the International Association of Yoga Therapists. He is a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist (PAS), trained by the Egoscue Institute and a Level 3 Somatic Movement Center® Certified Exercise Instructor.

A retired registered nurse, taught to knit with her right hand at the age of 5. Taught under duress because she is left handed. In the 1960's learned how to crochet, when crafts were the popular hobby. Also, less likely to drop a stitch while raising a family and answering the office phone. Now enjoys passing on the knowledge to the younger generation.

IfeMichelle Gardin is Executive Director of KulturallyLIT, a LITerary Arts organization founded in 2019 to enhance awareness of the Arts of the African Diaspora, focused on the LITerary Arts. KulturallyLIT produces an annual LITFest, which in 2024 commemoratted the literary legacy of iconic American Author James Baldwin and DiasporaCON, a conference focused on opportunities in the Comic Book and Graphic Novel industry.
IfeMichelle serves on the New Haven Cultural Affairs Commission, Board of Directors for Collective Consciousness Theater and The Greater New Haven African American Historical Society.

IfeMichelle is a Group Facilitator for the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven's Neighborhood Leadership Program and Launch Consultants CT
https://www.kulturallylit.org

Frances S. Grodzinsky PhD is Professor Emerita Computer Science and Information Technology at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and Past Co-Director of the Hersher Institute of Ethics.

Serena Guerrette for over 40 years, has been a docent, trained and served on the Docent Council at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, reaching the position of President of the Council. Currently, she serves as a docent at the Yale Center for British Art. Ms Guerrette retired from the YCBA's Research and Education Department in 2013.

Harvey Heyman received a BA from Brown University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He retired in 2022 as IT Director and Business Planner for a hospital-owned physical therapy company. Harvey is a passionate consumer of current events and feels we are at a pivotal point in the health of American democracy.

Lewis House PhD is a graduate of New York University and a Professor Emeritus of Southern Connecticut State University. He is the published author of several books and many articles. Currently he is a Consultant to Educational Testing Service. He is a veteran of the US Military.

Marcia Jamron has been fascinated by travel since early childhood. College, followed by family duties, have not dulled the anticipation of a new place to see and learn all about. She applies this urge to look for new and different places to the ILR bus and zoom trips she plans and conducts.

Dr. Hans-Christian Jasch is a lawyer and legal historian who earned his JD with an award-winning study of the state-secretary of the Reich's Ministry of Interior, Wilhelm Stuckart, and his role in Nazi-"Jewish Policy" leading to the Holocaust. From 2014-2020, Dr. Jasch was the executive director of the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial. He now works as a German Federal civil servant on matters of public security and continues to publish in the field of Holocaust research and aftermath studies.

Hedda Kopf taught literature and gender studies at Quinnipiac University for more than three decades. She continues to develop and lead book discussions at ILR as well as at several public libraries and other institutions in Connecticut. Hedda volunteers as a reading mentor in a New Haven public school and is the author of Understanding Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents.

Sharif Kronemer PhD graduated as a PhD in neuroscience from Yale University where he studied the neural mechanisms of visual perception. He is now a postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Health where he is using neuroimaging and machine learning to explore the complexities of human cognition and perception.

Mike Lawlor is a nationally recognized expert on criminal justice reform which was a major focus of his 24 years as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives and as former Governor Dannel P. Malloy's criminal justice advisor. Lawlor authored the 1999 Red Flag law, the first state in the country to pass this law and now considered a national model for preventing mass shootings. As a member of Governor Malloy's administration, Prof. Lawlor developed and implemented initiatives including juvenile justice, bail, and drug policy reforms; post Sandy Hook gun control legislation, and repeal of the death penalty, as well as initiatives that addressed racial disparities in the criminal justice system and mass incarceration. He is currently Acting Associate Dean of the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven.

Thornton Lockwood is Professor of Philosophy at Quinnipiac University (with a joint appointment in Environmental Studies). His research focuses on ancient Greek and Roman ethical and political thought, and he has published the co-edited volumes Aristotle's Politics: A Critical Guide (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and Aristote Politique VII: La constitution « selon nos vœux ». His research on Aeschylus, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero has been published in numerous peer-reviewed research journals. He is currently at work on two overlapping projects: He has written several pieces on the moral status of non-human animals in Aristotle's ethical and political works, which he plans to develop into a monography tentatively titled Animals in the City by Nature: Aristotle's Environmental Philosophy. He is also finishing up a book-length manuscript entitled Aristotle on Justice: The Virtues of Citizenship (currently under contract at Cambridge University Press).

Nick Maiorino, a member of ILR for 9 years, is a life-long learner with more than 60 years of teaching experience. He holds a BS degree in Education; MS degree in Statistics, Measurement and Evaluation; 6th Year Certificate in Administration and Supervision; and advanced degrees in the sciences. While his main focus is science, he has offered courses in his many other interests such as history, music, and current events. He currently serves on the ILR Board of Governors and the Curriculum Committee.

