OLLI CouncilMARIE BASKERVILLE – Bristol With an accomplished background in dance, Marie is the proud founder and Director of the Unity Dance Ensemble and is celebrating 15 years as a performing arts program for children ages 5 to 18 years of age. The Ensemble performs at various venues; schools, organizations, museums, etc. in and around Connecticut. Marie has received awards for her accomplishments as an artist and her contribution to the community. Marie is a member of numerous organizations and clubs in the community and recently worked with Brian Chapman on the opening of the Osher Life Long Learning project, Silver Bells "Been Rich All My Life". Marie is currently a resident of Bristol, CT.
KAY V. BERGIN – Waterbury Leaving academia, she became the first Executive Director of the then new Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women and in this role, worked diligently to eliminate gender discrimination in employment, housing, finance, legal rights, etc. Her appointment as Deputy Banking Commissioner by the late Governor Ella T. Grasso provided a regulatory role over state-licensed financial institutions. Her commitment to feminism continued with the publication of a widely-distributed brochure on equal rights for women in credit; and she testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking on the subject of sex discrimination in banking. Leaving Connecticut, she became New York Regional Director for Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and developed Neighborhood Housing Services programs in many cities and towns in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Returning to her hometown, she brought together her interests in finance and housing and opened offices for Consumer Credit Counseling Services in Waterbury, Torrington, and Danbury. Before retiring, she provided counseling for first-time homebuyers for Neighborhood Housing Services in Waterbury. Over the years, she has served on many state and local boards; ran unsuccessfully for state office; is presently a Board member and treasurer for the Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging; a member of the Town Committee for Waterbury's Independent Party; as president of an Investment Club. And she is pleased to be a member of the OLLI Advisory Board and looks forward to the success of this new program at UConn.
SUSAN BRIA – Southbury The Road to Calabria reads like a novel but is the factual account of Susan’s travels to Italy which develop into the discovery of Calabria, the region of Southern Italy where her family originated. Susan’s interests are reading, writing, travel, ballroom dancing, swimming and gardening. She has agreed to attend the OLLI National Meeting in April 2007 and bring back ideas and information to the OLLI Council.
ARTHUR BRIEGER – Southbury In his free time, Arthur has traveled to the USSR, Britain, France, Israel, Greece, Italy, Central America, Alaska, China and beyond. Since Arthur’s retirement in 1983, he has had a home in Maine, a log cabin in Vermont, a barn and 51 acres in Treadwell, New York (building the cabin and barn were family building projects), and a home in Sayville, Long Island. Arthur is participating in an LLI in Hilton Head, SC and will return to the area in April 2008.
WILLIAM COURTLAND – Southbury At present he is writing a book that examines Chinese Medical theory, Acupressure and Massage and their therapeutic effects on emotional and physical wellbeing.
JOHN DECESARE – Waterbury John holds an A.S. degree from the University of New Haven, a B.B.A. degree from Fairfield University, an M.B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of Bridgeport, and a Sixth Year Certificate from Southern Connecticut State University. Additionally, he has earned Administrative/Supervision Educational Certification.
CLAUDIA DEPALMA – Waterbury After marriage, her commitment to motherhood became her first and foremost priority. She spent long hours teaching her two children the important values of life, such as morals, religion, independence and manners. She developed many enjoyable hobbies. Some of her favorite pastimes still today are cooking and baking, making homemade pasta and gardening. She delights in sharing and teaching these skills to the neighborhood children. Claudia also enjoys collecting post cards and cherishes her time with her two granddaughters – who were both lucky enough to acquire her striking red-hair. She is a proud and active member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. Some of her accomplishments include making an oriental wool rug and helping complete an addition to their home. She also enjoys walking and spoiling her family, including the two dogs. Claudia has become an active member of OLLI and currently is chair of the hospitality committee.
JAMES F. FARNHAM – Woodbury His course in Literature of the Holocaust initiated Judaic Studies at Fairfield. He has taught Existential Literature and American Romanticism and has published studies of Holocaust Literature, Hawthorne, Melville, Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor.
