Course Listing - by Instructor
| Name | Biography |
|---|---|
| Benjamin Ackerman | Jamie ackerman has been playing guitar for 62 years and has been studying music for just as long. He has been a member of OLLI for five years. |
| Renato Aguilera | Dr. Renato J. Aguilera is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Director of the Research Infrastructure Core Facility and Director of the Cellular Characterization and Biorepository Facility at the Border Biomedical Research Center (BRCC). Through support from the RCMI, UTEP created the BBRC to address Hispanic health disparities unique to the far West Texas Borderplex. Dr. Aguilera previously served as an assistant and associate professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at the University of California at Los Angeles. He was the Director and mentor of the university's Minority Biomedical Research Support (MARC) undergraduate training program during that time. |
| Cynthia Aguinaga | The El Paso Police Department Safe Communities outreach builds positive relationships within the community and assists in educating the public in safety practices. |
| Haydee Alonso | Haydee Alonso is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on jewelry and object making. SHe exhibits locally, nationally and internationally. She completed an MFA in Jewelry and Metal fron the Royal College of Art and earned a BFA in MEtals and Sculpture from the University of Texas at El Paso. Currently, she is pursuing an Associated in Applied Science and is the owner and designer of commercial brand AYAYAY! Jewlery. |
| Juanita Alonso | Juanita Alonso is a UTEP alumna who graduated with a Bachelors in Health of Science Kinesiology. She holds a personal trainer certificate and has worked as a PE coach for seven years with the K -12 age group. She loves staying active, especially with outdoor activities-hiking, biking, swimming, and taking long walks with her family. |
| Alfredo Arroyo | Alfredo Arroyo is a graduate of The Citadel and of the DEA/FBI Academy and other police, military, and intelligence schools. His career includes numerous domestic and foreign assignments with INTERPOL and in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. |
| Raafat Ayoub | Raafat Maximos graduated from Cairo University with a law degree and later studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. After moving to the United States in 1980, Maximos pursued a graphic arts degree in Chicago and then worked as an art director at an advertising firm for many years. His passion led him to open gallery locations in Austin and El Paso, Texas. |
| Richard Benito | |
| Ramon Cardenas | Ramon Cardenas was promoted to the part-time professional position of Community Curator at the Rubin Center in September of 2020.. The Community Curator is responsible for curating 1-2 contemporary art exhibitions per academic year, including artistic research, concept development, draft budgets and production timeline and programming and outreach activities for those exhibitions He will lead professional development for UTEP students in the area of artistic practices including but not limited to communityengaged practices, grant-writing, public art commissions and business practices for working artists. Ramon is a contemporary visual artist, muralist and printmaker who forms part of the collaborative LxsDos, together with his partner Christian Cardenas. He brings more than a decade of experience in community-based arts to the Rubin Center. |
| Daniel Carey-Whelan | Daniel J Carey-Whalen has over 10 years of experience with museums and other cultural institutions. Mr. Catey-Whalen has worked mainly in informal educational environments, cultural programming, and community engagement, yet is also knowledgeable in exhibit curation and design, collections management, marketing, and other aspects of museums. In addition, Mr. Carey-Whalen is also experienced in grant administration for the Humanities, including interpreting funding requirements and grant writing. He is interested in the history of the built environment in American cities during the 20th Century. Mr. Carey-Whalen has a Masters in Urban Planning and teaches courses on architecture and urban design. |
| Nicolas Cooper | Nicolas (Nico) Antuna Cooper is a Renaissance man and university instructor with experience as a professional writer, artist and musician. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at El Paso, specializing in poetry and multimedia design. He has traveled around the world, spending time in Spain and completing the Camino de Santiago among other travels. His teaching style revolves around his love and enthusiasm for the arts. |
| Jacqueline Cordova | Jacqueline Cordova is a certified health nutrition coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York, and the Living Foods Institute in Georgia. She has three years' experience coaching clients individually, as well as seven years' experience teaching workshops and classes. Cordova majored in Computer Information Systems from the Universidad Autonóma de Guadalajara, Jalisco in 1994, and owns Green Ingredient Express, a health-conscious restaurant located in west El Paso. She has been a guest speaker for various local events including the Wise Latinas Summit, El Paso Museum of History: Healthy Thanksgiving Workshop, Rio Grande Cancer Foundation: Keep on Dancing, Femfessionals El Paso, El Paso Community Foundation: Cultivate Forum, and the Autism Society of El Paso. She has also participated in nutrition and food preparation workshops at EPCC and the Downtown Artist and Farmers Market. |
