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Instructors for Spring 2008 | |
Russ Armistead has been a Personal Trainer since 1997. He has been with Crunch Fitness and Body of Change in Atlanta, and is currently employed with The Omni Club in Athens as a Personal Trainer where he is in charge of management and implementation of training programs. He has a BS in Exercise Science from Kennesaw State University and is working on his MEd in Kinesiology at The University of Georgia. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and holds certifications with the American Council on Exercise (ACE) in the areas of stretching, post-rehabilitation, kickboxing, and natal/post-natal. He is CPR Instructor-certified.  Harriette Austin earned her AB from Barnard College at Columbia University and her MFA from the Yale University School of Drama. She received the "39th Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Georgia Writers Association. In 2003, four of her students published novels through national publishers, including St. Martins, Cumberland House, Harlequin-Worldwide, and Signet. Austin has taught at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel for 28 years and is the founder of the Harriette Austin Writers Conference (for more details and archives, see www.coe.uga.edu/hawc. See the author's web site. Course: Harriette Austin's Creative Writing Workshop.
Rochel Haigh Blehr is a Certified Feng Shui Consultant, having studied with the world's most renowned masters, including Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai, Master Raymond Lo, Jes Lim, Master June, Ken Lai, and Master Peter Leung. Blehr began studying Classical Feng Shui in 1996, and her studies have taken her to Singapore, Malaysia, Austria, Canada, and various cities throughout the United States. She has been a practicing Feng Shui Consultant since 1998. She is a graduate of Old Dominion University and has worked as an environmental engineer for both the U.S. government and private industry. You may visit her Web site at: http://www.fengshuitechnology.com/AboutRochelHaighBlehr.html. Course: Feng Shui for the Home.
Ana Bonfonte earned an MA in German language and literature from Florida State University. She has been teaching German for more than 10 years and has lived and studied in Germany, where she completed a teacher training program at the Goethe Institut Berlin. Bonfonte has lived in Athens since 2002, when she began teaching German at the University of Georgia (UGA) and at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. Course: German Language & Culture, Level 1. 
Hernan Borda, a native of Colombia, is formally trained as an engineer and taught for many years at the Universidad Autonoma de Occident in Cali, Colombia. Borda has been teaching Spanish for the Georgia Center since 1992. Courses: General Spanish, Levels 2 & 3.
Elizabeth Boudreau: As an undergraduate, Elizabeth attended a small liberal arts university in Kansas where she majored in Spanish and had the opportunity to study abroad in Granada, Spain. After college, she worked for a bilingual family literacy program called Even Start in Oklahoma. In 2004, Elizabeth moved to Georgia where she has taught Spanish at both elementary and high school levels. She is currently working towards a M.Ed. in Language Education in the Teaching of Additional Languages program at the University of Georgia. Courses: General Spanish, Levels 1 & 2. Scott Bryant graduated from UGA with a major in physical education. A golfer since 1981 and a golf instructor for more than 15 years, Bryant has taught golf for the Georgia Center since 1997. Course: Beginning Golf. Curtis Carter is the owner and president of Carter Appraisal Services, Inc. He has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate field as a broker, appraiser, and investor. He holds the prestigious SRA designation from the Appraisal Institute, the nation's most recognized appraisal organization. He received his BBA in real estate and urban development from the University of Georgia. He is an FHA approved appraiser, and is a charter member of the Athens Area Council of Real Estate Appraiser, serving four times as president. Among many areas, he specializes in commercial/investment properties, consultation, litigation appraisals, and court testimony. Visit his Web site at: http://www.carterappraisal.com/staff.html. Course: Georgia Real Estate Pre-License Appraisal Course. Natalie