Current Board Bios 2020 - 2021
The bios below are arranged in alphabetical order, based on last name.
Chris Abrons, Advisor At-Large (Term Ending 2022)
Chris Abrons moved to Durham with her husband in August of 2017. Both began volunteering as ushers at DPAC, Carolina Theater and Duke Performing Arts. They also joined a Rotary Club in Durham with their daughter and began to volunteer with the club. OLLI also became part of their lives. In fact, they signed up for classes before they moved.
Chris began volunteering in OLLI as a class assistant and joined the Membership Relations Committee. She moved into the leadership role when the position opened. Chris sees her role at OLLI to help members connect and enjoy their community. She is also active in the Durham community. She volunteers with Farmer Food Share, End Hunger Durham and a number of organizations involved with senior issues.
As a nurse, Chris had many roles in her long career however, the one she cherishes the most is the years she worked in her husband’s Family Practice office as a patient navigator. The years they worked together gave them a pathway to retirement. It is very easy for Chris and Bert to be together.
Chris Abrons moved to Durham with her husband in August of 2017. Both began volunteering as ushers at DPAC, Carolina Theater and Duke Performing Arts. They also joined a Rotary Club in Durham with their daughter and began to volunteer with the club. OLLI also became part of their lives. In fact, they signed up for classes before they moved.
Chris began volunteering in OLLI as a class assistant and joined the Membership Relations Committee. She moved into the leadership role when the position opened. Chris sees her role at OLLI to help members connect and enjoy their community. She is also active in the Durham community. She volunteers with Farmer Food Share, End Hunger Durham and a number of organizations involved with senior issues.
As a nurse, Chris had many roles in her long career however, the one she cherishes the most is the years she worked in her husband’s Family Practice office as a patient navigator. The years they worked together gave them a pathway to retirement. It is very easy for Chris and Bert to be together.
Beth Anderson
Beth Anderson, Curriculum Committee Chair
Growing up in the mid-west Beth left to take her undergraduate studies at that school of the other shade of blue. There, at UNC, she studied molecular biology. However later, she switched blues, receiving a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Duke University. She chose to stay in the south and now resides in Chatham County, but seeks out time in Durham for OLLI (and Durham’s good food) to round out her small-town life. Since learning about OLLI a few years ago (in addition to enjoying the diverse curriculum offered by OLLI at Duke) she has served as an editor for the Course catalogue and as Assistant Curriculum Committee Chair.
In her professional career Beth was a fed with the National Institutes of Health at the one NIH institute outside of Bethesda, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Her last twenty years there were in grant administration where she specialized in funding research programs associated with the nation’s Superfund program. This work lead her into the fascinating realm of promoting the application of scientific findings to real world problems, meaning moving the science beyond the professional journals into the pipeline for use by practicing professionals. During the ‘90s, she was instrumental in developing a national program in community engagement, an area that has become a critical and dynamic component of most environmental health programs.
Now, during her encore career, Beth seeks to serve others. She is active with several nonprofits in Chatham County. She has been a Guardian ad Litem for several years. She serves on the steering committee for the Chatham Nonprofit Network and the development committee for Chatham Literacy. She is most excited about an expanded role with Pharaoh’s Daughters, a non-profit serving infants born of mothers in prisons. She enjoys balancing her rather analytical, problem-solving, service side with a love for crafting. All sorts of crafts, but currently she is pursuing book arts, journaling, and other fiber arts such as felting, knitting and fabric dyeing.
Growing up in the mid-west Beth left to take her undergraduate studies at that school of the other shade of blue. There, at UNC, she studied molecular biology. However later, she switched blues, receiving a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Duke University. She chose to stay in the south and now resides in Chatham County, but seeks out time in Durham for OLLI (and Durham’s good food) to round out her small-town life. Since learning about OLLI a few years ago (in addition to enjoying the diverse curriculum offered by OLLI at Duke) she has served as an editor for the Course catalogue and as Assistant Curriculum Committee Chair.