ROBERT JOHN GRADY - Watertown Bob holds a BA in English and Psychology from UConn, a Master’s in Education from Central Connecticut State University, and a Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies in Counseling from Fairfield University. He also attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He also received a Master Certification in Neuro-Linguistic Programming from Eastern Institute in Princeton, New Jersey. Bob taught in Buck’s Hill School in Waterbury for three years, was part of an innovative teaching program at the sixth grade level in Watertown public schools, and then spent thirty-five years teaching at Watertown High School. He has been a member of curriculum committees and evaluation teams in education and has also been active in local politics, as well as participating in community projects. He has held offices in the local teachers’ associations and was President of the Watertown Education Association for the last seven years of his teaching career. Since retirement, Bob has journeyed to forty-seven of the contiguous states, Washington being the only exception. He has also traveled extensively throughout South East Asia, and visits Singapore where his daughter teaches at Nanyang University. Bob is editor of the OLLI Newsletter.
KATHRYN HOULIHAN - Southbury Since her retirement in early 2007, she has become an active member of OLLI, serving as co-chair of the Membership Committee. In April, 2008, she will represent OLLI at UConn at the national conference of Osher Institutes in Phoenix, AZ. Kathryn also volunteers as a facilitator in the family program at The Cove, an organization which helps children and teens to cope with bereavement issues. Currently she is co-facilitating a Trauma, Loss and Transition program for The Cove at a Bridgeport middle school. Having lived in Connecticut since 1980, she recently moved to Heritage Village in Southbury, where she is a member of the New Villagers, the Computer Club and the grants sub-committee of the Heritage Village Long-Range Planning Committee. She also serves as Vice-President of the Celtic Connections Club.
ALLYNE KADISH – Waterbury Allyne was active in the B’nai Birth Youth Organization, the B’nai Shalom Synagogue, and was treasurer for former Waterbury Mayor Bergin’s campaigns and for State Representative Jeff Berger’s campaigns. Allyne also worked in her husband’s CPA office for many years. Now deceased, Milton Kadish was the last treasurer of the City of Waterbury. The couple’s two children and their spouses are now retired from the education field.
TOM KMETZO – Middlebury Judy has traveled extensively in Europe and the Spanish speaking world. She was a docent at the Yale Center for British Art for ten years where she gave tours in both English and Spanish. She is now a docent at the Mattatuck Museum. Judy is an English language conversation tutor at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury and President of the Board of Directors of the organization which strives to improve the English language skills of adult learners. Because of the professional leadership at OLLI and its outstanding course offerings, Judy has decided to become actively involved in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UConn, Waterbury.
MARY-LOUISE REIGNIER – Wolcott She has received grants from AIG and the Freeman Foundation at Cambridge, Massachusetts to study China. These studies culminated in a trip with educators to China. The grant from Critical Languages and Area Studies allowed her to further her studies at Hampshire College. Travels in Mongolia, Russia, Morocco and China were all part of her study on education in these countries. Her interest in traveling has always been to bring new and interesting material back to her students because she firmly believes you have to be interesting and excited about the sharing of information in order for students to connect. Mary Louise is married to Lou Reignier and they have two great children, Michelle and Pierce and two super (but, of course) grandchilden: Lou Lou and Ben.
MURIEL SOLOMON – Waterbury
CONNIE TRIPODI – Waterbury An OLLI presenter since the inaugural session, Connie has taught Jewelry Archaeology and Conversational Italian for Travel. She lives in Waterbury with her husband and five children and travels to Italy annually.
NANCY VIA - Prospect Nancy is a member of the American Library Association, the New England Library Association, the Connecticut Library Association, Phi Delta Kappa, and the Association of State/Local Histories. She is an appointed member of the Prospect Library Board and is a board member of the Prospect Historical Society. Other memberships include the American Legion Auxiliary, Friends of the Prospect Public Library and St. Anthony Ladies Guild. Nancy is enthusiastic about OLLI and UConn and is particularly interested in partnership opportunities it affords.
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