Don Melander is Professor of English Emeritus at New England College, where he taught literature and humanities for more than fifty years. During his tenure, he also taught three English courses annually in NEC’s AA and BA programs at the New Hampshire State Prison. He served as Director of NEC’s British Campus in Arundel, Sussex, and earned his Ph.D. in American Literature from Syracuse University.

Curtiss Rude holds a B.S. in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering (solid-state physics) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He worked in the microelectronics industry with IBM in Vermont for more than 20 years, serving in both engineering and management roles. Following this career, Curtiss taught high school chemistry and physics for seven years. At LINEC, he has offered courses on astronomy, cosmology, astrobiology, artificial intelligence, political geography, and the history of money.

Eric J. Simon, Ph.D., is Professor of Biology at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire. He teaches introductory biology, human biology, and tropical marine biology, and has led international travel courses to destinations including Belize, the Galapagos, Tanzania, Cuba, the Amazon, and Patagonia. Dr. Simon received his B.A. in biology and computer science and his M.A. in biology from Wesleyan University, and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University. He is the author of a widely used series of college biology textbooks, with more than two million copies in print, used by students in over 40 countries.

Lisa M. Melander is a semi-retired elementary school teacher and math consultant. An alumna of New England College with a B.A. in Philosophy, she is pleased to be back in New Hampshire after many years in the Pacific Northwest. She also holds an M.Ed. from Plymouth State University.

Glenn Stuart is Professor of Theatre Emeritus at New England College, where he taught for 38 years. During his career, he designed more than 125 theatre and dance productions and served as the founding director of the Open Door Theatre. He holds an M.A. in Theater from the State University of New York at Albany.

Sarah Traphagen, Ph.D., earned her doctorate in English from the University of Florida. Her expertise includes American literature, history, and Civil War medicine. She has published in The Journal of Military Experience and The Journal of Working-Class Studies. Sarah has taught at the University of Florida as well as in college preparatory schools. She currently resides in New Hampshire with her family.

Dave Wasilew has spent more than forty years working at the intersection of engineering and software. His career spans a wide range of cutting-edge projects, from satellites and sonar to artificial intelligence and advanced software systems. Alongside his technical career, Dave has cultivated a deep passion for music. He has shared this enthusiasm through LINEC courses on the history of blues and jazz, world music, and other explorations of musical traditions. Dave enjoys teaching across disciplines—whether helping learners understand the transformative power of a symphony or the real-world implications of technologies like 5G.

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Elliott Berry, graduated from the University of Michigan in 1971 with a B.A. in Far Eastern Studies (concentrating on China). From 2006-2009 he taught during the fall semesters at the Law School of the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. He first visited China (Taiwan and Hong Kong) in 1970 and Mainland China in 1977. Since 2004 he has visited China 10 times, and has traveled extensively throughout the country. He has a “degree of fluency” in Mandarin Chinese. Elliott has been a lawyer at NH Legal Assistance since moving to New Hampshire in 1975.

Deborah Brown is UNH Professor Emeritus (English). Her book of poems, The Human Half  was published by BOA Editions in April, 2019. Her first book “Walking the Dog’s Shadow,” was a winner of the A. J. Poulin Jr. Award from BOA Editions and of a New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry. The title poem of the collection was awarded a Pushcart Prize. She edited, with Maxine Kumin and Annie Finch, Lofty Dogmas: Poets on Poetics. With Richard Jackson and Susan Thomas, she translated the poems in Last Voyage: Selected Poems of Giovanni Pascoli. She lives in Warner, NH.

Stephen Elgert is a retired family physician with added qualifications in geriatrics. He also has a Master’s Degree in Quality Improvement from Dartmouth. He is married with three grown children and two granddaughters. Steve likes to hike, bike, sail, and do DIY projects.

Paul Hague is a retired geologist who spent many years conducting geophysical surveys to illuminate what lies beneath. An avid reader, he always has a book going, sometimes two or three. He first joined LINEC back in the early 2000s and, believe it or not, taught a course on Joyce’s Ulysses. After departing for several years to teach school, he returned a few years ago to enjoy the courses offered and to present a few on geology. Always eager to learn something new and to satisfy a curious and skeptical mind, he will stick around to see what develops.

Joanna Henderson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont, a Master’s degree in sociology from Dartmouth College and an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She directed the Tucker Foundation off-campus internship program at Dartmouth and then moved into the field of admissions at several institutions including Colby-Sawyer College and Marietta College. She teaches courses for OLLI, AIL and at LINEC.

Ali Reza Jalili is a Professor of Business at New England College. Dr. Jalili earned a BS in accounting and finance from the College of Accountancy and Finance in Tehran, Iran, an MBA from James Madison University, an MA in economics from UNH, an MSA concentrating in risk management from Bentley University, and a PhD in business economics from UNH, and has over thirty years teaching experience specializing in business economics and experimental/behavior economics.

Maura MacNeil is a Professor of Creative Writing at New England College. She is the author of three poetry collections, and her poetry, prose, and critical writing have been published and anthologized in numerous publications over the past three decades. She is on the NH Humanities to-Go program roster with her interactive writing program: Family, Memory, Place: Writing Family Stories.

Inez McDermott is a Professor Emerita of art history at New England College. She is a curator of art and history exhibitions at various museums and galleries throughout New England, including, most recently, An Enduring Presence: The Old Man of the Mountain at the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University (June-September 2023). She was co-curator of Mount Washington, The Crown of New England, at the Currier Museum of Art (2016). 