In her professional career Beth was a fed with the National Institutes of Health at the one NIH institute outside of Bethesda, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Her last twenty years there were in grant administration where she specialized in funding research programs associated with the nation’s Superfund program. This work lead her into the fascinating realm of promoting the application of scientific findings to real world problems, meaning moving the science beyond the professional journals into the pipeline for use by practicing professionals. During the ‘90s, she was instrumental in developing a national program in community engagement, an area that has become a critical and dynamic component of most environmental health programs.
Now, during her encore career, Beth seeks to serve others. She is active with several nonprofits in Chatham County. She has been a Guardian ad Litem for several years. She serves on the steering committee for the Chatham Nonprofit Network and the development committee for Chatham Literacy. She is most excited about an expanded role with Pharaoh’s Daughters, a non-profit serving infants born of mothers in prisons. She enjoys balancing her rather analytical, problem-solving, service side with a love for crafting. All sorts of crafts, but currently she is pursuing book arts, journaling, and other fiber arts such as felting, knitting and fabric dyeing.
Peter Blaufeux
Peter Blaufeux, Space Committee Chair
Peter Blaufeux joined OLLI in 2016 after moving to Durham from northern New Jersey. He registered for two OLLI courses and became hooked. He was a member of the Steering Committee that helped bring OLLI-Duke courses to his Carolina Arbors community. Peter developed and taught the OLLI course, “Frank Lloyd Wright – The Man and His Architecture” during the famous architects’ 150th birthday year in 2017.
Peter is an Emeritus member of the American Institute of Architects and Past President of the Illuminating Engineering Society. He was licensed to practice architecture in multiple states. He led the NYC region healthcare design practice of a large, multi-national, architecture-engineering-construction corporation.
He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from City University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from Temple University. Peter taught jewelry design, ceramics, and interior design at NYC YMCAs. He is active in his Carolina Arbors Community Theater Club and writes for his community newsletter as a cub reporter. He is looking forward to joining the Board and working to help move OLLI-Duke into a vibrant future.
Peter Blaufeux joined OLLI in 2016 after moving to Durham from northern New Jersey. He registered for two OLLI courses and became hooked. He was a member of the Steering Committee that helped bring OLLI-Duke courses to his Carolina Arbors community. Peter developed and taught the OLLI course, “Frank Lloyd Wright – The Man and His Architecture” during the famous architects’ 150th birthday year in 2017.
Peter is an Emeritus member of the American Institute of Architects and Past President of the Illuminating Engineering Society. He was licensed to practice architecture in multiple states. He led the NYC region healthcare design practice of a large, multi-national, architecture-engineering-construction corporation.
He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from City University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from Temple University. Peter taught jewelry design, ceramics, and interior design at NYC YMCAs. He is active in his Carolina Arbors Community Theater Club and writes for his community newsletter as a cub reporter. He is looking forward to joining the Board and working to help move OLLI-Duke into a vibrant future.
Sue Dennison, Advisor At-Large (Term Ending 2022)
Susan is a retired professor in the field of Social Work and worked for over 30 years at two universities, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Florida State University. She currently serves as the president of UNCG Association of Retired Faculty, Coordinator of the JMSW Annual Alumni Conference, and AAUP member. Susan volunteers at Duke Gardens in the Children's field trip program, NC You Can Vote, fund-raising for the Spartan Student Food Pantry. She and her partner, Tom, enjoy traveling, visiting family, reading, and taking OLLI classes.
Susan is a retired professor in the field of Social Work and worked for over 30 years at two universities, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Florida State University. She currently serves as the president of UNCG Association of Retired Faculty, Coordinator of the JMSW Annual Alumni Conference, and AAUP member. Susan volunteers at Duke Gardens in the Children's field trip program, NC You Can Vote, fund-raising for the Spartan Student Food Pantry. She and her partner, Tom, enjoy traveling, visiting family, reading, and taking OLLI classes.
