Meet the Instructors

Air Zoo Staff

The Air Zoo’s education programs are focused on creating interactive educational programs that not only stimulate and engage audiences during their presentation, but also inspire them to continue their exploration of science and history long after the program’s conclusion.

Paula M Andrasi

Dr. Paula Andrasi earned a BA in psychology from Michigan State University, a master’s in counseling, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University. Directed substance abuse treatment programs in Berrien and Kalamazoo counties and serves as faculty at WMU. Provided clinical consultation in St. Joseph and Cass counties. Training Director of the accredited Doctoral Psychology Internship program that was housed in the University Counseling and Testing Center. Taught faculty in the Integrative Holistic Health and Wellness program and Program Coordinator. Developed and taught numerous courses and workshops in the area of self-care, wellness, stress-management, relationship skills, spirituality, and meditation practices. Dr. Andrasi also continues to take training to increase her skills in all areas of emotional and spiritual health.

Jay Berkow

Jay Berkow has served as Director of Music Theatre Performance at WMU since 2004. He is the co-author and director of the Off-Broadway hit Jolson & Co. His internationally produced musical, What a Glorious Feeling, is published by Playscripts, Inc. Jay directed the OffBroadway productions of The Rink, Red Hot Mama, and The Lady in Penthouse B. Regional credits include Florida Studio Theatre, Indiana Rep, Playhouse on the Square, Adirondack Theatre Festival, Gateway Playhouse, Virginia Rep, Connecticut Rep, Coconut Grove Playhouse, American Stage, Florida Rep, the Burt Reynolds Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Circa ‘21, and many others. Recent productions include: A CHORUS LINE, CALENDAR GIRLS, HEAD OVER HEELS, SIGNIFICANT OTHER and SPELLING BEE.

Norm Bober

Norm Bober is a man who was a librarian with unending curiosity, who has embraced the many vicissitudes of country living, and who was a leading team member with the Senior Odyssey of the Mind teams that were successful in state competition for multiple years.

Sharon Carlson

Sharon Carlson retired as head of the Zhang Legacy Collections Center at WMU in 2020. Her dissertation research focused on the history of Michigan’s Ladies’ Library Associations. She presently serves as vice-president of the Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association.

Sue Ellen Christian

Sue Ellen Christian is the WMU Presidential Innovation Professor in Communication 2021-24. Christian, who has been a member of the faculty since 2001, teaches multimedia journalism and media literacy courses. She is the author of Everyday Media Literacy: An Analog Guide for Your Digital Life (Routledge, 2020) and Overcoming Bias: A Journalist’s Guide to Culture and Context, 2nd edition (Routledge, 2021). Before joining academia, she was a staff writer for the Chicago Tribune. She was the 2016 Michigan Professor of the Year and a 2014 recipient of the WMU Distinguished Teaching Award.

Norma G Clack

Norma Clack earned a B.A. in English from Saginaw Valley State University and an M.A. in educational administration from Central Michigan University. She was employed for 30 years as an administrator in the Development Office of Saginaw Valley State University. Her post-retirement pursuits include genealogy research and writing essays about her ancestors and their lives. She is a member of the Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society and its genealogy writers’ group.

Thomas A Dietz

Tom Dietz is the retired Curator of Local History at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. He has taught OLLI courses on Kalamazoo history for years. He has a master’s degree in American History and was a part-time instructor at Western Michigan University.

Jane Duran

Jane Duran is a retired teacher and entrepreneur. She has been playing Mah Jongg for over twenty-five years and plays many times a week. She has taught Mah Jongg over the years to many friends and has taught many sessions to OLLI members. She loves the game!

Steven Grieve

Steve Grieve retired from Pfizer in Quality and Regulatory Affairs management. He has a BS in Chemistry and an MBA. Since acquiring an electric car Steve has been educating himself on the evolving technology and marketplace of electric vehicles. The difficulty in finding good information and the confusion and misinformation regarding EVs drives Steve to continue his own education and to share information on electric vehicle ownership.

Stan and Diane Henderson

Stan and Diane Henderson are avid readers – Stan reads history, Diane fiction. In other lives, they would have been history and English professors. Now they team up to share their passions with OLLI. Pre-retirement, Stan was the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Life at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Diane was an educational program planner and consultant. Both are currently failing retirement.

