Campus OLLI: Osher Lifelong Institute (OLLI) within the Greater Burlington Area

Geri Amori, PhD, brings more than 30 years as a healthcare risk professional and more than 45 years as an adult educator to her perspective on how to be a better patient. Geri has taught healthcare professionals in 49 of the 50 states. In the “refocused” stage of life, she now wants to “bring it home” to empower patients with tools to improve their experience of healthcare. Healthcare is a system. We are in it together.

William Averyt is an Associate Professor Emeritus for UVM’s Grossman School of Business. His areas of teaching and research include international trade, legal and political environment of business. He was tour guide at various museums including President Truman Little White Museum, Key West, Florida; Historic Walking Tour of Key West with Historic Tours of America; and the Shelburne Museum. William was a Research Fellow at the Winterthur Museum. He was a Fulbright Fellow in France. He earned a Ph.D. from Yale University; M.A from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Diplome, Institut d’Etudes Européennes from the Université de Strasbourg; and a B.A. from the University of Alabama.

Carolyn Bauer is currently the Associate Curator at Shelburne Museum. After receiving her B.A. in Art History from Lawrence University (Appleton, WI) in 2012, she attended and received her M.A. in Art History with Museum Training from The George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) in 2014. She started her over 7 year association with Shelburne Museum in 2014 and has since organized over 20 exhibitions.

Liza Baker is an employee wellness consultant and health coach, author, blogger, podcaster, and COO of a family of 4 spread across the globe from Vermont to Hong Kong. She brings her passion, knowledge, and experience to the table to help you reach your health goals in a simple, sustainable fashion. Liza is certified in Integrative Nutrition® health coaching, has an AAS in culinary arts, and has taught nutrition, cooking, and meal planning to clients aged 7-97. You can learn more about her at simply-healthcoaching.com.

Miriam Block has been director of the Mill Museum since 2016. She holds a BFA in Textiles from RISD and formerly worked as a weave designer at a textile mill in South Carolina. She is a teaching artist registered with the Vermont Arts Council. In 2019, Miriam earned her M.ED from Saint Michael’s College with a focus on museum education.

Mark Breen is the Senior Meteorologist and Planetarium Director at the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium in St. Johnsbury, VT. His Eye on the Sky programs on Vermont Public have been heard weekdays for over 40 years. He provides a wide range of primary and secondary education programs, and has been an adjunct faculty member of Lyndon State (now NVU-Lyndon) and CCV for several years.

Bridget Butler, AKA The Bird Diva, has been working in conservation and environmental education for more than 20 years throughout New England. Her business Bird Diva Consulting has her traveling across Vermont delivering presentations, leading bird outings, and surveying birds for landowners. Bridget has worked for the Audubon Society in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts and helped to create Audubon Vermont’s Forest Bird Initiative. Her Slow Birding work has been featured on numerous podcasts including the American Birding Podcast, Ray Brown’s Talkin’ Birds Podcast, and the South Africa podcast The Birding Life. As the Bird Diva, she feels that birding is for anyone who enjoys and is curious about birds – if you take delight in noticing birds, you are a birder. Bridget lives in St. Albans, Vermont with her husband and three young children.

Rev. Don Chatfield, Ph.D. is an interfaith minister and the Lead Pastor of All Souls Interfaith Gathering. Rev. Chatfield previously served as executive director of the Osage Forest of Peace and has an extensive background in teaching meditation, mysticism, and spiritual tools for everyday living. He and his wife Karen are co-founders of two schools of spiritual direction, training compassionate spiritual companions.

Helen Cowan oversees the milk-to-cheese operation as the Head Cheesemaker. Helen graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Biological Sciences and concentration in Animal Physiology. She worked her way to cheesemaking from animal husbandry, starting with calves, pigs, and milking holsteins. Prior to coming to the Farm, she worked at a small goat dairy in Cornwall, VT where she learned to make and age natural rind cheeses alongside herd and pasture management. Helen loves the intricate and interconnected systems that come together to make each batch of cheese unique. When she’s not making cheese, Helen loves foraging in the mountains and making block prints.