Lisa Gabriel
Lisa Gabriel, CFP®, ChFC®, Legacy Committee Chair
A job change brought Lisa from her hometown of Charleston, West Virginia to Durham in 1986, and in 1990 Lisa became one of the founding members of Duke Management Company, the professionally staffed investment organization created and controlled by Duke University.
Lisa’s professional background spans 35+ years, 20+ as an institutional investor before moving into private wealth management and ultimately founding Pinafore Wealth Counsel Inc., one of the few female-owned Registered Investment Advisor firms in North Carolina.
A passionate volunteer and women’s advocate, Lisa teaches Tax-Smart Retirement Strategies at OLLI; serves on the Durham Women’s Commission, which strives to educate the community and advise the Durham County Board of Commissioners on issues relating to the changing social and economic conditions of women in Durham County; by gubernatorial appointment, Lisa serves on the North Carolina Council for Women to advocate for all women in NC; Lisa also serves on the Board of Duke Campus Club and leads the interest group Money Matter$
A job change brought Lisa from her hometown of Charleston, West Virginia to Durham in 1986, and in 1990 Lisa became one of the founding members of Duke Management Company, the professionally staffed investment organization created and controlled by Duke University.
Lisa’s professional background spans 35+ years, 20+ as an institutional investor before moving into private wealth management and ultimately founding Pinafore Wealth Counsel Inc., one of the few female-owned Registered Investment Advisor firms in North Carolina.
A passionate volunteer and women’s advocate, Lisa teaches Tax-Smart Retirement Strategies at OLLI; serves on the Durham Women’s Commission, which strives to educate the community and advise the Durham County Board of Commissioners on issues relating to the changing social and economic conditions of women in Durham County; by gubernatorial appointment, Lisa serves on the North Carolina Council for Women to advocate for all women in NC; Lisa also serves on the Board of Duke Campus Club and leads the interest group Money Matter$
Bobbie Hendrix, Advisor At Large (Term Ending 2021)
Bobbie Hendrix grew up moving around the country and the world as a military dependent. Though both parents were from Pennsylvania and she was born there, her first move at less than a year old was to Japan - followed by moves to Massachusetts, Delaware, Turkey (Izmir), New Mexico, California, and South Carolina. The longest residence in one place was in Izmir, and Turkey still has a large place in her heart.
Following high school in Riverside CA, Bobbie moved with her family to Charleston, SC and attended the College of Charleston, graduating with a history degree. Bobbie came to Durham in August 1972 and began working at Duke University Medical Center, leading to a career in healthcare risk management. Bobbie was one of the first healthcare risk managers nationally, was a founding member of both the state and national professional societies for healthcare risk management, and was well-known nationally as a speaker on healthcare risk management topics . She also was appointed by the Chinese Ministry of Health to be a Visiting Professor in Risk Management at Peking University Medical College Hospital in 2002. She serves on the Duke University Health System Board of Governors and is Chair of the Durham County Hospital Corporation Board of Trustees (Duke Regional Hospital).
Bobbie has two children and four grandchildren. One family, son Brian, spouse Morgan, and 2 grandchildren live nearby to Bobbie, and they live very much as one family in two houses. Her daughter, Mary Catherine, spouse Paul and 2 grandchildren live in Brooklyn Heights, NYC, and are the reason Bobbie knows the American Airlines flight schedules to and from LaGuardia by heart.
Well before her retirement from DUHS in December 2014, Bobbie had become aware of OLLI's classes and programs through friends, and began OLLI classes within 2 weeks of retiring. She has taken a wide variety of classes, and particularly has enjoyed genealogy classes. She joined the Advisory Board in 2020, and greatly appreciates the opportunity to serve OLLI and its members.
Bobbie Hendrix grew up moving around the country and the world as a military dependent. Though both parents were from Pennsylvania and she was born there, her first move at less than a year old was to Japan - followed by moves to Massachusetts, Delaware, Turkey (Izmir), New Mexico, California, and South Carolina. The longest residence in one place was in Izmir, and Turkey still has a large place in her heart.
