2026 Board of Directors Candidates

Candidates OLLI Mason Board of Directors 2026

Debbie Engleson

Fairfax, Virginia
5 years with GMU OLLI

I grew up in the southern suburbs of Chicago and in 1971 got my undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Chicago.  I have always enjoyed working with kids and in the mornings of the summer of 1965 was a volunteer teacher's assistant in Head Start (the year it began).  In the afternoon I worked in a bank despite being underage according to Illinois law.  After marriage I moved several times: New York City for a year, Boston for three years, Kansas City for eight years and Akron for sixteen years.  My most relevant work experience includes Xerox, Butler Manufacturing and Swift & Co where I was customer service manager in the Kansas City Distribution Center.  In Kansas City I completed my MBA at Rockhurst University concentrating on finance and marketing. In 2001, I moved to Sarasota (where I first heard about OLLI and took classes) and in 2002 and 2003 was the director of the Sarasota Reading Festival. As director of the festival, I had to handle everything from budgets to vendor registrations and everything in between.

I moved to Northern Virginia at the end of November of 2019.  Both of my children are here. In August of 2020 I moved into the Atrium, a 55+ community in Fairfax.  Cash – my corgi – and I very much like living here.  I have spent over 40 years volunteering with nonprofit organizations, experience I bring with me to the OLLI Board.

Bob Esler

Herndon, Virginia
2 years with GMU OLLI

I graduated from Grinnell College with a B.A. in Russian and later received a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University. I spent the early part of my career working on Capitol Hill and at the Library of Congress. After graduate school, I worked in management consulting, with a focus on projects in the former Soviet Union and then, for the final 15 years of my career, worked as a Program Manager for U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations with operations in Eurasia. During this time, I lived for nearly two years in Russia.

This diverse professional experience provided me with broad knowledge of 501(c)(3) operations and, more specifically, with skills in financial management, organizational development, and communications which I believe can help OLLI as it charts a path into the future.

Deborah Dupree

Herndon, VA
5 years member of GMU OLLI

I am from Nashville, TN, a child of the segregated South and privileged to enjoy the support of a “village” who constantly inspired me to achieve and pay forward through service. I graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1973, BA in Molecular Biology, and from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1976 with a focus in litigation (criminal law and civil rights). At Vanderbilt I was selected for a pilot program as Special Assistant Juvenile Defender, working under the supervision of the Nashville Juvenile Court to expand services to youth. After graduation, I completed a fellowship with Legal Services, civil litigation section. I was commissioned into the US Coast Guard legal program (JAG) in 1977 and served for 11 years with responsibility for command advice, criminal law, and maritime law and regulations. After the Coast Guard, I spent five years in corporate program management; a family diagnosis spurred me to become a special education teacher. I completed two GMU Masters in Education (Special Education School Administration K-12). I retired from Loudoun County Public Schools in 2018 with 15 years’ experience in teaching and school leadership. I have been an adjunct professor with GMU in the College of Education and Human Development for 11 years. I also have prior experience as a director on boards for two non-profit and philanthropic organizations.

I am a lifelong learner and enjoy OLLI’s breadth of classes and opportunities as we expand our knowledge, skills, and engage socially. I appreciate the role and challenges of technology in our lives and understand the leadership and planning involved for organizational change and adoption of new ideas. I believe my background will allow me to serve the members of OLLI as we build on our excellence and secure our future operations.

Emily Roudebush

Annandale, Virginia
4 years with OLLI GMU

I’m a 1985 graduate of University of Maryland, College Park, where I earned a BA in History and BS in Marketing. I continued my education at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, AZ, where I received a Master of International Management degree in 1987.

For the first part of my career, I worked at Navtech GPS, a local company focused on Global Positioning System (GPS) education, sales and services, where I was responsible for marketing activities and international engineering seminar production and management. Then I spent the second part of my career at another local tech company, GTSI (now UNICOM Government), an IT solutions provider to US federal, state & local agencies, where I worked variously in the marketing and internal IT departments, serving as Vice President in both areas at different times.

Now in retirement, I’m an active OLLI member, taking part in numerous classes and clubs each term and serving on a variety of committees, as well as on the Board of Directors - for the last two years as Vice President.  I’m excited by the progress OLLI has been making in marketing to new audiences and community partners, and I would enjoy the opportunity to continue helping chart our course as a member of the Board.

Paul Howard

Oak Hill, Virginia
18 Years with GMU OLLI

I graduated with a BS in Industrial Management from Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University.) I’ve served on OLLI’s Finance Committee since 2007. Other Committee services include Nominating, Strategic Planning, Facilities, Ad Hoc Bylaws Review, Outreach. I founded the AV Committee in 2007 and have served as Chair or Vice Chair for most of the time since. Service to OLLI includes 12 years as elected board member, a partial year as appointed board member, and a year as Vice President and two as President. I established the web site for OLLI’s Investment Forum and continued as webmaster for 13 years. I established OLLI’s computer club in 2009 and served as co-instructor of eight class sessions on the topic of home computer security in three Identity Theft classes offered at Tallwood and Reston, and presented three sessions on country music.

I’ve served various organizations as Treasurer for 24 years, and as Secretary, President, newsletter editor and webmaster. During a 31-year career with Verizon and predecessor companies, I worked in telephone operations, management training, budgeting, real estate and spent my last dozen years before retiring with responsibility for environmental compliance of more than 500 facilities in DC, DE, MD and WV. Along the way, I earned professional certifications in Facility Management, and Hazardous Materials Management.

OLLI’s greatest strength is our classes. I intend to focus on strengthening our course offerings, supporting both the program committee and subject area program planning groups. I will work to enhance membership growth, establishing ways we can constantly renew our instructor pool, fill volunteer ranks, and help overcome the impacts of inflation on our budget. I will work with fellow Board Members to formulate sound plans for enhancing facilities and fund growth with prudent investments.