Mike DeBonis returned to his home state to join the GMC’s staff as executive director in 2014. In 1996, Mike completed a southbound Appalachian Trail thru-hike and completed hikes of the Long Trail in 2004, 2017, and 2021. Mike earned a bachelor’s degree in natural resources from Johnson State College and a Master of Forestry degree from Yale University. Mike and his wife, Jennifer, make their home in Moretown along with their two dogs.

Mary Rose Dougherty, MFA, is a poet, teacher, and editor at Lotus Writing Practice. She edits the Poetry Society’s literary journal, The Mountain Troubadour. She supports wellness through writing with Becky Widschwenter through Embodied Poetry Community Workshops. Her work has been published in Calyx, Yankee, and VTDigger. Mary Rose received the Artistic Merit Award from the Writer’s Circle in Warwick, RI from New Hampshire Poet Laureate Patricia Fargnoli. Mary Rose earned an MFA in Writing from Vermont College and has enjoyed residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and The Frost Place of Franconia, N.H.

Katherine Elmer, MS, is a clinically-trained community herbalist and lecturer since 2012 on Herbal Medicine, Integrative Health and Food Systems topics at the University of Vermont. Katherine completed professional training through the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism. Katherine is co-founder, co-director and a clinical herbalist at the Railyard Apothecary (270 Battery Street) and Spoonful Herbals (a local educational non-profit).

Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, PhD, is associate professor of religion and director of the Humanities Center at UVM. She writes and teaches about Islam and Muslims, especially in South Asia, and about religion, race, language, and imperialism. She is an award-wining teacher-scholar recognized for her ability to teach hard topics in nuanced ways. Morgenstein Fuerst co-hosts the popular Keeping it 101: a Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion podcast.

Bryn Geffert is the dean of libraries and a professor of history at the University of Vermont.

Aaron J. Goldberg is a retired attorney from Burlington, VT. He is the Co- Founder of the Lost Mural Project (2010) and the Vermont Contributor to the online New England Jewish Historical Collaborative Resources Guide (2021, a downloadable pdf). He has taught legal courses at Champlain College, has given talks on legal issues, and contributed to published estate materials. He received his B.A. in American Studies from Brandeis University and received his law degree (J.D.) from Suffolk University Law School.

P. Jeffrey Potash is a former Professor of History at Trinity College. He has taught and published extensively on local history topics. Among other works, he is the co-author of “Freedom Unity: A History of Vermont” (2004) and the author of “Vermont’s Burned Over District: Patterns of Community Development and Religious Activity 1776-1850” (1991). His book, “Vermont’s Burned-Over District,” evinces his lifelong fascination with the interplay between religious and larger community dynamics. He is the Archivist of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue. He received his B.A. in History from UVM, and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago.

Goldberg and Potash are contributing archivists for Vermont Public Television production of Burlington’s Little Jerusalem, available on vpt.org and lostmural.org websites.

Garrett M. Graff, a distinguished magazine journalist and bestselling historian, covers politics, technology, and national security. He is a contributor to WIRED and CNN, and the author of multiple books, including the #1 national bestseller “The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11,” as well as “The Threat Matrix: Inside Robert Mueller’s FBI,” and “Raven Rock,” about the government’s Cold War Doomsday plans.

Angie Grove is the Executive Director of the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum, and an alumni of the University of Vermont graduate History program.

Huck Gutman is Professor of English Emeritus at UVM. He was also Chief of Staff to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Larry Hamberlin, Ph.D. is an emeritus professor of music at Middlebury College, where he taught courses in Western classical music, American music, jazz, and popular music. His research has focused on early American music including the Tin Pan Alley era, opera, and the American songbook.

Patsy Jamieson is a culinary professional with over three decades experience in food media. She is a Cooking Teacher and Tour Leader for OLLI at the University of Vermont. Patsy is the author of Celebrating Herbs and Cooking for Health & Flavor and has developed recipes for various Reader’s Digest and EatingWell cookbooks. Patsy has appeared on numerous television shows, including Good Morning America, Today, and Sara’s Secrets. She is the former Food Editor and Test Kitchen Director of EatingWell. Patsy holds a Grand Diploma and Professional Certificate from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris.