Following high school in Riverside CA, Bobbie moved with her family to Charleston, SC and attended the College of Charleston, graduating with a history degree. Bobbie came to Durham in August 1972 and began working at Duke University Medical Center, leading to a career in healthcare risk management. Bobbie was one of the first healthcare risk managers nationally, was a founding member of both the state and national professional societies for healthcare risk management, and was well-known nationally as a speaker on healthcare risk management topics . She also was appointed by the Chinese Ministry of Health to be a Visiting Professor in Risk Management at Peking University Medical College Hospital in 2002. She serves on the Duke University Health System Board of Governors and is Chair of the Durham County Hospital Corporation Board of Trustees (Duke Regional Hospital).
Bobbie has two children and four grandchildren. One family, son Brian, spouse Morgan, and 2 grandchildren live nearby to Bobbie, and they live very much as one family in two houses. Her daughter, Mary Catherine, spouse Paul and 2 grandchildren live in Brooklyn Heights, NYC, and are the reason Bobbie knows the American Airlines flight schedules to and from LaGuardia by heart.
Well before her retirement from DUHS in December 2014, Bobbie had become aware of OLLI's classes and programs through friends, and began OLLI classes within 2 weeks of retiring. She has taken a wide variety of classes, and particularly has enjoyed genealogy classes. She joined the Advisory Board in 2020, and greatly appreciates the opportunity to serve OLLI and its members.
Marion Jervay
Marion White Jervay, President
Marion is a retired transactional (business, corporate) attorney, who worked for various
corporations (Liggett Group, R. J. Reynolds Industries, Inc., American Medical International
(hospital management), Medpartners, Inc., (physician practice management), and lastly Duke
Clinical Research Institute. She is a graduate of UNC-Wilmington and Duke Law.
In many of OLLI classes, Marion finds that she’s the only North Carolina native! Marion grew up
in Raleigh where she attended parochial schools including Cardinal Gibbons High School, which
provided her a unique experience because it was integrated in the 1960s.
Kenton Cobb (her husband of 36 years) and Marion have lived in three other states (California, Washington, and Florida) and have been back in the Triangle area since 2000.
Marion began taking OLLI classes in 2016 and has found the breadth and depth of the course offerings to be extraordinary. When Marion was elected to OLLI’s Board as an Advisor at Large in 2018, she began working on increasing diversity and inclusion within OLLI at Duke. She has worked closely with Chris McLeod and Abdul Waheed, a respected OLLI instructor and member
of OLLI’s Board, to attract new African American instructors and/or speakers to OLLI. In the Winter Term 2020, two new African American instructors, Linda Hubbard Curtis and Robin Emmons, taught classes that explored Durham’s rich African American history. Currently, Marion is co-facilitating a course with Sue Dennison that is examining racial equity in the Durham Public Schools over the past 50 years.
In addition to her work with OLLI, Marion spends her time working on projects that affect the Method community (where she grew up) and being 'Nana' to Cy and Selah Steele-Cobb.
Marion is a retired transactional (business, corporate) attorney, who worked for various
corporations (Liggett Group, R. J. Reynolds Industries, Inc., American Medical International
(hospital management), Medpartners, Inc., (physician practice management), and lastly Duke
Clinical Research Institute. She is a graduate of UNC-Wilmington and Duke Law.
In many of OLLI classes, Marion finds that she’s the only North Carolina native! Marion grew up
in Raleigh where she attended parochial schools including Cardinal Gibbons High School, which
provided her a unique experience because it was integrated in the 1960s.
Kenton Cobb (her husband of 36 years) and Marion have lived in three other states (California, Washington, and Florida) and have been back in the Triangle area since 2000.