| Catherine Dickason | Catherine Dickason has a B.S. in Education/Health/Physical Education and a Master of Education/Reading from UTEP. She has taught in El Paso public schools for 35 years and currently teaches English part-time at UTEP and EPCC. Dickason is an avid history and literature buff who is involved in Community Theater as a musician and an actor. |
| Adrian Dodds | Adrian is a financial advisor with the Dodds Wealth Management Group. Adrian has obtained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification to stay up to date with changes in the financial planning world and to better serve his clients. He is a member of the El Paso Estate Planning Council, Child Guidance Center, and the Foundation for the Catholic Diocese of El Paso. Adrian has also done volunteer work with his high school alma mater, Cathedral High School, as the previous head cross-country coach. Adrian coached the team to a cross-country state championship in 2014. He was also the head long-distance track coach. Growing up, Adrian was very active in the Boy Scouts of America and reached the rank of Eagle Scout. |
| Fred Eiland | Fred Eiland is a real estate broker by trade who has always had a love affair with photography. He has led the Photography Club of El Paso for the past two and a half years, and has exhibited his photographs here in El Paso, TX, England, and North Wales. His photos will be displayed at the International Museum of Art for this year's "Eye of the Camera" Exhibit. Fred is also a long-time OLLI member and recently exhibited his photos in the OLLI Vision Exhibit at the Student Union Gallery. |
| Keith Giles | Keith Giles is a native El Pasoan who graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in Creative Writing/Philosophy. Today, he is a full-time author and an award-winning creative copywriter with over fifteen years of professional writing experience. He has appeared on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Fox News, and other outlets. He co-hosts three nationally known podcasts. |
| Monica Gomez | Long-time El Pasoan Monica Gomez has made her living in the arts and broadcasting. As a performing songwriter, she traveled extensively and released three CDs of original songs. Her writing has been published in numerous anthologies, including Red Boots & Attitude: The Spirit of Texas Women Writers. The El Paso Writers League twice awarded Gomez the "Best of Best" poetry award and her work was featured on NPR's Themes and Variations. Published in 2012 and now available in English and Spanish, Gomez's creative writing workbook, EXPRESSERCIZE: Write Answers, contains more than 100 exercises in expression and self-discovery distilled from decades of personal experience. She was inducted to the El Paso Commission for Women's Hall of Fame for her work as a news reporter for KVIA, Channel 7. As host of State of the Arts, a weekly radio program on NPR affiliate, KTEP 88.5, for several years, she interviewed a spectrum of local and visiting artists about their lives and work. As a motivational speaker and teacher of creative writing and martial arts, Gomez has worked with diverse populations, from youth to the elderly and incarcerated juveniles to military veterans. She has studied the internal martial art of t'ai chi with masters from around the globe, including Chinese Grand Master Zhu Tiancai, one of the four Tigers of Chen Village. Monica's workshops invigorate, entertain and inspire participants to practice the literal creative power of writing to make positive changes in their lives. |
| Terrence Johnson | Terrence Johnson is a former UTEP football player; he is also a personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, weight-loss management specialist, and health and wellness coach who is certified in all these individual areas. Johnson has taught PE, and has been an Athletic Director for over 12 years. Johnson created Empowerment Health & Wellness in 2004 with his wife to develop sports and wellness camps. Their incentive-based educational programs and health programs are available at local schools and nonprofit organizations. Empowerment Health and Wellness has worked with The University of Texas at El Paso; Family Services of El Paso; NFL player Ray Mickens; New Orleans Saints coach Brian Young; and Seattle Seahawks starting center, Justin Britt. |
| John Kuberka | With over 20 years of teaching experience, John Kuberka has taught yoga to people of all age groups and physical abilities. This includes nine years serving as a movement therapist for the Warrior Resilience Center, a clinic on Ft. Bliss that focuses on treating active duty soldiers with PTSD, TBI, and various physical limitations. |
