Meet the Course Leaders
|
Pamela Andrews holds a B.A with honors from University of Maryland, Eastern Shore and American University, Washington, DC, and post graduate courses from Salisbury University. She is retired from a twenty-five-year career as program director at Delmarva Public Radio, and is a founding member and president of the Lyme Disease Association of Delmarva, Inc. (LDAD) -- a non-profit organization established in 2003. The LDAD is dedicated to advocating for patients with Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, and focuses on educating the public. They have also produced conferences to inform the medical community regarding the latest research and clinical findings on tick-borne diseases. As president of this advocacy organization, Ms. Andrews was offered educational opportunities by attending several annual medical conferences of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, Inc. (ILADS), and by attending scores of seminars by national medical organizations. In 2010, Ms. Andrews testified before the Institute of Medicine Hearings on Lyme Disease in Washington, DC. She has also testified on behalf of Lyme disease patients before the State of Maryland and the State of Delaware Legislatures, and before the U.S. Congress. Ms. Andrews is author of the novel, LYME WARS – A LOVE STORY, which she wrote to inform the public on the life altering challenges of dealing with tick-borne diseases, and how these diseases affect the lives of patients when they become chronic conditions.
Todd Becker is a retired US Diplomat with 34 years in the US State Department and an additional 10 years’ experience with the International Security and Peace Keeping Organization, OSCE. He currently teaches Conflict Resolution and European Government courses at SU. He has offered ALL courses for about 12 years. Peggy Bradford (M.S.,R.N.), was MAC’s CEO for 37 years, overseeing its progression from a couple of programs and a few employees to a major contributing force in our community and state, housed in a state-of-the-art facility. She had a stroke in 2024 but refuses to feel sorry for herself, instead honoring her limitations. Dr. Ron Dotterer holds a B.A. with honors in English from Bucknell University, M.A., M. Phil, and Ph.D. with highest honors degrees 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, and is Professor and Dean Emeritus. He has published over 40 articles and six books on Shakespeare, Irish literature, poetry, women and the arts, film, and undergraduate research. 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. Since moving from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, she continues to participate in ALL Salisbury via Zoom from her home in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier, which she shares with her husband and one canine companion. Her ALL short story courses have focused on American regionalism, the Roaring 20s, African voices, Central America, the Caribbean, foodies, pub crawlers, identities, ghost stories, travel, work, houses, dress codes, and flash fiction, among other subjects. Phillip Hesser has taught in the US and Africa and served with the UNHCR and the Academy for Educational Development. Most recently, he has taught at Salisbury University and Wor-Wic Community College. He now spends his time delving into the deep history of Delmarva and the Chesapeake Bay watershed and running the hills of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, with faithful Pomsky Katty K. Indulging his interests at the intersection of landscape, life & livelihood, he wrote What a River Says: Exploring the Blackwater River and Refuge (Cambridge, MD: Friends of Blackwater, 2014), co-wrote (with Charlie Ewers) Harriet Tubman’s Eastern Shore: The Old Home Is Not There (Columbia, SC: History Press, 2021), and is completing A Fellow Feeling for the Bears – Rebalancing the Alaskan Life of Frances H. Willard, Tlingit Missionary. |
Phillip LeBel, Professor Emeritus, Montclair State University, had an academic and professional career in teaching, research, and consulting for over 30 years. With several books and over 40 peer reviewed journal articles, teaching in the ALL program with knowledgeable adults is always a rewarding experience.
Jean & Vic Laws practiced law together in Salisbury and co-taught courses in Constitutional Law and Civil Rights & Civil Liberties as adjunct faculty in the Political Science Department at Salisbury University. They met at the University of Maryland School of Law where they cemented their relationship by taking opposing sides during a Constitutional Law Seminar. Kenneth Medearis holds undergraduate degrees in Physics and Geology, along with a minor in Russian History from Whitman College and a graduate degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. During his career he traveled extensively to many parts of the world, and has taken the opportunity to explore local faiths and religious customs. He has had a life-long appreciation of art and a fascination with religious iconography, and has always served in some form of Christian education at whatever church he was a member of, teaching classes from middle school through confirmation and high school. Since his retirement and relocation to Salisbury he has become an Elder and Chair of the Church Council at Bethany Lutheran Church. Jim Morris has been in the Salisbury area his whole life and his family has been here since before the 1700s. He is president of the Wicomico Historical Society and past president of the Preservation Trust of Wicomico and the Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society. Mike Roberts holds a B.A. in history from Duke University and a J.D. from Washington College of Law, American University (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. Mike has taught several courses for the Association of Lifelong Learning. Dan Satterfield holds a BS in Atmospheric physics (Meteorology) and an MS in Earth Science. He is a fellow of the American Meteorological society and one of about 6,000 people to have stood at the South Pole. Jennifer Schermerhorn, LCSW, holds her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from Salisbury University. She currently serves as the Director of Graduate Field Education and is a clinical associate professor in the School of Social Work at Salisbury University. Her practice background includes over ten years of experience in long-term care as a nursing home social worker. Jennifer is a Community Educator volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association, delivering education programs to both the local community and virtually and she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center. Carolyn Stegman (Ed.D.,R.N.): Taught Psychology of Aging and also Death, Dying, and Bereavement at Salisbury University, was chair of the MAC Board of Directors, president of Wicomico’s Commission on Aging, served as a consultant to MAC for many years, and authored The Sages of Oak Place. Dr. G. Ray Thompson has taught Ancient History courses for nearly 60 years at the university level. Marilyn Williams is vice president and executive director of the Lyme Disease Association of Delmarva, Inc. Through her leadership, the Lyme Disease Association of Delmarva, Inc. has presented several medical conferences featuring speakers of international reputation in the world of Lyme disease. Medical care providers came from around the nation to attend LDAD conferences which were held in Salisbury, at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Maryland, and at BWI Airport Hotels near Baltimore. Ms. Williams has attended many medical conferences around the nation to better educate herself in service to patients with tick-borne diseases on Delmarva. She has also testified before the Legislatures of the State of Maryland and the State of Delaware, and for many years, she has hosted monthly meetings for the public and has organized Lyme disease booths at health fairs. She has also assisted other medical organizations acquire Lyme literate speakers to present at their conferences. |