Marion began taking OLLI classes in 2016 and has found the breadth and depth of the course offerings to be extraordinary. When Marion was elected to OLLI’s Board as an Advisor at Large in 2018, she began working on increasing diversity and inclusion within OLLI at Duke. She has worked closely with Chris McLeod and Abdul Waheed, a respected OLLI instructor and member
of OLLI’s Board, to attract new African American instructors and/or speakers to OLLI. In the Winter Term 2020, two new African American instructors, Linda Hubbard Curtis and Robin Emmons, taught classes that explored Durham’s rich African American history. Currently, Marion is co-facilitating a course with Sue Dennison that is examining racial equity in the Durham Public Schools over the past 50 years.
In addition to her work with OLLI, Marion spends her time working on projects that affect the Method community (where she grew up) and being 'Nana' to Cy and Selah Steele-Cobb.
Virginia Knight
Virginia (Ginny) Knight, Past President
Ginny joined OLLI in 2009 and has volunteered as a Classroom Assistant, as a member of the Curriculum Sub-Committee for Science and Technology, and is also on the Instructor Relations Committee. After this Ginny was Chair of the Curriculum Committee for three years and then OLLI at Duke Advisory Board President, for 2017-2018, the 40th Anniversary year, Following that she was on the Search Committee for the new OLLI Executive Director and became the Chair of the Instructor Relations Committee. Also, she currently serves on the Board as Past President on the Executive Committee.
Ginny grew up in Portland, Oregon and attended DePauw University in Indiana. After graduating, Ginny returned to the University of Oregon where she received a Ph.D. in mathematics. She taught at several colleges across the U.S. and Western Canada before becoming Head of Quantitative Methods and Computer Information Systems at Western New England College in Massachusetts.
In the mid-1980s she came to Duke on a sabbatical. Here she met her husband, Sid Simon, a Professor of Neurobiology at Duke. Subsequently, she moved to the Triangle area where she was a Professor of Mathematics at Meredith College. Before retiring in 2006, she served as Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department and for her last three years there was Dean of the Natural and Mathematical Sciences.
During her tenure at Meredith, Ginny worked with several programs, some in conjunction with NSF and the Mathematical Association of America, which encouraged women and girls to continue with the study of mathematics as an entrée to the STEM disciplines and STEM careers. For the last several years, she has volunteered in the Computer Lab at Lakewood School. She also loves to walk, read, take OLLI courses, travel, and work on Sudoku, KenKen, and other puzzles.
Ginny joined OLLI in 2009 and has volunteered as a Classroom Assistant, as a member of the Curriculum Sub-Committee for Science and Technology, and is also on the Instructor Relations Committee. After this Ginny was Chair of the Curriculum Committee for three years and then OLLI at Duke Advisory Board President, for 2017-2018, the 40th Anniversary year, Following that she was on the Search Committee for the new OLLI Executive Director and became the Chair of the Instructor Relations Committee. Also, she currently serves on the Board as Past President on the Executive Committee.
Ginny grew up in Portland, Oregon and attended DePauw University in Indiana. After graduating, Ginny returned to the University of Oregon where she received a Ph.D. in mathematics. She taught at several colleges across the U.S. and Western Canada before becoming Head of Quantitative Methods and Computer Information Systems at Western New England College in Massachusetts.
In the mid-1980s she came to Duke on a sabbatical. Here she met her husband, Sid Simon, a Professor of Neurobiology at Duke. Subsequently, she moved to the Triangle area where she was a Professor of Mathematics at Meredith College. Before retiring in 2006, she served as Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department and for her last three years there was Dean of the Natural and Mathematical Sciences.
During her tenure at Meredith, Ginny worked with several programs, some in conjunction with NSF and the Mathematical Association of America, which encouraged women and girls to continue with the study of mathematics as an entrée to the STEM disciplines and STEM careers. For the last several years, she has volunteered in the Computer Lab at Lakewood School. She also loves to walk, read, take OLLI courses, travel, and work on Sudoku, KenKen, and other puzzles.
