ALL classes are led by Volunteers
If you would like to volunteer to lead a course, send your name, contact information and course description to:
​assocforll@hotmail.com 

We are mourning the loss of Mike Pretl who was scheduled to teach a course this semester entitled, "America's Endless War." Mike's generous contributions to our organization were numerous and impressive. His depth of knowledge and dedication to sharing that knowledge have enriched the lives of so many of us.

Meet the Course Leaders

Todd Becker is a retired US Foreign Service Officer and international civil servant who spent considerable professional time in Europe.  He currently teaches at Salisbury University in three different departments, including Political Science and Sociology. 

Jane Conly is an editor and novelist who has written ten books for children and young adults, including the Newbery Honor Book Crazy Lady!, and most recently, Murder Afloat, a novel about oystering on the Chesapeake Bay.  She has taught writing and editing to groups of children, young adults, and college students.  She also worked for a program sponsored by the US Pulbic Health Service, interviewing a randomized sampling of adults about their lives.  Many participants told her stories that had not been shared with their families or friends.  She is convinced that such stories are important and should be recorded or written for the benefit of others. 
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Dr. Ron Dotterer holds a B.A. with honors in English from Bucknell University, M.A., M.Phil, and Ph.D. with highest honors in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.  He was a professor for 21 years at Susquehanna University (where he founded the honors program, was assistant to the president, and chair of the Department of English) and for 24 years at Salisbury University, where he was professor of English and Dean of the Fulton School of Liberal Arts.  He has published over 40 articles and six books on Shakespeare, Irish literature, poetry, women and the arts, film, and undergraduate research.  
 
Dr. Stephen Gehnrich earned his PhD in Biology from Tufts University in 1986, and has been a professor of biology at Salisbury University since 1988. Steve has been interested in history (primarily World War One) for many years, but has also studied the Revolutionary War and particularly the amazing military achievements (and defection) of Benedict Arnold.  He is a member of the Arnold Expedition Historical Society, and has visited quite a few sites of Arnold’s victories and defeats.
 
Dale Godfrey graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree. Since 1974 he has been employed in the communications industry, adult education, IT, and elections with the State of Maryland.
 
Nancy Hesser Ph.D., has taught literature in the US, DR Congo, and Mali. She lives with her husband and canine companions in the salt marshes of south Dorchester County. Her ALL short story courses have focused on American regionalism, the Roaring 20s, religious diversity, African voices, Central America, the Caribbean, and flash fiction, among other subjects.
 
Phillip Hesser taught in the US and Africa and served with the UNHCR and AED. He can be found teaching at Salisbury University and progging in the marshes with his pups Marshall and Bayly. He is the author of What a River Says: Exploring the Blackwater River & Refuge (Cambridge: 2014), and is working on The Old Home Is Not There – The Native Land of Harriet Tubman.
 
Dr. Karin Johnson has had a long career in public health and global health.  She has undergraduate and master’s degrees in nursing and a nurse practitioner certificate from the University of Maryland, as well as a doctorate in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Her varied career has included teaching and/or administrative positions at Salisbury University, the University of Maryland, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Saint Joseph’s College. She has had the opportunity to do research work at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has had varied experiences and consultancies abroad.
 
Dr. Ellen Lawler is professor emeritus of Biology at Salisbury University.  She has been watching and studying birds for many years and taught Ornithology numerous times before retiring from SU in 2015. She is currently the vice-president of the Tri-County Bird Club, leads field trips for the club and is well acquainted with birding sites on Delmarva
​A native of Salisbury, Maryland, Phillip LeBel has pursued a career in higher education teaching, research, and consulting.  A recipient of two Fulbright Senior Awards (in Senegal in 1984; in Ethiopia in 2009), he has traveled widely in Africa, Europe, and Asia from which he has used applied economic analysis to address ongoing policy issues of international concern.  Upon transiting to Emeritus Professor of Economics from Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, in 2010, he has engaged in ongoing consulting, with periodic teaching and research, from which he completed A Brief Relation of The State of Delmarva, published in 2016 by the Maryland History Press.  This is his sixth course offering for ALL. He currently lives in Delmar, Maryland. 
 
Eleanor Mulligan began giving talks on American and European history and travel after spending over a decade in Europe, and wrote articles for the Baltimore Sun evening edition during the 1980s and 90s. For a number of years she has given visual presentations on American historical subjects and a variety of related topics. She holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and from UMBC.
 
Ms. Terry Murray has a lifetime of experience making, studying and exploring Art. She has traveled Europe and the United States seeking first hand exposure to internationally renowned Art, galleries and sites of historic importance in the development of Art. She has led studies in Art Studio, Media Studies, Art Appreciation and Art History at all educational levels, nursery through university. She is a lifetime art instructor certified by the states of New York and New Jersey. Her articles and photographs have been published in national art education publications.  Her watercolors, photographs, oils and acrylics have been exhibited in numerous venues on the east coast.  She holds an MA in Art Education, BA in Studio Art and 60 credits of additional graduate study. Currently, Terry creates art with the Plein Air Painters of Delmarva, painting with the “Attic Artists Group” in Salisbury and is President of the Association of Lifelong Learning.
 
 
Michael J. Roberts holds a bachelor’s degree, with a major in History, from Duke University and a Juris Doctor Degree from the Washington College of Law, American University, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review.  He was an officer in the U.S. Navy, with extensive sea duty in the Mediterranean, plus service with the Naval Security Group in Washington.  For over 30 years he practiced law in Washington, specializing in aviation and international law.  While in the Navy he attended graduate school at the University of Maryland, and studied under Professor Gordon Prange, the foremost authority on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War.  This led to a lifelong interest in and study of these subjects.  He has taught several courses at the Association of Lifelong Learning, and at Washington College’s WC-ALL program.
 
Sophia Sonen is a retired teacher/counselor of 37 years, from the state of Maryland. She earned a MLA and an MS from Johns Hopkins University. Definitely a life-long learner, with a strong interest in creativity, she completed 4 semesters of the Artist’s Way classes with Diane Thomas Mitchell where she became more creative, which was quite complementary to her spiritual practice, and expanded consciousness.
 
Dr. Carolyn Stegman taught the psychology of death, dying, and bereavement courses at Salisbury University for many years.  Prior to that, as a nurse, she was involved in teaching health care professionals about helping patients, families, and themselves deal with death in hospitals and hospices.  Her novel, A Gold-Mended Life, tackles the subjects of aging and death.
 
Dr. G. Ray Thompson is Professor Emeritus of History at Salisbury University and founder and former Director of the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture.  He holds a Ph.D. in ancient Greek and Roman history, and studied at the American Academy of Classical Studies in Rome and at the American School for Classical Studies in Athens.