Jim Herm

Jim Herm spent 37 years in the Portage Public School system as both a teacher and counselor. He retired in 2010. He resides in Otsego with his wife Patti.

Carol Hodges

Carol Hodges is a retired Kalamazoo Public School science teacher and is a graduate of Carleton College in Minnesota. In 2013 she studied Janet Austen in a special summer session at England’s Oxford University. This semester’s course is based on the insights she gained there. Carol has also taught other OLLI classes.

Lynn Houghton

Lynn Houghton is the Regional History Curator at the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections. She has a bachelor’s and master’s both in History from WMU and a master’s in Library and Information Science from Wayne State University. She has been involved in the public history field for many years and is the co-author of Kalamazoo Lost and Found with Pamela O’Connor. She also leads historic walks around the community held during the summer and fall.

Marge Kars

Marge Kars is retired as head of Bronson HealthAnswers and Health Science Library. She is a past-president of the Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association.

Ron Kramer

Ron Kramer is a professor of sociology at Western Michigan University. Although he primarily teaches courses on criminology and law, he occasionally teaches a class on the sociological history of baseball. A lifelong baseball fan, Ron coached Little League teams for many years. A baseball player in his youth, he now confines himself to playing senior softball and rooting for the Cleveland Guardians.

Keith Howard

Keith Howard is a Digital Preservation Specialist at the Kalamazoo Public Library, but one of his true passions is exploring and documenting local history. He has authored or contributed to more than fifty articles on the KPL website, and his work has appeared in several leading publications, including Michigan History Magazine, 23 OLLI at WMU SW Michigan Spark, and others. Forever fascinated by “what used to be,” Keith has written extensively about the history of brewing in Kalamazoo. His article about “Early Kalamazoo Breweries” on the Kalamazoo Public Library website was published in Brewery History, Journal of the Brewery History Society in the UK, and has been cited by numerous publications, including U.S. News & World Report. Keith is a two-time Western Michigan University graduate and former instructor of business communication and information technology at Haworth College of Business. He lives in Oshtemo.

Claire Johnson and Beverly Grambau

Claire Johnson and Beverly Grambau have been researching genealogy as a hobby for a number of years and are both members of the Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society. They are genealogy enthusiasts who enjoy the many rewards of this hobby and are excited to share their interests with others.

Barry Kitch

Barry Kitch is a musician and teacher. He has been studying Brazilian music and culture for several years and has decided it is time to share what he has learned with others.

Michael Marchak

With a B.S. in medical technology from MSU, Michael Marchak spent 28 years in drug safety research supporting phase II and phase III clinical trials for the UpjohnPfizer company, leaving as a senior scientist. A film buff forever, Mike served for over 20 years as president of the Kalamazoo Film Society, overseeing its 30th anniversary in 2018. He received the 2016 Ted Cooper Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service in the Arts, bestowed by the Arts Council of Kalamazoo.

Edwin Martini

Dr. Ed Martini is Professor of History at Western Michigan University, where he currently serves as Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and Dean of Merze Tate College. He is the author and editor of several books, including Agent Orange: History, Science, and the Politics of Uncertainty (2012), and At War: The Military and American Culture in the Twentieth Century and Beyond (2018, with David Kieran). Martini has taught several courses at WMU and other institutions, including History and Cinema, The Vietnam War, and the Cold War.

Garrylee McCormick

Garrylee McCormick is a Wig Master for WMU Theatre Department and The Barn Theatre School. Garrylee is a union Wig Master with IATSE Local 26, working on national tours for both Miller Auditorium and DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids. Additionally, he is a printmaker and photographer. He also writes Icons and has studied icon writing both in the United States and Russia at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra (Monastery) in Saint Petersburg.

K. Lynn McFarlen

K. Lynn McFarlen is the Community Outreach Director for Langeland Family Funeral Homes. A graduate of WMU (go Broncos!), twenty years as a high school educator, and now eleven years in the funeral industry, Lynn is using her experience and talents to encourage people in the greater Kalamazoo community to learn all they can about end-oflife events. These topics can be difficult to discuss, but Lynn presents in a conversational style, encouraging questions and participation. Lynn’s philosophy is the more you learn now, the more prepared your family will be later.

Jim McKinney

Jim McKinney holds a BBA Western Michigan University, Human Resources Management and has served in professional management positions in the areas of computer consulting, compensation administration, Human Resources, and as a Chief Financial Officer. Twenty years ago, I decided to trade in my three-piece suits for blue jeans and mechanical and electrical tools to provide affordable home improvement services to area residents. For eighteen years I have participated in and taught ballroom dancing. Raised two girls and one boy as a single parent.