Grier Cox has served as the president of the University of Georgia Ballroom Performance Group and has been a principal dancer in the group since 2002. She attended Brigham Young University Ballroom Camp, studying under Jean Marc Genereux and France Mousseau. She graduated from UGA's School of Law and is a practicing attorney. Courses: Traditional Ballroom Dances: Waltz, Foxtrot and West Coast Swing; and Hustle; Swing, Salsa and The Hustle. Liliana Davila is a native of Argentina, where she taught both English and Spanish. She has taught in the United States for 20 years both as an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher and a Spanish teacher. She has also been a translator/interpreter. She currently teaches Spanish for the Dacula School System in Gwinnett County, Georgia. She has an MA and an EdS from the University of Georgia and was ESOL-endorsed in 2005. Course: English for Speakers of Other Languages, Level 3. Larry Dillard has been teaching the Georgia Real Estate Pre-License Sales Course at the Georgia Center for more than 13 years. He's thorough, helps participants understand a great deal of material, and knows the real estate business. Dillard's got a great sense of humor, and he's the kind of guy that goes the extra mile to help you succeed. A University of Georgia graduate, he received his salesman's license in 1977. In 1981, he earned his broker's license. Over the last two decades, Dillard has worked in management and training and owned a real estate company. He is currently an associate broker with Dillard Realty. Course: Georgia Real Estate Pre-License Sales Course. Jaclin DuRant has taught belly dancing since 2002. She has performance experience with Troupe Sulukule, where she is the principal dancer, works with choreography and costume design. She has performed throughout the Southeast. DuRant is a co-President member of the UGA Belly Dance Club and is its Jaclin is a teaching assistant and an MS candidate in conservation ecology and sustainable development at UGA. She has a BS in biology from the University of South Carolina. You can view her in a Sulukule Tribal Fusion dance at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKO73T1t3NA. Course: Bellydance Basics: Fitness and Fun. Duncan Elkins has an MS in ecology from the University of Georgia and is working on his PhD in fisheries. He has a BS in biology from Stanford University and has extensive classroom teaching experience in the sciences and mathematics, including the GRE, GMAT and LSAT test prep courses where he is considered the resident expert. Courses: GRE, LSAT, GMAT Test Prep. Phillip Faulkner, a photographer for UGA's Athletic Department for four years, has had his photographs published in Georgia Bulldog Magazine, on GeorgiaDogs.com, Tennessee Vols.com, 2005-2006 UGA media guides, and Inside Tennis of Northern California. He also takes photos for The Oconee Enterprise, the Athens-Banner Herald, and Dawgprints, and he takes freelance photographs of families, pets, weddings, and other special events. He graduated from Gwinnett Technical College with a degree in commercial photography. Examples of his work may be found at www.dawgprints.net. Course: Creating a Portfolio and Presenting Your Images Professionally. Susan Gill has taught English to international students in programs from New York to California. She holds an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Course: English for Speakers of Other Languages, Level 4. 
Serge Gonzales is an avid wine enthusiast and gourmet cook. A former wine judge, he was an elected member of the Knights of the Vine located in Sonoma, California. He was the former chairperson of the American Wine Society, Athens chapter. He has taken, or participated in, wine classes, vertical tastings, wine seminars, and wine evaluations for the past 20 years. He thinks that we should all feel privileged that fermentation of a simple fruit, like the grape, can provide us with such an array of aromas, delicious tastes, and wonderful interactions with food. Wine is second nature to young and old in countries like France, Spain, Italy, Argentina, and Australia, and he hopes that courses like his can make more Americans think about wine in the same way. He is a retired faculty member and geologist with an AB from Duke University, an MS from Miami University, and a PhD from Cornell University. Course: Classical Wines of the Old World, Part II: Italy & Spain.
