2016 Board of Directors Candidates

   Stephen seeks re-election to continue his work with OLLI on Strategic Planning--specifically how do we accommodate our growth and how do we grow?  Last year, he headed a small Strategic Planning Group that confirmed our desire to remain at Tallwood for the next 5-7 years provided the facilities were safe or could be made safe. The facilities have been made safe, and the parking lot will be refurbished in the spring / early summer.
Looking ahead, how do we accommodate our growth for the longer term? Steve Canner, working with a team of OLLI members, wishes to continue his past efforts to address this crucial question. 
In addition to this work, he has served as coordinator for several OLLI courses, most recently, "What Does Mr. Putin Want?", and taught economics at Tallwood, Reston and Loudon. He brings to the Board a passion for education of our members, an ability to bring board members together, a sincere desire to preserve the excellence of our courses and to tackle the challenges and opportunities we face moving ahead. 
Steve lives in Reston with his wife Sharon.

    Pat Carroll, Colonel, USAF, (Ret) retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1977 as the Director of Programs for Information Technology, Deputy Chief of Staff, Command, Control, Communications and Computers after 27 years and immediately joined Sperry Univac.  He retired in 1998 from Unisys as Vice-President, Program Management.
He has been a member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) since 2003.  He has served on the Board as Vice-President and as President.  He chaired the Facilities Committee, served on the Strategic Planning Committee, and was on all three of the Selection Committees for the Executive Directors. He worked with Charles and Eileen Duggan on the initial submissions for the Osher Foundation grants and endowment.  He worked with Dr. Stearn, Charles Duggan and Ray Beery on the establishment of the Loudon campus.  He is currently the OLLI representative to the Arts at Mason Board Partnership. 
He is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a BS in Production Management and pursued graduate studies in Program Management at American University.  He and his wife Pat have 4 children and 12 grandchildren, four of whom currently live in the area.  Three of his children attended George Mason University.

    Jim has been a member of OLLI since 2010; his wide education and experience will serve him well in advancing the great work OLLI does.  He is a West Point graduate, serving for than 30 years in the US Army and US Army Reserve, retiring as a Colonel.  He holds graduate degrees, in, among other fields, Public Administration, Strategic Studies, Military Studies, History and Education (the latter two from George Mason), along with a law degree.
For 20 years, Jim was a Senior Attorney for the Veterans Administration.  After retirement, he taught middle school language arts and was the Director of Education for the union representing VA workers, both of which provided experience in educational organizations. 
Jim is Chair of the Liaison Committee, where he has instituted new procedures to improve the assignment and training program.  He is an active member of the Member Services Committee, serves as an office volunteer, is a member of the Outreach Committee, and is active on the Social Committee, where he initiated the idea of the winter beach party, along with themes for future events.  He also represented OLLI at the 2015 Veterans Event, which was a front page story in the Fairfax Connection. 

    Terri has been an OLLI member for seven years and has enjoyed many aspects of the program.  Aside from the lectures, field trips and clubs, she has enjoyed the comraderies and friendships made.  She found OLLI at a time of transition in her life while looking for a Great Decisions group.  She is currently serving on the Humanities and Social Sciences Program Planning Group and is involved in coordinating courses for current and future terms.
Terri taught Social Studies for Fairfax County Public Schools, developed and introduced a Cultural Anthropology Course for the International Baccalaureate Program.  She has served on a variety of community affairs boards and committees and was an active volunteer while living in the United States and Europe during her husband’s 30 year military career.  Terri is a passionate theater and opera lover, but also loves the Nats and is an ever hopeful Redskins fan.  And, like so many of her friends at OLLI, she has the travel bug.
Terri is delighted to have found OLLI, continues to enjoy its riches and tells everyone she meets about what OLLI offers.  She is humbled to be nominated and would be honored to serve on the Board to help keep OLLI the incredible institution it is.

    Marianne appreciates your wading through the verbiage created by 11 candidates.  She’ll keep it short.  After majoring in mathematics at Brown, Marianne proceeded to employment involving little math, working at various times as a legal editor, a librarian, and an audio describer for blind theatergoers. 
At certain stages Marianne was primarily a stay-at-home mom, active in her children’s schools.  She served on the Board of Trustees of one school, and chaired the Curriculum Committee at another. 
Always eager to learn – Smithsonian classes and Road Scholar offerings have been staples of her life – Marianne was thrilled to discover OLLI right in her own backyard!  Four years ago she took an afternoon off to visit one particular class, and was bowled over – not only by the teacher’s knowledge, but also by the students’ thoughtful, insightful questions.  She couldn’t wait to join these people in their pursuit of learning. Taking classes led to teaching them:  Marianne has now taught or co-taught a dozen OLLI courses.  She co-chairs Art/Music Program Planning.
Having been introduced by a fellow OLLI member to Radio Fairfax, Marianne began producing and hosting a weekly radio show, and she is now President of the Radio Guild.