Nancy Mollhagen

Nancy Mollhagen earned a BS/Teaching/Art degree and MA in 2D Art from WMU. She has 40 years of teaching experience from preschool through Seniors and is a practicing sculpture artist.

Charlie Olszewski

Charlie Olszewski, now retired, has spent 24 years in higher education as an Associate Professor CIS, Director Regional Cisco Networking Academy, and Department chair CIS/GRDN/OIS/BUSA. Charlie has spent 21 years in private secto with the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program (consulting engineering firm) – Cleveland, OH; Ford Motor Company – Cleveland, OH; and the Industrial Metal Products Corporation (machine tool company) – Lansing, MI. His specialties include configuring sensors in manufacturing and business to business Internet connections.

Ginger Owen-Murakami

Ginger Owen-Murakami is a Professor of Photography at Western Michigan University’s Gwen Frostic School of Art. Owen-Murakami’s artwork derives imagery from narratives and themes of family history, race, gender, and culture. Her interdisciplinary practices include installation, sculpture, digital, traditional, and non-silver photographic processes. She has lectured, worked, and exhibited internationally. 

James Pagliasotti

James Pagliasotti was the first rock & roll columnist for The Denver Post, where he covered music and the counterculture from 1968-74. He has written for Rolling Stone magazine and numerous other publications and is the author of three books.

Kara Ann Parker

Karika Ann Parker, Ph.D. MA is a recent graduate of the WMU Educational Leadership: Organizational Analysis program, College of Educational and Human Development. Dr. Parker is the current Community Fellow for the Kalamazoo Literacy Council. She is the former Director of Careers in Health and Medicine, Co-Director of Community and Global Health, Executive Director of the Heyl Science Scholarship Fund, and faculty member at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, MI. Dr. Parker has an extensive background in community-based participatory research (CBPR) and the facilitation of developmental processes and structures for organizations in critical thinking, organizational assessment tools and analysis, policy development, board relations, and complex adaptive systems theory as a Certified TOPs master trainer and facilitator. She has provided coaching for educational and executive-level leaders on issues related to cultural sensitivity, equity and inclusion, institutional and structural racism, and implicit bias informed by complex adaptive systems leadership. Dr. Parker is a proud graduate of Kalamazoo Public Schools Adult Education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Black Americana Studies, and a Master of Arts in History, both from WMU.

David Paul

David Paul has been teaching philosophy courses at WMU and elsewhere since 1994. His focus is biomedical ethics but he has a particular interest in existential philosophy. He is currently the chair of the philosophy department at WMU and continues to teach undergraduate courses.

Patricia Plasko

Patricia Plasko is a lifelong dancer and creative who holds a BFA from Western Michigan University in Dance, MFA from the University of Michigan in dance, is a cofounding member of Cori Terry/Wellspring Dance, a State of Michigan Certified K-12 Dance Educator for Education for the Arts 23 years, a Certified ERYT from Yoga Alliance, a Dance for Parkinson’s Educator, choreographer, costume designer, jewelry designer, and owner of Plasko Design on Etsy. In 2022, Ms. Plasko stepped into her newest dance career as a certified instructor for BeMoved®, a dance exercise program, continuing to share her passion for dance and the joy of moving for all bodies and abilities.

Kayle L Rice

Kayle Rice is a certified SoulCollage® Facilitator and previous co-instructor of the course on walking the labyrinth.

Randall Schau

Randy Schau has been a high school football referee for the past 14 years (and though recently retired from it, also refereed basketball for 33 years). Until his retirement, he was Kalamazoo’s Deputy City Attorney. He has also presented classes on Fascinating Facts about Birds, How the U.S. States Got Their Borders, the Story behind the Hit Television Shows of the 60s, the Rules of Basketball, and others.

Cybelle Shattuck

Dr. Cybelle T. Shattuck has a joint position in the WMU Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Comparative Religion. She has a PhD in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan and an MA in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her book, Faith, Hope, and Sustainability: The Greening of US Faith Communities, explores the earth care activities of 15 congregations.