Fran Philippe is an elementary school educator for whom LINEC has played a big part in her retirement, both as a ‘student’ and administratively. She shares her time between local volunteer opportunities and experiencing the beautiful environment in which we live, in any manner she can.

Mary Lee Sargent is a retired professor of History and Women’s Studies. She taught at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, for 35 years and was Director of the Women and Gender Studies Department. After moving to New Hampshire in 2003, Mary Lee was an adjunct instructor at Southern New Hampshire and Plymouth State Universities, Lakes Region, and NHTI Community Colleges.

Mary Lee Sargent has been a cinephile since she was 5 years old and saw the first film that she can remember — Disney’s “Dumbo.” As a teenager, afternoons spent ironing in front of the daily 3 pm movie introduced her to the classic films of the 30s and 40’s, including the great screwball comedies. Sargent taught history at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, for 35 years and was an adjunct instructor at several NH colleges and universities.

Carolyn Timbie, is the granddaughter of Grace Banker. Carolyn’s family has an extensive collection of letters, documents and items that belonged to her grandmother that allowed her to delve deeply into her grandmother’s story. Carolyn has contributed information to the book The Hello Girls, America’s First Women Soldiers by Elizabeth Cobbs, The Hello Girls Documentary, The Hello Girls Musical, and the children’s book Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call by Claudia Friddell. In March 2021, the Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act S.692 was introduced and has been co-sponsored by NH Senator Maggie Hassan. Carolyn is actively raising awareness to see that women are recognized with this great honor.

Paul Brogan has loved film since he was a child. Author of two best-selling books, the New Hampshire native is passionate about sharing his love for the movies with anyone who will listen.

Elaine Clow

Elaine Clow’s academic journey includes studies in textile design, English, media, history, political science, psychology, management development, and public speaking. After art school and university, she obtained her pilot’s license from the airport housing the Aviation Museum of the Great War with flying war birds of the era; she then became involved with the Canadian Warplane Heritage before getting married and becoming a mother. Additionally, Elaine has authored several books on baby and kids’ games, which have been published in Canada, the US, and Australia.

Prof. John Graebe directs the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership & Public Service and is a professor of law at the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law. He teaches constitutional law, civil procedure, and related courses. His scholarship focuses on constitutional law, federal courts, and civil rights litigation. Professor Greabe is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court; the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits; the United States District Courts for the Districts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts; the New Hampshire Supreme Court; and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He also writes a monthly Constitutional Connections column for the Concord Monitor.

Dick Hesse, a retired professor of law, holds a master’s degree in history and has studied civil rights from both the legal and historical perspective. Civil and human rights have been the focus of his study and law practice for more than 50 years. He has been a frequent presenter for LINEC, OLLI and AIL.

Betsy Holmes is a plein air artist, retired library director, and lifelong learner. She has taught art history courses at Saint Anselm College, New England College, and the NH Institute of Art, with an emphasis on non-Western art.

Julie Machen has been an Anglophile since her student days at Durham University in Northern England.  She and her English-born husband visit the country regularly.  While teaching AP European History at Greenwich High School in CT, she independently studied Victorian England.  She also received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study the Industrial Revolution in Britain at the University of Nottingham.  Charles Dickens was one focus of that seminar.

John McCausland was an English major once upon a time and continues to find enjoyment and wisdom from reading and sometimes rereading novels, while discussing them with others. Retired from careers as a lawyer and Episcopal priest, he finds in LINEC a family of interesting and engaged friends who enliven each other’s lives and help make the golden years truly golden.

Jane Oneail is an independent scholar with a master’s degree in Art History from Boston University and a master’s in Art in Education from Harvard University. Jane is a New Hampshire native and has worked at some of the state’s most esteemed cultural institutions, including the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, where she served as Executive Director, and the Currier Museum of Art, where she held the role of Senior Educator. Jane has also taught at the college level for over a decade, most recently at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.

Rev. Suzanne Rude was ordained as an interfaith minister in 2020 following two years of religious studies at the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in NYC. Her ministry focuses on supporting interfaith and inter-spiritual understanding and cooperation.  She has served as President of the Greater Concord Interfaith Council, Vice-President of the New Hampshire Council of Churches, and is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Concord. Suzanne is a 2018 graduate of Leadership Greater Concord and holds a B.SC. degree from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Vermont.

Eleanor Strang, received her MA from the University of Michigan, and her MLS from the Simmons College School of Library and Information Science. She served as the director of the Kelley Library (the public library of Salem, NH) for 15 years. Since retiring, she has pursued her interest in American and Canadian history, and has done presentations for the OLLI and a variety of historical societies and libraries.

Sen. David Waters, NH State Senator for District 4 since 2012, was a long time Professor at the University of New Hampshire where he taught American literature, New England studies, and New Hampshire literature and culture. He is a Board Member of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, and writer and co-host of the film I Was a Slave, Even Here in NH: The Concord Black Heritage Trail.

Carol Zink, is a retired high school history teacher who taught Modern World and AP European History. She currently teaches online for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Hawaii. She is also a retired Navy Captain, grandmother of five, and an avid hiker, kayaker, swimmer, and chef. She usually divides her time between New Hampshire and California, but this year is going to ‘try winter’ and spend a year and a half in New Hampshire.