Kirk is a Master Sound Healer, Owner of Evolvlove Sound Therapy, and Evolvlove Sound and Light Academy. He has been practicing sound therapy since 2011, training new practitioners since 2016, and leading hundreds of sound bath meditations since 2013.

Maeve Kim has taught birding classes for OLLI, CVU Access, MMU After Dark, and several libraries and other organizations for several years now and has led almost a hundred bird walks. She’s a published author, with articles in BirdWatching magazine as well as two novels. In her recently-published second novel, every character is either a birder or a bird!

Suzanne Lourie (LICSW, JD) is a Professional Organizer and owner of Get It Done, LLC. Suzanne works with people at all stages and ages of life to manage the clutter and the emotions that come with it, & to set up systems to maintain organization. Suzanne works 1-1 with her clients as well as presenting to groups.

Anna Mays is an anthropologist who enjoys teaching about world culinary traditions, agricultural practices and the intersection between food, diet, culture and well-being. Anna trained as a James Beard Fellow at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School and taught in the Food Systems Department at Sterling College. In addition to her food security work in international development, Anna teaches cooking classes for City Market and OLLI. Anna has an MA in Anthropology of Food from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Amanda McIntire first began practicing yoga almost 20 years ago. It wasn’t until recovering from an injury, however, that she truly experienced the transformative power of yoga. She is RYT-200 certified with the Yoga Alliance and specializes in teaching beginners. Amanda believes that everyone can benefit from yoga practice – regardless of experience or physical ability. Her supportive, down-to-earth approach allows students to grow comfortable and confident as they work toward creating their own practice.

Ron Miller has taught at Goddard and Champlain colleges as well as numerous courses on history and current events for the Learning Lab adult education program in Woodstock. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies and has written or edited several books on the history of educational alternatives. He co-founded the Bellwether School in Williston.

Kim has worked closely with leaders, students, and diverse teams for over 25 years, helping create engaged workplaces and learning environments that make a positive impact on the world. A community-based leader, educator, and practitioner, Kim facilitates collaborative processes across teams, building safe relationships and achieving desired outcomes within larger systems. Recognized as an effective and compassionate leader with expertise in organizational change & project management; mindful leadership; relationship building; mentoring, supervision & education; people & cultural development.

In 2019, Kim studied directly with Brene Brown and became certified as a Dare to Lead facilitator. In this capacity, Kim has offered multiple workshops, provided 1:1 coaching to leaders, and mentored rising stars in the early stages of their career.

Kim has a PhD in Leadership & Change, an MEd in counseling psychology and is ordained as Buddhist chaplain.

Lois Price has presented on music during the Holocaust since 2002 at the University of Vermont, the South Burlington Public Library, Essex High School and Lamoille Valley OSHER. Her music career includes performing and teaching as a flutist. She has also taught courses in music and the allied arts at Trinity College and Champlain College in Burlington VT. She holds music degrees from Clark University and the St. Louis Conservatory of Music.

Katherine Robinson majored in Psychology & Anthropology at the University of Vermont. She has also done graduate training in mental health counseling and is certified by the McLean Meditation Institute, which has allowed her to deepen her studies in the art of meditation and relaxation. She has been teaching classes at OLLI at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida since 2018 and also provides meditation and stress relief classes and support groups for seniors at various senior living facilities in her area.

Her passions include helping people learn how to turn on the relaxation response through meditation and breathing techniques, exploring the healing vibrations of sound and motivating and inspiring others to be the best that they can be. She has also been certified as a trained facilitator of group empowerment drumming through Remo Drum Corporation and enjoys facilitating drum circles in order to connect people on a deeper level.

Sarah Salatino is the owner/head grower of Full Circle Gardens in Essex, VT, home of over 700 varieties of Vermont grown native and pollinator perennials, and their seasonal companions. She is a member of the Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association and is a Vermont Certified Horticulturist. Her nursery serves as an education site to promote pollinator gardens, and native plants, and to teach customers how to grow perennials in a sustainable manner. She and her staff provide inspiration and education to you for your perennial garden.

Tyler Seeholzer is a retired Air Force RQ-4 Pilot and Team Member at BETA technologies. Specifically, his role today is the development of curriculum to train fellow team members and future pilots in the technologies and aircraft we are creating.