Stephen Harris received his PhD in philosophy from Florida State University. He has served as an item writer for the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and American College Testing (ACT) for six years, furnishing materials for the LSAT, GMAT, and GRE exams. Since 1996, he has developed and instructed test-preparation items for a number of exams, including the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, ACT, FCAT, MCAT, and SAT. As director of development for Educational Testing Consultants, Inc., he currently teaches graduate-level test-preparation courses at Florida State University, the University of North Florida, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the University of South Carolina. Courses: LSAT Test Prep. Sarah Hathorn is a certified image consultant with the internationally recognized London Image Institute and is a member of the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI), for which she serves as the secretary/treasurer of the Executive Board of the Atlanta Chapter. She is president of Illustra Image Consulting in Atlanta. She focuses on balance, proportion and scale, color, signature styles, wardrobe management, and professional image. Her Web site is: http://www.illustraconsulting.com/. Course: Improve Your Professional Image. Mike Healy, EdD, has practiced meditation for 28 years, 19 years studying mindfulness meditation. He has taught this program for several years at the Georgia Center and at the Athens Regional Medical Center's Mind Body Institute. Healy has participated in a seven-day professional training program under the direction of Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; has completed the Teacher Development Intensive at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness; and has had additional training attending multiday mindfulness meditation retreats. Healy completed a doctorate in adult education at the University of Georgia, studying the mindfulness transformational learning process. Course: Realizing Greater Health & Happiness: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Heather Koeppel, MA, DC, FIACA is the academic director for the Athens Massage Institute. She is certified by the National Board of Chiropractic and has a Doctorate of Chiropractic Examiners from Life University in Marietta, Georgia. She has also studied at the International Qi Gong and Acupuncture Medical Society in Beijing, and at the Cranial Academy in Toronto, Canada. She studied neuromusculoskeletal anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology with the International College of Applied Kinesiology. Previously she was an instructor for the Upledger Institute in Palm Springs, Florida and the Bowen Research and Training Institute in Tampa, Florida. She was the Director of Education for the Native American Museum in Niagara Falls, New York, and Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools in Niagara Falls, New York. She is a Fellow of the International Academy of Clinical Acupuncture, is certified instructor of craniosacral therapy, and is a certified instructor of Bowen Therapy. She has a MA from The State University of New York at Buffalo. Course: Pathways to a Medical Massage Therapy Career. Suzanne Lindenau is a native of Europe and she speaks Italian, French, Spanish, and German. A teacher for the Georgia Center for more than 12 years, she is retired from UGA's Department of Romance Languages. Lindenau is an outstanding instructor who consistently receives excellent evaluations from her students. All say they not only learn, but they have a really good time. Courses: Italian Language & Culture, Levels 1, 2 & 2/3; French Language & Culture. Nancy Lloyd has taught painting and drawing at Athens Academy since 1984. She has also taught watercolor in the UGA Studies Abroad Program, serving as an artist-in-residence for the program in 1997. She has a BA in art and an MAE in art from the University of North Carolina. Course: Beginning Painting with Oils and Acrylics. Barbara Mann is a well-known Athens jewelry artist whose work is shown throughout the Southeast. A part-time instructor at the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art, she has been teaching the jewelry courses for the Georgia Center for more than 11 years. Mann has taught in UGA's Cortona, Italy, program for several summers. Her jewelry, in demand throughout the United States, resides in private collections. With Gary Noffke, she designed the "Delta Prize for Global Understanding," an annual award sponsored by Delta Air Lines and UGA that is given to individuals who provide, on their own initiative, greater understanding among cultures and nations. Course: Intermediate Jewelry Design & Metalwork. David Matheny is vice-president and principal architect for Armentrout Roebuck Matheny Consulting Group. Currently President of the Northeast Georgia American Institute of Architects and President of the Board of Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, Matheny's interests include travel, antiques, art, and walking. Course: Success is a Routine. Michael Mitchell is a student at the University of Georgia. He is a member of the UGA Ballroom Dance Club. Courses: Ballroom Dance; Swing, Salsa, and The Hustle. Brenda Murphy is the founder of the Georgia Centre for Parental Coaching. She is also Georgia's only Certified NHA specialist (Nurtured Heart Approach Specialist). Murphy has an MA in psychology and a CTACC (Coach Training Alliance Certified Coach) but, she says, she is first and foremost a believer in the redeeming power of relationships. She is a positive, solution-oriented specialist who helps people find relief from "relationship stress." Her graduate educational background is in psychology with certification in the management of relationship stress in families due to a child's challenging behaviors. Murphy is continuing her postgraduate education in attentional studies and its impact on family dynamics. She is an adjunct faculty member at Athens Technical College for students majoring in nursing. She works extensively with professionals in the community, ranging from court officials, law enforcement professionals, social workers, psychotherapists, physicians, and educational specialists. She also consults with hospital board members in other states and is currently serving as the official patient coach for Spherios Medical Center in Atlanta. Murphy's first book of organizational hints and tips for those with AD/HD, was published in April 2007. She gives lectures and speeches to groups seeking help with parenting and relationship stress issues, including professional organizations and faith-based groups. Murphy's passion is to communicate with parents and non-parents about what makes people "tick" and to find strategies for successfully dealing with the important people in our lives. A grandmother of four, Murphy regularly gets to "practice what she preaches." See her Web site at: http://www.parentcoachingcenter.com/. Also, go to: http://www.lifetips.com/expert-guru/6261-brenda-murphy.html. Course: Connecting to Children with Challenging Behaviors. Julia Marlowe is the owner of Athens Home Organizer: Stash It. Store It. Find It. Use It. She is retired from the University of Georgia, where as a faculty member, she taught consumer economics, financial management, and home resource management in the School of Family & Consumer Sciences. Visit her Web site at: http://www.athenshomeorganizer.com/beforeandafter.php?Case_ID=5. Course: Organizing and Preparing Your Home to Sell (Or Just Getting Your Life in Order). 