John Nash

    John has been a member of OLLI for more than eight years. In addition to enjoying classes and trips, he is an editor of the OLLI E-News and helps design the electronic advertisement each term for the Mason marquee.
John has organized field trips that have included several visits to the Fairfax Water treatment plants in Herndon and Lorton, tours of the Fairfax County landfill and transfer station, and a trip to the Marine Corps Evening Parade in Washington, DC. A member of the Photo Club, he also organizes a fall program that provides photography for Wounded Warriors and Families at Fort Belvoir.  
John strongly believes in giving back to the community. He volunteers each week at the USO at Dulles and Fort Belvoir, participates in the Honor Flight programs which bring veterans to Washington, DC, delivers Meals on Wheels, teaches ESL at the public library, works with the Workhouse Arts Center and participates in church activities. He also keeps busy with contract work involving his photography, design/layout.  
John is a retired Air Force officer whose wife, Patricia, retired from Mason. They have twin sons, both of whom are married and have families.  No dog.

Manuel Pablo

    Manny has been an OLLI member since 2001, when like everyone else, he heard about OLLI from a friend. He retired as a civilian technical program manager for OPNAV, but that was only the last job of a 42-year career in DoD, which included cryogenics, electronics, electro-optics, lasers, labs, technical intelligence, and management.
His function at OLLI has been just as difficult to characterize - he has been a front office volunteer, an AARP Safe Driver Instructor, Readers' Theater coordinator and ham, Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis impersonator, and MC for our annual Valentine/St Patrick's Day/May Day/Ice Cream Socials. He takes many classes in hopes of understanding at least a few of them. 
Manny previously served on the Board, including two years as President, but was hesitant to note this, unsure whether it would add or subtract votes. (His successful winning platform was “Chocolate Chip Cookies for Everyone!”) He is running to demonstrate that everyone has an obligation to contribute; you need not be exceptional to contribute, only willing. He points out that makes him qualified on all counts.

Russell Stone

   It was August 2014, the OLLI fall semester had not started, yet there was Rita Way sitting behind the reception desk as a new volunteer. Since then, Rita has taken on many jobs at OLLI; teacher, committee member, liaison, coordinator and mentor.
Rita credits her daughter Randi, a professor at George Mason, for introducing her to OLLI. After giving a class at OLLI, Randi immediately recognized that OLLI would be a perfect match for her mother’s life-long love for education and her passion for volunteering.
Rita is a native New Yorker. There she attended Hunter College and had both of her children. After raising her family, Rita fulfilled her life’s desire to become a nurse and graduated from Sacred Heart Hospital School of Nursing. After several years of hospital nursing, Rita transitioned into nursing and long term care administration. In 1998 she became the manager and consultant for Haskins Nursing Facility. 
In addition to her health-care career, Rita has a long history of volunteering. She has served as a crisis hotline counselor, literacy tutor in prisons, hospital lay chaplain and ESL tutor.  Rita feels it would be an honor to serve on OLLI’s Board of Directors.

    John is an Illinois farm boy with three degrees from the University of Illinois including a PhD in adult and continuing education, which is especially relevant to OLLI.  He has made the world his home having worked in 55 countries and visited 89, the latest being Cuba.              
John joined OLLI in 2004 and has held various positions including serving on the BOD for two terms, Chair of the Development Committee, Board President and Acting Executive Director.  As Acting ED for four months his primary task was to support the wonderful OLLI professional staff and maintain constant communication with the senior George Mason University administrators and the Osher Foundation staff. 
He also has served on the Finance Committee, Strategic Planning and Program Planning Groups.  He has organized and taught OLLI classes including the popular Identify Theft course and Income Tax Simplified, and special sessions on Chinese and Thailand family planning programs, understanding the United Nations System, and My Home Town (Stonington Illinois).
He believes the primary role of the BOD is to support the ED and professional staff and ensure that the financial viability of OLLI is secure and sustainable.