Gwyneth Maloy and Phil Ratnasamy are currently medical students at the Yale School of Medicine. Both have a strong interest in musculoskeletal health and education, and hope to pursue careers in orthopaedic surgery after graduation next year. They will be joined by Dr. Erin Stockwell, an orthopaedic trauma surgeon and assistant professor in the department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Yale

Mithat "Mito" Mardin PhD was born in Istanbul, Turkey and is a graduate of the German High School there. He received a PhD in Organic Chemistry, Physics and Microbiology from the University of Göttingen. He worked at Bayer Pharmaceuticals for 33 years in various [ more ]

Dan May is an emeritus professor of geology at the University of New Haven. He is an alum of Stanford and UC Santa Barbara; served on the faculty at Victoria University in New Zealand; in Ohio at Bowling Green State University and the University of Findlay; and since 2013 at New Haven. His geological roles focused on regional mapping, mineral resource exploration, natural hazard assessments, and ultimately environmental remediation and risk management. He enjoyed conducting or directing field projects in more than a dozen states as well as New Zealand and other South Pacific islands. Dan was a senior university administrator in the latter half of his career and served as the chief academic officer for both Findlay and New Haven.

Harold Miller, Bridge Life Master, is a retired CPA and native of New Haven and teaches the basics of bridge for beginners.

Nini Munro-Chmura ME has a Masters in Guidance and Counseling, and a Sixth Year in Counseling. She was an original Head Start teacher in New Haven, and a high school guidance counselor. She has led flora and fauna walks for Audubon, Sierra, and Appalachian Mt. Clubs.

Marie Musco is a retired nurse and has been a resident of Orange for 45 years. She enjoys teaching the game to friends and family.

Nils Pilotte, Assistant Professor of Biology at Quinnipiac University and is a molecular biologist who studies the genetics and DNA structure of disease-causing parasites. He is interested in understanding how tools such as CRISPR-Cas can be used to both improve human health and to facilitate the study of pathogenic organisms.

Lois Procopion was born in New Britain, Connecticut. She received her BS Degree from CCSU. She retired as a Project Manager at Aetna Healthcare in 2014. For the past 45 years, Lois has been an active Justice of the Peace. She has been a gourmet cook for over 50 years and has won first prize in various local baking competitions. Her specialty is bread-making.

Rachel Ranis has sociology degrees from Brandeis and Yale universities. Her research on social welfare issues, aging and vocational education has taken her to Pakistan, Mexico, Columbia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. She taught at the University of Bridgeport, the University of Maryland, Howard University and is retired from Quinnipiac University.

Jim Rhodes PhD graduated from Holy Cross College as a philosophy major and earned his PhD from Fordham University specializing in Medieval Literature and the works of James Joyce. He taught for many years in the English Department at Southern Connecticut State University and is the author of the book Poetry Does Theology: Chaucer, Grosseteste, and the Pearl Poet.

Natalie Semmel is a senior at Yale University majoring in Film and Media Studies. At Yale, her studies focus primarily on amateur small-gauge film. She has worked at the Beinecke Library since Sept. 2022 in social media and is part of the undergraduate tour guide team.

Gene Shannon, along with his wife, Mary Anne, founded Shannon Fine Arts, Inc. in 1979. The gallery specialized in American paintings from 1840 to 1950, focusing on The Hudson River School, American Impressionism, and American Modernism, among other styles.

In 1997, Gene and Mary Anne, together with their daughter, Sandra Germain, expanded their vision by establishing Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers in Milford, Connecticut.

The company quickly gained international recognition, supported by their beautifully designed color-printed and online catalogs. Consignments have arrived from across the United States and Europe. Since its inception, Shannon's has achieved nearly $200 million in sales, solidifying its reputation as a leader in the art auction world.

Music Director Designate of New Haven Symphony, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra (Navarre Symphony Orchestra), Spain.

Howard L. Taubin, M.D.. is a graduate of the University of Virginia Medical School.  Residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Yale University School of Medicine.

James Vanderberg is the Educator for High School, University and Community Engagement at the Yale Center for British Art. He graduated with a master's in fine arts from CUNY Hunter College in 2008. Vanderberg has taught university and high school studio art and art history for over a decade at Fordham University, Nassau Community College, the Art Students League of New York, and Saint John's Preparatory School. His work is collected nationally, and recent paintings and drawings are available at Gallerie Gris in Hudson New York. In 2019 Vanderberg moved to rural Connecticut and left classroom teaching after the pandemic. This new landscape and connection to a historical collection of 17th and 18th century art, as well as the resources of a university museum have influenced his work in surprising ways. When he is not painting and drawing, he creates an ongoing autobiographical comic called Lunch.

Rabbi Alvin Wainhaus, son of Holocaust survivors, was raised in an Orthodox environment in Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Brooklyn College with a degree in philosophy, he earned a Master of Education degree from NYU and was ordained in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1972. Rabbi Wainhaus served congregations in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and . . . [ more ]

Kate Johns Walton majored in Anthropology and obtained teaching certification while attending Goddard College. She obtained her Master's Degree in Museum Education from George Washington University with field work done at the Smithsonian. As a graduate intern she was appointed Museum Teacher by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Museum of Comparative Zoology and the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. She later developed and [ more ]