Jim Morgenthaler has been teaching photography for 30+ years. He has won "First Place" in many shows, and many of his photographs have been published in magazines and books. He wrote and hosted the "Taking Better Pictures" television series that aired on Georgia Public Television for 14 years. Morgenthaler purchased his first Nikon in Korea while he was stationed there. His avocation soon became his vocation. He wants photography to be fun, and he tries to make the classroom experience enjoyable. See website with instructor's photographs at http://popphoto.bitshelter.com/usr/usr-show?U_ID=U0000C.oE0mQDjQ4. Courses: Taking Better Digital Pictures: Digital & 35mm; Basic Digital Photography; Fundamentals of Photography.
Jess Nakaska is a graduate of the Professional Program in Screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is currently working on his MFA in screenwriting at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia and is in the process of completing the Advanced Program in Screenwriting at UCLA. He has been a finalist in three professional screenwriting competitions and a runner-up in one as follows: Runner-up in the Scriptshark Insider Screenplay Competition; 2006 finalist in the Open Door Contest sponsored by Kaplan-Perrone; 2005 finalist in the Screamfest LA Screenplay Competition; and the 2004 finalist/short-listed at the Canadian Film Centre. He has written three scripts: Obsidian Rainbow: Semifinalist, Open Door Contest sponsored by Smart Entertainment 2006; White Line Fever: in development with Subcreation Production, (aiming for principal photography), December 2007; and Wendigo. Nakaska is also a PhD candidate in political science/international relations at UGA. He has an MA and BA science. Course: Fade In: A Working Screenwriter Makes His Entrance. Magda Patino-Ruiz, a native of Mexico, has a BA and teaches K-12 Spanish at a local private school. She is an outstanding instructor who always receives excellent evaluations from her students, who call her "patient." Courses: General Spanish, Levels 1 & 4. Sarah Pattison is a freelance artist who has a BFA from the University of Georgia. She has taught art classes for UGA for the last six years, and exhibits and sells her work locally. She has studied for many years with Stewart Cubley and now is on his summer staff. See her Web site: http://www.sarahpattison.com. Courses: Seeing with a Wild Eye: Painting from Intuition; Traditional & Experimental Watercolor Tom Payton is the founder and president/publisher of Hill Street Press, an independent book publisher in Athens. Tom gets outstanding evaluations each time he offers this seminar. If you are interested in publishing a book, don't miss this one-day course. See instructor's photograph. Go to www.hillstreetpress.com to visit the instructor's publishing company Web site. Course: Books in Print: The Business of Publishing a Book. 
Steve Pettis an ISA Certified Arborist, is a former Gwinnett County Extension Agent, a former nursery manager, and a former newspaper columnist for the Gwinnett Daily Post. He is currently the owner of Complete Horticultural Consulting, LLC, an Athens area green industry consulting firm. He is also the host of "The Athens Home Gardening Show" heard Saturday mornings on AM 1350 WGAU. Steve holds a BS in horticulture and an MS in plant protection and pest management from UGA. View Pettis' Web site at www.completehortconsulting.com. Courses: ISA-Certified Arborist Test Prep Course; Turf & Ornamental Category 24 Pesticide License Recertification Course; Georgia Pesticide License Test Prep Course; ISA-Certified Arborist Recertification Course.