Howard Koslow, Information Technology and Instructor Relations
Virginia Lee
Virginia Lee, Community Engagement Chair & Recording Secretary
Virginia was a professional educator for over thirty years after earlier stints in publishing and finance and a search for “right livelihood.” Her commitment to education grew out of her curiosity about the conditions that promote holistic development and concerns for social and economic equity. After administrative positions with the American Montessori Society and The New York City Outward Bound Schools in New York City, Virginia moved to North Carolina in 1991 where she earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. (She also holds a B.A. (English Literature) from Smith College and an MBA (Management) from NYU.)
For ten years Virginia was an administrator at centers for teaching and learning at UNC and NC State, guiding undergraduate reform and the improvement of teaching and learning on those campuses; she also held adjunct faculty appointments at both institutions. In 2005 Virginia started her own educational-development-in-higher-education consulting company, ultimately working with over 70 colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. She served as the President (2007-2010) of the POD Network in Higher Education, the premier professional organization in the U.S. for educational development specialists, and
on the Board of the International Consortium for Educational Development. She also served as a Fulbright Specialist (Turkey).
Since her retirement about two years ago, Virginia has taken classes at OLLI, many on poetry. She has also become more active in the Durham community as a guardian ad litem, a member of the Durham Friends Meeting Durham CAN core team, and as a volunteer with Partners for Youth Opportunity (PYO) and Student U.
In 2017 Virginia was a co-founder of OLLI’s Community Engagement SIG and led its first project, the 2018 Fall Course, Food Insecurity in Durham: A Community Engagement Course. She looks forward to working with the Director, the Advisory Board, selected offices at Duke University and the Durham community in developing further a community engagement initiative at OLLI.
Virginia is also an avid tennis player; sings with the Chapel Hill-based chorus, Voices, and its select ensemble, Cantari; and enjoys travel.
Virginia was a professional educator for over thirty years after earlier stints in publishing and finance and a search for “right livelihood.” Her commitment to education grew out of her curiosity about the conditions that promote holistic development and concerns for social and economic equity. After administrative positions with the American Montessori Society and The New York City Outward Bound Schools in New York City, Virginia moved to North Carolina in 1991 where she earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. (She also holds a B.A. (English Literature) from Smith College and an MBA (Management) from NYU.)
For ten years Virginia was an administrator at centers for teaching and learning at UNC and NC State, guiding undergraduate reform and the improvement of teaching and learning on those campuses; she also held adjunct faculty appointments at both institutions. In 2005 Virginia started her own educational-development-in-higher-education consulting company, ultimately working with over 70 colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. She served as the President (2007-2010) of the POD Network in Higher Education, the premier professional organization in the U.S. for educational development specialists, and
on the Board of the International Consortium for Educational Development. She also served as a Fulbright Specialist (Turkey).
Since her retirement about two years ago, Virginia has taken classes at OLLI, many on poetry. She has also become more active in the Durham community as a guardian ad litem, a member of the Durham Friends Meeting Durham CAN core team, and as a volunteer with Partners for Youth Opportunity (PYO) and Student U.
In 2017 Virginia was a co-founder of OLLI’s Community Engagement SIG and led its first project, the 2018 Fall Course, Food Insecurity in Durham: A Community Engagement Course. She looks forward to working with the Director, the Advisory Board, selected offices at Duke University and the Durham community in developing further a community engagement initiative at OLLI.
Virginia is also an avid tennis player; sings with the Chapel Hill-based chorus, Voices, and its select ensemble, Cantari; and enjoys travel.
Alan Teasley
Alan Teasley, Vice President
Alan is a Durham native who holds B.A., M.A.T., and Ph.D. degrees from UNC–Chapel Hill. He retired in 2006 after working for the Durham Public Schools for 31 years, first as a high school English and drama teacher and later as central office coordinator of secondary curriculum, professional development, and grants administration. He also taught in Duke University’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program for over 25 years, serving as the Director of that program from 2012-15.
