Our Study Group Leaders

Nancy Abbey recently retired after 16 years as the Assistant Director of Milford Public Library. She facilitated a popular Classic Book Group for 14 of those 16 years, and continues in this role.

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.

Chris Barlow is a community advocate and historical researcher whose work honors the legacy of Black Civil War veterans. As a Co-Founder of the Berlin Equity Action Team and Director of Diversity Programming at the Berlin Historical Society, he led the effort to add Berlin ,CT to the Connecticut Freedom Trail. His award- winning documentary The 29th Connecticut, tells the powerful and heroic story of Connecticut's all-Black regiment and is the centerpiece of today's Veterans Day presentation.

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 ]

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.

Jerry Dunklee is a journalism professor emeritus at Southern Connecticut State University where he taught Media Law and Ethics for 35 years. He was a member of the Society of Professional Journalists national ethics committee for 12 years and helped write the 1996 edition of the Code of Ethics. He is a co-author of The Power of Free Expression in America, a textbook, and worked as a reporter and talk show host for 20 years prior to teaching. He graduated from Michigan State and holds a master's degree from Emerson College. Jerry was inducted into the CT Journalism Hall of Fame in 2010.

Eric Dunsker has been a Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game enthusiast since since 1978. He has run games following D&D 1st edition and played in games run with 1st and 3rd edition rules.

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 ]

Doug Fenichel, APR is an accredited public relations professional. He was a newspaper reporter and editor for the first 10 years of his career. Throughout his career, writing obituaries was an important task that fell to him. These ranged from writing obituaries about regular people for The New Haven Register to the sensitive treatment of a CEO's son and a young fire chief.

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.

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.

Kim Harrison is a recognized leader in the government relations arena, spending the last 10 years as VP of Public Affairs for Hartford HealthCare. Previously, Ms. Harrison had her own lobbying firm advocating on behalf of a wide array of nonprofit organizations on social justice issues such as gun control, reproductive rights, same sex marriage and abolishing the death penalty in CT.  Semi-retired since June of 2023, Ms. Harrison is an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department at Central Connecticut State University. She holds both a BA and MPA in Political Science.

Ron Heiferman is Prof. Emeritus of History at Quinnipiac and currently teaches at Yale and Quinnipiac U. He was educated at Yale and received his Ph.D. from New York University. He is an Assoc. Fellow of Yale's Berkeley College and is VP of CT Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ron has authored/co-authored books including Flying Tigers, The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan and The Cairo Conference of 1943. He has been a Yale-Lilly Fellow, a Yale-Mellon Fellow and the recipient of five National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships.

Harvey Heyman retired in 2022 from a career in the business side of healthcare. He received a BA degree from Brown University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Harvey is a passionate consumer of political, social, and cultural trends and events.

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.

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.

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.

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 is an emeritus professor of geology at the University of New Haven. His geological activities focused on regional mapping, mineral resource exploration, hazards assessment, and environmental remediation and risk management. He enjoyed conducting or directing field projects in more than a dozen US states as well as New Zealand and other south Pacific islands.

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

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.

Byron Nakamura, PhD is a professor of History at Southern Connecticut State University, where he has taught courses on ancient Greece and Rome since 2004. He has written on subjects such as Roman imperialism, ancient religion, military history, and has a keen interest in Roman numismatics (coinage).

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.

Jim Romano earned a PhD in Classical Studies from the University of Michigan. He taught Classics for several years at Michigan and at Lehman College (CUNY). He subsequently entered the nonprofit world as an executive in two major health-related foundations. In retirement, he has gone back to his educational roots and lectures on Homer, classical poetry and drama.

Joyce M. Saltman, Ed.D.has been given the title Guru Of Laughter by one of America's foremost Insurance Companies. She is a Professor Emeritus of Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University where she taught graduate courses on Special Education since 1975, and The Enhancement of Learning through Humor, as well as directed a summer Institute on Healing, Education, Laughter and Play (H.E.L.P.) for 29 summers. She lectures all over the country plus in Japan, Norway, Australia, England, Italy and Belgium, on Laughter, Rx for Survival, Dealing with Difficult People, Sex and Aging, and Learning Styles. She has shared her insights into laughter with hospitals, corporations, school systems, and other organizations throughout the world. She has spoken extensively on such topics as Learning Styles for At-Risk Students and Counseling Skills for Special Educators throughout the country, most notably for the US Department of Education in Washington, DC. In addition, two of her books - Sing A Celebration and I'm Changing the Locks and Cementing the Windows –What To Do When Your Kid Leaves Home have been published.

Ellen Scalettar, a native New Yorker, moved to Woodbridge in 1990, bewildered by life in a small town in a small state. In a matter of months, she became involved in Town politics, and within two years was elected to the CT General Assembly. Ellen went on to serve as CT Assistant State Treasurer for Community Affairs; Director of Policy; Research & Legislation for the CT Senate Democrats; and First Selectman of the Town of Woodbridge. Ellen Scalettar is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the City College of New York and holds a JD Degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Irene Sommers holds a MA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She is a retired Professor of Humanities from Housatonic Community College in Literature, Film, and Art History. Her specialty is Art History—particularly the Italian Renaissance [ more ]

Michael Stein PhD fell in love with the art, architecture (and food) of the capital of France on his first trip to Paris in 1965. During more than 30 subsequent visits he photographed the monuments, churches, museums (and pastries) of Paris to supplement his lectures. For more than five decades, Professor Stein taught both studio art and art history at Kent State University, the Cleveland Institute of Art, Wilkes University, and Housatonic Community College.

John Thomas is is a professor at Quinnipiac Law School, a freelanced writer, musician , filmmaker, and cyclist. He holds a BA and JD from the University of Arizona and an LLM and MPH from Yale University. John teaches international law and health law. John's 200+ publications address topics from gun violence to health policy to autism to music and musical instruments and have appeared in law reviews, medical journals, major newspapers, and music publications.

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 ]