About ElderCollege Instructors
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DAVID ALIAGAreceived a BA in Anthropology and an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Calgary. He has done migration field research among Italian and Chinese migrants in Italy and Canada. He was a sessional lecturer at the University of Calgary. He enjoys teaching Sociology and Anthropology courses.
BRIAN ATKINSON is an Architect by profession, and a former co-owner of a printing company in Nanaimo. He has played bridge throughout the world: under a hanging car headlamp while bombs dropped overhead in Iraq; in the rain forests of Costa Rica; between volcanic mountains in Ecuador; beside the Mekong River in Laos and inside the concrete towers of Cameron Island.
ROY ASHCROFT comes from an English musical family where he started singing at 9. He has over 54 years' experience in Canada including singing in 2 cathedral Choirs. His love of Opera, Sacred and Classical music is well known.
COLIN BARTLETT, known locally as “The Bird Man”, developed a love of birding by observing and studying birds in his own backyard. He writes a weekly newspaper column in the Oceanside Star and is the owner of Backyard Wild Bird and Nature Store in Nanaimo.
JOHN BARTON has an extensive background in radio andtelevision broadcasting, commercial art and marketing, and has been a graphic illustrator for many companies including Sealy Mattresses.
GRAHAM BEARD obtained a BSc and BEd from UBC. He is President of the Vancouver Island Paleontology Museum Society as well as Director and Curator of the Museum. He is also Vice President of the BC Paleontological Alliance and Co Author of “West Coast Fossils” and numerous scientific papers.
ROBERT BEDARD, PhD, has been a workshop instructor, guest lecturer and part-time professor in Canada and Eastern Europe. He presents weekly “Life Lessons” at Ladysmith’s Bethel Tabernacle where he serves as Lead Pastor and primary teacher.
ELEANOR BELL was born in Montreal, and lived in Calgary, Bangladesh and Perth, Australia before coming to the Island in 2000. She learned Mah Jongg in her late teens and has been playing ever since. She hopes others will enjoy the game as much as she does.
DALE BENT holds a BSc, MSc and PhD. He has a longstanding interest in the environment and has been involved with the Global Action Plan Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, and the Georgia Strait Alliance.
STEVE BEYNON has fifty years experience using and managing computers and computer networks. He developed one of the first large scale industrial computer networks at INCO in Sudbury in 1976. Steve was a member of a group of university computer managers in Ontario that succeeded in getting the Internet up and running there in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
CATHY BOOLER has been Georgia Strait Alliance’s Administrative Director for the past 14 years. She will coordinate a group of speakers – scientists and other professionals – to present information on a variety of topics in order to educate participants about the Strait of Georgia.
COBI BOTHMA completed her premedical studies at the University of Victoria in 1991, then set off to live in and explore different cultures around the world. She returned to Canada to graduate from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto.
BRETT BOWEN attended the University of Calgary for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. Upon graduation, he began work with the Calgary Board of Education as (primarily) a teacher of Social Studies, Humanities, and History.
RON CHILDS is a former Professor of Chemistry at McMaster University, with a particular interest in water. He led research on developing water treatment membranes and his company, Natrix Separations, is applying the technology.
GARRY COX is a 29 year member of the RCMP and is a recognized facilitator in crime and safety initiatives which provide the public with tools to prevent becoming a victim of crime.
JIM CRIST retired from an eclectic career that included designing and delivering training in subjects that varied from human resource management to nuclear power plant operations. He has taught Bridge for ElderCollege since 2005 and says that he is “an amateur Bridge player striving to improve his game.”
JOHN EDWARDS has six academic degrees and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. He is interested in Comparative Literature, Shakespearean Studies, Classical Philosophy and is a translator of the Latin authors Apicius and Juvenal. His non-academic interests include farming and marathon running.
DEAN FORSYTH has a degree in electronic control systems and has worked with PCs (Personal Computers) since 1990. He is proficient in all Microsoft operating systems and many industrial control applications.
GREG FRASER received a BA from the University of Victoria and an MA from the University of San Diego. His major areas of expertise are World History, Canadian History and First Nations Studies.
WILL GESESLBRACHT is a local lawyer who has travelled extensively in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica and lived for a year in Nicaragua. He has a keen interest in Latin music, Central American history and politics. He offers valuable tips on the best way to travel in Mexico and Central America as well as audio visual presentations of Latin culture.
PAUL GLASSEN has a Masters degree in clinical psychology and has worked, professionally, in the field of community mental health and treatment of chemical dependency. His retirement hobby is studying early Canadian history.
FRANK GRAVES is a life member of the Nanaimo Horticulture Society. Frank is also an accomplished toastmaster of 15 years. After a lifetime of experience in gardening, he is spending most of his retirement engaging in this passion.
MARGARET HARRISON completed the American Contract Bridge League’s Teacher Accreditation Program in 2002, and taught Beginners Bridge in Abbotsford for three years. She is a retired certified general accountant who grew up in Vancouver and spent her teenage years in Montreal. She loves to travel and teach Bridge classes.
DAVID HASAN was born in India. He has a Masters in Religion and Culture and enjoys leveraging his ancestry and education in leading discussions of the past and present state of religious thought, faith and the changing perceptions through one’s journey through life.
DAVID HOBSON is passionate about history and has degrees in History and German from the University of Victoria as well as UCLA. He has taught at numerous institutions in BC including UVic, Camosun College and VIU’s ElderCollege.