Alan has volunteered extensively for the Center of Documentaries Studies, serving on its Board of Directors from 1999 to 2018. Since 2003, he has served as a member of the selection committee of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. He also helped to design Full Frame’s Teach the Teachers workshop. In 2016 he was awarded Full Frame’s Advocate Award.
After being an avid OLLI student for nearly ten years, Alan taught his first OLLI course in Winter term 2018. He had so much fun teaching “The Road to Full Frame” that the next year he began sharing his interest in musical theater by offering “Sondheim 101.” In summer 2020, he taught one of the first online courses for OLLI: “Rodgers and Hammerstein Encore!” He was first appointed to the OLLI Board in 2019 as an At-Large Member. He also currently serves on OLLI’s Instructor Relations Committee, where he
has been helping to develop a series of Tip Sheets on best teaching practices.
Alan is a Durham native who holds B.A., M.A.T., and Ph.D. degrees from UNC–Chapel Hill. He retired in 2006 after working for the Durham Public Schools for 31 years, first as a high school English and drama teacher and later as central office coordinator of secondary curriculum, professional development, and grants administration. He also taught in Duke University’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program for over 25 years, serving as the Director of that program from 2012-15.
Alan has volunteered extensively for the Center of Documentaries Studies, serving on its Board of Directors from 1999 to 2018. Since 2003, he has served as a member of the selection committee of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. He also helped to design Full Frame’s Teach the Teachers workshop. In 2016 he was awarded Full Frame’s Advocate Award.
After being an avid OLLI student for nearly ten years, Alan taught his first OLLI course in Winter term 2018. He had so much fun teaching “The Road to Full Frame” that the next year he began sharing his interest in musical theater by offering “Sondheim 101.” In summer 2020, he taught one of the first online courses for OLLI: “Rodgers and Hammerstein Encore!” He was first appointed to the OLLI Board in 2019 as an At-Large Member. He also currently serves on OLLI’s Instructor Relations Committee, where he
has been helping to develop a series of Tip Sheets on best teaching practices.
Beth Timson
Beth Timson, Member Engagement
Beth joined OLLI in 2015 and has served as a volunteer on the Curriculum and Communications Committees. She is a native North Carolinian who attended Duke University and has a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Beth taught English at UNC-Charlotte for six years, then moved to Durham to help start the NC School of Science and Math and teach English there. She left NCSSM in 1990 and went to NC State University to acquire a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture. In that field, she worked three years with NC State Parks, then 21 years for the City of Durham, first in the Planning Department and then in the Parks and Recreation Department. She retired as Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation. In Durham she met her spouse Christine Pierce, now deceased, who taught philosophy at NCSU.
Since retirement, Beth has been a member of the City's Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and is now on the Durham Parks Foundation board; she also works with SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay Elders) in Raleigh. She takes classes and teaches in both OLLI at Duke and Peer Learning in Chapel Hill and works on her writing and gardening.
Beth joined OLLI in 2015 and has served as a volunteer on the Curriculum and Communications Committees. She is a native North Carolinian who attended Duke University and has a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Beth taught English at UNC-Charlotte for six years, then moved to Durham to help start the NC School of Science and Math and teach English there. She left NCSSM in 1990 and went to NC State University to acquire a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture. In that field, she worked three years with NC State Parks, then 21 years for the City of Durham, first in the Planning Department and then in the Parks and Recreation Department. She retired as Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation. In Durham she met her spouse Christine Pierce, now deceased, who taught philosophy at NCSU.
Since retirement, Beth has been a member of the City's Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and is now on the Durham Parks Foundation board; she also works with SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay Elders) in Raleigh. She takes classes and teaches in both OLLI at Duke and Peer Learning in Chapel Hill and works on her writing and gardening.