| Stephen Ledesma | Stephen has a B.S. in Interior Design with a Teaching Credential in Language Arts. His main career was as an interior designer for the Department of Veterans Affairs where writing was an integral part of his work. Stephen also taught at Atchinson High School in Atchinson, Kansas for 2 years, teaching American Literature, Journalism and Speech. Five years ago, retired after 32 years, Stephen moved to El Paso for the climate, cost of living, cousins, and Mexican food. He no longer has to write lengthy and dull government memorandums. Instead, he writes for the love of language. |
| Young Lee | Young Lee is a photography instructor for UTEP Professional and Public Programs and EPCC's Continueing Education. He is also a well-known wedding and portrait photographer. Lee learned how to take great photographs through the American Nikon School and the American Professional Photographer (PPA). He loves photography and teaches them how to use the camera with confidence, with precious efforts to maximize efficiency. |
| Ronald Leiman | Ronald Leiman is an active community member who has served, consulted and held positions in several organization in El Paso, including the Texas Retired Teachers Association as president and historian, the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame and the El Paso County Historcal Commission. He currently serves as the vice-president of the Board of Directors for the El Paso Railroad and Transportation Museum. He is recognized as an El Paso historian and ha been giving presentations and walking tours in the border region since 2009. |
| Julie Levesque | Julie Levesque was hired in August 2012 as UTEP's Senior Associate Athletic Director and also serves as the Senior Woman Administrator. Levesque has served as the sport administrator for several athletic programs including Men's Basketball, Men's and Women's Track & Field and Volleyball in her current role. She previously served as the administrator for Women's Basketball and Soccer. Additional administrator responsibilities include Compliance, Sports Medicine, Student-Athlete Development, and Strength and Conditioning. Levesque also oversees all Title IX and DEI initiatives. Julie currently serves on the UTEP Women's Advisory Board to the President. |
| Jean-Claude Linossi | Jean-Claude Linossi, a native of Strasbourg, Alsace, France, has lived in the United States since 1973. He lived in Asheville, North Carolina before moving to El Paso, Texas, in 2010 as a retiree. He has been an active volunteer in El Paso by teaching conversational French at the Judge Marquez Library, teaching French to children at the EPCC NW Campus, assisting at the Chihuahuan Desert Garden, and serving as president of the El Paso Cactus and Rock Club. |
| Marie Livingston | Marie received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from UTEP, is a former docent at the El Paso Museum of Art, and instructor of Art History with OLLI. She the past chair and current voluteer for OLLI, has been a long-time resident of El Paso, and an avid art lover. |
| Neal Locke | Reverend Neal Locke is a third-generation El Pasoan of Nordic descent (Scotland and Norway) who currently serves as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church. He holds an M.Div. and an M.E. in Education from Princeton Seminary and is working on his PhD in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Aberdeen. Locke has previously taught OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) classes on Celtic, Viking, and Medival French Spirituality. |
| Alberto (Beto) Lopez | Alberto “Beto” Lopez, Assistant Vice President for The Office of University Relations, joined the university in 1983 as the first director of the Office of New Student Relations. During his career at UTEP, Lopez has directed undergraduate student outreach, recruitment, student orientation, and scholarship programs. In his present role, he oversees the development of community outreach programs and major university events such as convocation and commencement. The office welcomes visitors by providing VIP tours and hosts numerous conferences each year. A native El Pasoan, Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree in history with honors and a master’s degree in education, both from Austin College. Lopez currently serves on the board of the El Paso Area Teachers Federal Credit Union and the El Paso Visitors and Convention Bureau Marketing Committee. |
| Amanda Lopez | |
| Sandra Paola Lopez Ramirez | |
| Nancy McAfee | Nancy McAfee is an art historian who spent eighteen years at the Clevelnad Museum of Art as an educator and community outreach director. She has an AB from Cornell and an MA in art history from Case Western Reserve University. She is active in the Rochester Women's Giving Circle, the MAG Gallery Council and the Rochester Garden Club. |
| Prince McKenzie | Prince McKenzie is a descendent of a pioneer family who built the first railroad across Texas. He retired as curator with the City of El Paso Department of Museums in 2001. He is the co-founder and executive director of the Railorad and Transportation Museum of El Paso. In 2018, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the El Paso Archaeological Society and has seved on the County Historical Commission for five years. |