Valerie Pflug: While Pflug has lived most of her life in Georgia, she has traveled extensively in the United States. She's been to 49 of the 50 states! Her love for the world and its people began as she explored the vast geographical diversity of the U.S. She has also had the opportunity to travel abroad. One of her favorite trips was to Slovenia to visit a friend. Pflug attended UGA for her undergraduate degree in speech/language pathology and is now working on her master's in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). She has taught ESOL in Sacramento, California and Atlanta, Georgia; however, most of her teaching experience has been with community organizations in Athens. After graduation, Pflug plans to teach English in Korea. Courses: English for Speakers of Other Languages, Levels 1 & 2. Robert (Bert) Richards has been a certified public accountant and a lecturer at Georgia State University for the past 23 years, He is a father, financial consultant, marathon runner, and the son of a behavioral psychologist. He has studied the behavior patterns of successful people for more than 30 years and has authored the book, Success is a Routine. Course: Success is a Routine. J. H. "Hank" Segars is retired after 34 years working for state government. As a young retiree, he fully understands the needs of those facing retirement. He wants you to know that this is not a financial course, but one that focuses upon social activities, satisfying opportunities, and healthy living. This workshop is based on a final paper he did for a graduate course at UGA. Segars is a graduate of West Georgia College, and he has a MEd in adult education from UGA. He is currently the editor and a publishing consultant for Southern Lion Books, Inc. Course: Reinventing Yourself in Retirement. Jack Smith is an Atlanta-based management consultant and professional freelance instructor. He established The Smith Group in 1988, a private consulting practice that works primarily with public organizations. He is the principal trainer, and his work is grounded in 26 years of nonprofit senior management experiences with more than 100 different agencies. He also conducts training with state governments, nonprofit agencies, universities, and state and national associations. His development work has been cited at the federal and state levels. He has an MPA degree from the University of Maine. You can find additional information about Smith at: http://www.grantsalert.com/grant_writers_directory.cfm?pg=4&id=1297 Courses: Program Development for Grant Writers, Writing Skills for Grant Writers, Funding Resources for Grant Writers, and Fundamentals of Nonprofit Development. Abraham Tesser has been designing and building furniture for more than 30 years. He has studied with several of the country's leading furniture makers such as Doug Jones at the Shelburne Craft School in Shelburne, Vermont, Michael Dunbar at the Windsor Institute in Hampton, New Hampshire, and with Michael Fortune at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Franklin, North Carolina. He has also studied at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee with Alfred Sharp, III and with Nick Cook. In 2004, he studied technical design graphics at UGA with Roger Hill and CAD and fabrication with Thomas Houser and Michael Oliveri. He has participated in juried shows since 1993 and was judged to have one of the award-winning pieces in the Lyndon House Arts Center 32nd Juried Exhibition in 2007. Tesser is a member of the Furniture Society, The American Society of Woodturners, and the Classic City Woodturners. Samples of his work can be found at http://tesserfurniture.com. Tesser is a retired professor of psychology from UGA. He has his PhD and MA from Purdue University. Course: Fine Woodworking: Appreciation of Design and Construction. Rick Waters has been using computers to edit videos since 1998. With formal training in screenwriting and a ranking in the 99th percentile of Americans in creativity (data available upon request), Waters leads lively and entertaining programs that bring students back time and time again. In the summer of 2006, he taught video editing to summer camp students in SAUGA (Summer Academy at UGA). Waters earned an MD in dentistry from the Medical College of Georgia in 1986. Course: Video Editing Using Windows XP's Movie Maker. Ouida Williams is a successful local artist who has been teaching Athenians to paint and draw for many years. She has an MFA from the University of Georgia and has taught for the Georgia Center for 25+ years. Williams is a respected educator with teaching experience in Athens; at Eastern Tennessee State University; with the University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy; and with the Art Institute Program in Atlanta. She exhibits throughout the Southeast. Her paintings can be seen in a number of private and corporate collections, including the University of West Georgia, The Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville, and John Portman's Marriott Marquis in Atlanta. Courses: Beginning Drawing. | |
All contents copyright © 2008 University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education All rights reserved URL: http://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/ppd/about/spring2008instructorbios.phtml This page was last revised on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 | |