Imam Abdul Hafeez Waheed
Imam Abdul Hafeez Waheed, Advisor At Large (Term Ending 2021)
For the last 40 years, Imam Waheed has been an active member of the Muslim American Community in Association with the renowned leader and thinker Imam W. Deen Mohammed. As an associate of Imam Mohammed, he works tirelessly to arrange and seek opportunities to present the correct picture of Islam in different venues. In 1987, Imam Waheed performed the Hajj (pilgrimage to the Sacred House in Ka'ba) In 1998, Imam Waheed became the first Muslim Chaplain at Duke University. Imam Waheed has been serving on the Religious Life staff at Duke for over 20 years. In 2008, Imam Waheed was among several religious life chaplains at Duke University that lead an Interfaith trip to Jerusalem for students of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu faiths. Currently, Imam Waheed is an instructor in Duke's Continuing Education program called Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). His class title is "New Perspective of Islam: Hopeful Visions for our Time." In addition, Imam Waheed conducts “Community and Public Education on Islam” presentations at religious institutions.
Imam Waheed has served in the position of Chaplain in city, state, and federal correction institutions. He has also served as Resident Imam in both the Bronx, NY and Durham, NC and has been a respected leader in the Durham area for the last 27 years. His greatest asset is building relationships with all of the major arteries in the community. He has been an active member of many organizations and held various leadership positions on several committees to include Durham Congregations in Action, Urban Ministries, Durham Human Relations Commission, as well as Chief of Police Advisory Committee. In recognition of his commitment to community, Imam Waheed was the recipient of the 1996 MLK, Jr. Keeper of the Dream Award. On January 6, 2017 Imam Waheed participated in the Inaugural Prayer Service for newly elected Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Imam Waheed is a successful businessman/entrepreneur with a concentration on Good Health. He is a participate in the Natural Health Revolution.
Imam Waheed loves to present the clear picture of Al-Islam to audiences via lectures, religious institutions, colleges/universities, public and private schools, as well as, radio and television shows. He has hosted, produced and directed a cable television show entitled "Abdul Hafeez Waheed and Guest." Imam Waheed is happily married to Khadijah Salaam, and they are proud of their four children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
For the last 40 years, Imam Waheed has been an active member of the Muslim American Community in Association with the renowned leader and thinker Imam W. Deen Mohammed. As an associate of Imam Mohammed, he works tirelessly to arrange and seek opportunities to present the correct picture of Islam in different venues. In 1987, Imam Waheed performed the Hajj (pilgrimage to the Sacred House in Ka'ba) In 1998, Imam Waheed became the first Muslim Chaplain at Duke University. Imam Waheed has been serving on the Religious Life staff at Duke for over 20 years. In 2008, Imam Waheed was among several religious life chaplains at Duke University that lead an Interfaith trip to Jerusalem for students of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu faiths. Currently, Imam Waheed is an instructor in Duke's Continuing Education program called Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). His class title is "New Perspective of Islam: Hopeful Visions for our Time." In addition, Imam Waheed conducts “Community and Public Education on Islam” presentations at religious institutions.
Imam Waheed has served in the position of Chaplain in city, state, and federal correction institutions. He has also served as Resident Imam in both the Bronx, NY and Durham, NC and has been a respected leader in the Durham area for the last 27 years. His greatest asset is building relationships with all of the major arteries in the community. He has been an active member of many organizations and held various leadership positions on several committees to include Durham Congregations in Action, Urban Ministries, Durham Human Relations Commission, as well as Chief of Police Advisory Committee. In recognition of his commitment to community, Imam Waheed was the recipient of the 1996 MLK, Jr. Keeper of the Dream Award. On January 6, 2017 Imam Waheed participated in the Inaugural Prayer Service for newly elected Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Imam Waheed is a successful businessman/entrepreneur with a concentration on Good Health. He is a participate in the Natural Health Revolution.
Imam Waheed loves to present the clear picture of Al-Islam to audiences via lectures, religious institutions, colleges/universities, public and private schools, as well as, radio and television shows. He has hosted, produced and directed a cable television show entitled "Abdul Hafeez Waheed and Guest." Imam Waheed is happily married to Khadijah Salaam, and they are proud of their four children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.