Jay Sherwin created the Life Reflections Project to educate people about legacy letters, ethical wills and other legacy documents. He has practiced law, given away money for five different charitable foundations, worked as a philanthropy consultant and served as a hospital chaplain. He has extensive experience teaching and facilitating adult learning programs.

Rebecca Starks has enjoyed leading and facilitating topical literature and poetry workshops for OLLI since 2014. She has a PhD in English from Stanford University and a BA in English from Yale University, and is the author of the poetry collections Fetch Muse and Time Is Always Now. She grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and lives in Richmond, Vermont.

Rachel Stievater was turned on to the idea of farming while being a student at Oberlin College. She left school for hands-on experience and has never looked back. After apprenticing on farms in the northwest and northeast, she became a Field Manager at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, NY. Although a production farm, Hawthorne Valley also runs many programs for students. It was here that Rachel began to see the importance of incorporating education into agriculture.

This led her to Farm & Wilderness in Plymouth, Vermont where she became the Garden Manager for 4 years. Farm & Wilderness operates a year-round, highly diversified, small-scale farm. Seasonal interns, campers, and students learn through working on the farm.

She took a break from Farm & Wilderness to raise a son, start a homestead and a cut-flower business, and return to college at UVM to obtain a degree in Plant Biology. After finishing her degree at UVM, she realized she missed the educational side of farming and returned to work as the Garden Manager at Farm & Wilderness for another three seasons. Rachel was excited to return to UVM in 2015 as the Catamount Farm Manager and an FTP instructor. She moved into an FTP Co-Directorship role in 2017 and Director in 2020.

Michael Strauss began his artistic life in California in the 1950’s, and continued to draw and paint while a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Vermont for 45 years. After retiring in 2003, he began to teach drawing in UVM’s Honors College, for UVM CE, and at galleries around the state. During this time he authored his book, “The Mind at Hand: What Drawing Reveals: Stories of Exploration, Discovery and Design” (2013, BrownWalker Press). He now devotes the majority of his time to painting and conducting drawing and painting workshops, as well as exhibiting his work in local galleries and other venues. For more information about Michael, visit his website at mjstrauss.com.

Ethan Tapper has been the Chittenden County Forester for the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation since 2016. In this role he advises landowners, conservation organizations, municipalities, foresters, and loggers on how to manage their land responsibly for a variety of benefits. Ethan also writes a monthly column for 11 community newspapers and a quarterly column for Northern Woodlands magazine, maintains a YouTube channel and does extensive public speaking for thousands of people each year. He is the 2021 Northeast-Midwest Cooperative Forester of the Year. Find Ethan’s links, articles and other resources here: https://linktr.ee/ChittendenCountyForester.

Britta Tonn is an Architectural Historian and Historic Preservation Planner with VHB in South Burlington. With a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont, she has worked in the field for over a decade and has documented hundreds of historic buildings and historic districts throughout the state. She currently serves as the governor-appointed Architectural Historian on the Vermont Advisory Council for Historic Preservation. Britta has a keen interest in the history of Burlington and Winooski, where she resides with her family.

Dr. Lindsay Varner earned her PhD and Masters in history from Durham University in the UK. She specialized in Early Modern British history with a focus on Quakerism and the Reformation in the 17th century. She began working in public history in 2010 and has held roles at heritage sites and historical societies. She was hired as the Executive Director of Rokeby Museum in Sept. 2020.

Robert Weibezahl, MA, is a writer, editor, critic, and publishing industry veteran who has worked with Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and countless bestselling authors. A columnist for BookPage for two decades, he is also a published novelist and award-winning, internationally-produced playwright. He teaches at Osher programs across the country.

Katherine Winterstein is the concertmaster of the Vermont Symphony, the associate concertmaster of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and co-concertmaster of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. She also performs regularly with the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, and A Far Cry. She was a member of the Hartt String Quartet, the Providence-based Aurea Ensemble, and the summer of 2022 was her 21st with the Craftsbury Chamber Players of Vermont. She served on the performance faculty of Middlebury College in Vermont from 2002-2015, joined the faculty of the Hartt School of Music in September of 2011, and began teaching at Brown University in September of 2015. Ms. Winterstein lives in Boston with her son, Gus.