| Gary Mitchell | Gary Mitchell is a 1975 graduate of West Point and a lifelong student of military history. An avowed research junkie, he takes great satisfaction from sharing the fascinating stories he uncovers in the forgotten corners of American history, Gary has taught courses for years at the Rochester Institute of Technology's Osher Insititute, and is a published author, |
| James Mortimore | James Mortimore is a graduate of The University of Texas at El Paso with an honors degree in British and American Literature. He is a teacher, writer, and lecturer known to many in the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) community where he has lectured on cultural, political, and literary topics. |
| Deb Pistella | |
| Silvia Portillo-Koch | Sylvia Portillo was born in Argentina of Italian immigrants and learned the Italian language at an early age. She continued her education in languages in Argentina, Brazil, and Italy. She worked as a translator and interpreter for the USAF in Italy, Germany, and in the U.S. |
| Lynn Provenzano | Lynn Provenzano has facilitated personal and professional develpment for more than 25 years in corporate, community, and no-profit groups. She has worldwide cross-cultural experience, and specializes in interpersonal skills, creative energy work, meditation, and motivation. Provenzano is a MCKS Panic Healing practitioner/facilitator and devotee of T'ai Chi and qigong. She is co-founder of the nonprofit Lotus Integrated Group for Health and Transformation (L.I.G.H.T.) and presides over the nonprofit El Paso Society for Musicians of the Future. |
| Nicole Read | Nicole Read has been constructing and designing costumes for two decades. She has been managing the UTEP costume shop since 2013. She has earned her B.A. in Theatre Arts/English and a M.A. in Literature. She has taught in numerous subject areas over her career, including costuming, English literature/rhetoric, and tutoring for students of all ages, |
| Kayleen Reusser | Kayleen Reusser has interviewed 260 veterans who served from 1942-1945 in World War II. She has written nine books and presented her Power Point programs virtually and in-person in Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsulvania, and, now, in Texas. She is the pround wife and mother of Air Force airmen, |
| Jim Senter | |
| Linda Shubeck | Linda Shubeck's mother taught her to knit when she was seven, She taught herself how to crochet at age ten and has been crocheting for at least 40 years. |
| Jay Stratton | Professor Jay Stratton is a teacher of numerous summer Shakespeare courses including last summer's Much Ado About… Something, He comes to UTEP after 17 years as a professional actor in New York City. He has taught at colleges nationally and internationally and loves working with OLLI! |
| Marisela Testerman | Marissa Testerman works with Access Services and is an instruction librarian with the UTEP library. Her subject specialties are information literacy, nursing, public health and social work. |
| Viridiana Vidana | Viridiana Vidana better known as V, is 31 years old and teaching is her life. She received a bachelor's degree in Spanish with a minor in Secondary Education for Modern Language majors and a master's in Latin American Literature, both from The University of Texas at El Paso. She is certified by the Texas State Board of Education as a Spanish EC-12 educator and has over seven years of teaching experience. She is attained her Ph.D. in teaching, learning, and culture under the strand of literacy and biliteracy. Vidana loves reading, watching lucha libre, playing the guitar and cooking five-minute rice in two minutes. |
| Larry Villalobos | L.D. Villalobos is a thirty-year Criminal Intelligence Professional who retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Senior Level Intelligence Specialist. His past employment was the with Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was stationed at U.S. Embassy, Mexico City, MX, Tucson AZ, and El Paso TX. He has worked throughout Central America, Bolivia, Colombia, Aruba and Switzerland. |
| Leanne Von Mittenwald | Leanne Von Mittenwald has over 30 years of experience teaching theatrical arts and education. Her approachable and encouraging attitude compels her students to let go and explore their inner child. She is a published playwright who has directed over 30 plays, and has a true passion for teaching and learning. |
| Ben Wallis | Ben Wallis was named UTEP's volleyball coach on December 19, 2018. The upcoming 2022 season mark his fourth season. Wallis has led the Miners to their highest winning percentage in conference play since 1985. |
| Vicky Zhuang | Vicky Zhuang Ph.D. is the Biodiversity Collections Manager at the UTEP Biodiversity Collections, a natural history museum at the University of Texas at El Paso. She manages over 600,000 specimens from all of the collections, which include entomology, herpetology, mammalogy, malacology, paleontology, ornithology, botany and ichthyology. As a collections manager of a small museum, she also performs several jobs, including volunteer and outreach coordinator, data manager, exhibit designer, instructor and contact point for loan, data and community inquiries |