Robin Skitt

Robin Skitt retired after forty years of working in the corporate world. Her area of expertise was quantitative models and statistics. She worked for industry leaders like Procter & Gamble, Peabody Energy and Whirlpool. Her assignments touched almost every functional business area, including government relations. Robin’s passion is to help people learn to function well in the current and future environment. Her belief is that we must stop thinking of our environment as a collection of parts with minimal interaction. Many of the solutions put forth for today’s problems are simply looking at only a small part of the system involved. The subject of Complex Adaptive Systems provides a much more accurate view of reality. Robin hopes to incentivize people to explore new paradigms, new metaphors, and new ways of viewing our world in order to make it safe today and sustainable for future generations.

Penola Stephens Presley

Penola Stephens Presley is a longtime resident of Kalamazoo. She is a former WMU Admissions Counselor and Director of Admissions at KVCC. She has a B.S. Degree in Sociology from Tuskegee (Institute) University, a M.A. Degree in Counseling and Personnel from WMU and is a recent graduate of Moody Theological Seminary—Chicago with a M.A. Degree in Biblical Studies.

Mark D Stucky

Mark Stucky has degrees in religious studies, pastoral ministry, and communications. After being a pastor, he moved into communications and was a technical and freelance communicator for three decades. He received over three dozen writing and publication awards. Among other subjects, he has previously led several classes on racism, including at FUMC. Mark believes in understanding other perspectives, protecting the vulnerable, and saving the world (or at least trying to).

Cheng Tao

Cheng Tao is a professor of education at Jiangsu Maritime Institute, Jiangsu, China and a Visiting Scholar at the Haenicke Institute for Global Education, Western Michigan University. Tao has more than 30 years of teaching experience. He joined Jiangsu Maritime Institute in September 2005 and has been teaching English, Tai Chi, and other subjects there ever since. Prior to that, Tao worked as an English teacher for grades 7-12 from September 1988 to July 2002 in Jiangsu, China. Along with his academic teaching, Tao has practiced Tai Chi for over 20 years and has taught different age groups. In 2019, Tao had the opportunity to teach Tai Chi at WMU. His instruction was well received. During the years of teaching, Tao received organizational recognition such as “Most Popular Teacher Award at Jiangsu Maritime Institute, June 2011”, “Outstanding Teacher Award, Jiangsu Maritime Institute, February 2014” and “Excellent Teacher Award, Jiangsu Maritime Institute, September 2017”. Tao’s wife is currently pursuing her Ph. D. degree at WMU, his two boys are attending elementary school in Kalamazoo, MI.

James Wigen

James’s primary focus is on private portfolio management & wealth management for individuals, businesses, and non-profits. He has been working in the financial services business since 1996, ran the training department for two international investment firms, and has been teaching non-credit investment classes since 1998 for universities, community colleges, and OLLI.

D. Terry Williams

Dr. D. Terry Williams is professor and chair emeritus of theatre at WMU. He has taught script analysis and theatre history for over 50 years and has directed almost 100 productions for university, community, and professional theatres. Dr. Williams is a founding member of OLLI at WMU and a current member of the Advisory Board.

James Wright

Jim Wright has master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and Northwestern and did advanced study at the University of Illinois. He taught Social Science, Humanities and Western Civilization for forty years at Triton College in Illinois. He is one course short (a practicum) of a degree in public administration. He realized he was not capable of working a set forty-hour week.

Graduate Students Jamie Bienhoff

Jamie Bienhoff is a doctoral student and graduate instructor in the Department of English at Western Michigan University, where she teaches children’s literature, including a recent course on race, representation, and censorship in children’s texts.

Farhang Motallebiaraghi

Farhang Motallebi Araghi is a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student, working under Dr. Zachary Asher in the Energy Efficient & Autonomous Vehicles (EEAVs) Lab. He received his M.S in Automotive Engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). His research interest is in vehicle automation and intelligent transportation infrastructure. He is currently focusing on developing technologies in optimization, control, and machine learning to improve energy efficiency and mobility for automated vehicles.

Hana Saaed

Hana Saeed is a doctoral student at WMU. She is interested in the theme of human immobility across various literary genres. She is particularly impressed by how different forms of literature can humanize refugees, while at the same time evoking a sense of compassion and sympathy in their readers.

Savannah Xaver

Savannah Xaver is a doctoral candidate at WMU specializing in Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Savannah’s dissertation focuses on gendered slurs and insults on the Renaissance stage and she is always happy to talk about it!

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