JOHN HOSSACK has practiced law in the Nanaimo Oceanside area for 34 years. His preferred areas of practice are related to Estate Planning and Probate matters. John also lectures for the continuing education program for the Canadian National Association of Real Estate Appraisers.
ROGER KIMMERLEY has been a psychologist, a lawyer, and an acupuncturist. He was one of the youngest judges in Canada, appointed at age thirty. As an instructor, his style has always been to encourage and enliven discussion and to stimulate thought that takes a new perspective and promotes creativity.
DAVE KLINGER, originally from Michigan, lived and worked in Calgary for 31 years before moving to Parksville. He is a retired teacher with experience teaching in grade school, University, and at his own private studio. Dave holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music (piano performance) degrees from Michigan State University.
SYLVIE LAFRENIERE was born in Northern Ontario and studied in Montreal where she received her PhD in Sociology in 2005. After nine years at Statistics Canada, she recently moved to Vancouver Island and is now teaching at VIU. Her research interests include official language minority groups.
MARILYN MACDONALD has a PhD in Plant Sciences, degrees in Biology and Education and has taught and researched the interrelations between science and society.
ELIZABETH MARSLAND grew up in England and taught French and German in high school before immigrating to the US in 1962. She moved to Edmonton in 1970 and embarked on a PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Alberta, then later taught courses in English and Comparative Literature. Her 15 years of research and writing about First World War poetry culminated in a 1991 book, “The Nation’s Cause.”
MIKE MATTHEWS has taught Canadian Literature for 25 years at Malaspina--VIU. Retired, he still enjoys reading and talking about great Canadian writers like Alice Munro. He loves ElderCollege students, because they talk back!
RUSSELL MCNEIL, PhD, has been a writer, reporter and documentary maker for the CBC and has taught liberal studies and physics at Malaspina (now VIU). Now retired, he teaches at ElderCollege, as well as fitness and yoga for seniors.
RAY MITCHELL is a retired instructor from the Saskatchewan Police College at the University of Regina and is also a qualified diving instructor. He is an avid chess enthusiast.
GARVIN MOLES is a retired teacher who authored a number of textbooks for BC schools. He is interested in the history of ideas and enjoys sharing this interest.
MARY ANN MOORE is a widely published writer, poet and creativity facilitator who has been leading writing circles for 12 years.
WARREN MUNROE earned his Master of Arts degree in Geography at Carleton University in 2001, specializing in human settlement patterns, migration, statistics, and geographic information systems. He has worked for the BC government as the provincial expert on migration and is currently an independent consultant living in Qualicum Beach.
BILLI NICOL has a BEd from UVIC, an MA from Oregon State University and has been an ElderCollege student and instructor. She has travelled extensively in Greece, Italy and Britain and combines her love of history and travel in the courses she teaches.
SANDRA PETRIE has a teaching background in early learning in both private and public schools in Scotland and Canada. She is a student of learning who feels that all that happens in life teaches us something. She writes for fun and is constantly amazed at what she discovers in doing so.
DAVID PRUD’HOMME, PhD in Slavic Linguistics, has a keen interest in the natural world, the sciences, and languages. David has received numerous awards, including Mentor of the Year from the School of Business at the University of Alberta. He is a past president of the Edmonton Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of 14 Canada.
GIL ROY has practised law for 29 years including commercial, matrimonial, real estate law and civil litigation. He has instructed law graduates preparing for bar exams.
TIM SCHEWE is a retired RCMP constable with 25 years of service, including 20 in traffic enforcement and 10 as a technical collision investigator.
MARYANNA SINCLAIRE is an experienced Ex-Matchmaker. She was considered to be the first professional Matchmaker in Vancouver from 1989 - 1997. After nine years of matching couples, Maryanna is ready to write her memoirs as a matchmaker. (My Memoirs of an Ex-Matchmaker)
CHERYLE SOSNOWSKI’S experience as a teacher in the public school system makes her a life-time learner. She has an insatiable curiosity about the human species and how we have evolved on this planet. She believes that an understanding of society’s origins and social norms helps us to be more tolerant of others.
ANNE TOBY received her PhD in Genetics from Simon Fraser University. After a few years as a research scientist, she became Co-ordinator of Co-operative Education in the Faculty of Science at SFU. Her other career passion is teaching science to lay people and has continued pursuing this interest at ElderCollege.
SANDRA WALKER has a PhD in English from the University of Toronto and for twenty years taught in the departments of English and Humanities at York University’s Atkinson College for part-time, mature students. When ElderCollege began in Parksville, the opportunity to continue teaching was irresistible. Ever since she’s been having fun, indulging herself with like-minded people, exploring whatever subject strikes her fancy.
CLIFF AND LYN WARDLE are 6th generation South Africans with ancestry dating back to the 1820 Settlers. Cliff has a post graduate degree in agricultural science and is an alumnus of the Stanford University Business School, California. He operated a cane sugar company in S.A. for twenty years and qualified as a South African tour guide. Lyn is an RN who has operated her own pottery studio and also has a highly respected reputation as a floral artist.
CAROL WELLS received a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Alberta and certification in Business Administration from the College of New Caledonia. Carol has researched her own family tree and has completed course work with the National Institutes for Genealogical Studies.
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE has been a bush pilot, military pilot, simulator and flight instructor. His other interests include digital photography, vintage cars and black powder shooting.
AL WESTNEDGE has travelled to many galleries and exhibits in North America and Europe. His main interest is the photography of art, and he delights in seeing others appreciate the beauty of this world as recorded by great artists. Most of the images are from Al Westnedge’s own photographs of paintings in Paris, London, Washington and St. Petersburg.