We are so excited to start our 46th semester of Encore Learning classes! Registration is ongoing with classes running through mid-December. Check out our Courses page for the calendar view, grid view, a PDF and more.

Reminders For Fall Courses

We’re looking forward to seeing you in class, either in-person or virtually, soon! You will receive a reminder email with more information two business days before your class begins, but in the meantime, here are a few tips and reminders to help you prepare:

In-Person Course Locations: All class locations, including room numbers, can be found in the course description. All courses at GMU will be held in Van Metre Hall at the Mason Square Campus in Arlington. Paid parking is available in an attached garage accessed off of N. Kirkwood Road. Please note parking procedures have changed for the Van Metre Hall garage. See below for more details. There are nearby street parking meters as well.

Zoom Login Information for Virtual Courses: All Zoom login information is on the course webpage, that login information will be sent to you with the class reminder. You will use the same login information for all class sessions, so we recommend saving the login information to your desktop. For tips on using Zoom, see these resources.

Class Media: All course materials provided by instructors will be uploaded to a password-protected webpage on our website. The course webpage link and password will be shared in the course reminder email sent 2-3 days before the first class session. You will also receive notifications with the link and password anytime new materials are added. Links to all course pages are available through “access class media” in the Courses menu on the main Encore Learning website. However, you will need the password provided in your course reminder email to access them.

Some Virtual Classes to be Streamed at GMU Mason Square:

We realize there are students registered for courses that may be consecutive, i.e. one is virtual and the other being in-person. Encore Learning plans to have a classroom available to view some virtual classes. The instructor and other students will all be on Zoom. The location of the virtual class viewing will be shared with students who are registered for the virtual class. If you would like to request a virtual viewing room at Mason, please email info@encorelearning.net.

We are also recording some select courses. Links to recorded course sessions will be available to registered participants within two business days after each class session to view on their own time, until February 28, 2026. Click here for a list of recorded classes. Please note that the recordings are provided for convenience and to accommodate any scheduling conflicts. They are not intended to replace the benefits of attending in real time, where you can ask questions and participate in discussions. You must be registered for the course to have access to the recording.

Inclement Weather and Other Policies: Please see this link for more information.

With both in-person and virtual courses being offered, we encourage you to select which format you feel is most comfortable and beneficial for you.

Fall is in the air, and so is the excitement of learning! Encore Learning’s fall term is packed with engaging courses, and now is the time to secure your spot. Many of our courses are filling up quickly, but there are still some open slots in select classes starting in the next month. Don’t wait—register today to learn, connect and explore with Encore Learning!

3085 – Genealogy: More Than Names and Dates (hybrid, recorded)

3086 – Introduction to Islam (in-person GMU)

3090 – Twentieth Century Arlington History (hybrid, recorded)

3091 – Great Sports Stories (in-person GMU)

3092 – Reconstruction (hybrid, recorded)

3093 – History of Iran (in-person GMU)

4029 – Lobbying: An Insider’s View (virtual)

4060 – Chinese Challenges and US Response (hybrid, recorded)

4061 – Tax Reforms Around the Globe (in-person GMU, 9/30 start)

4063 – Transactional Diplomacy (in-person GMU)

5069 – Jim Talks Back: Everett and Twain (in-person GMU)

5070 – Southern Short Stories (in-person GMU)

6023 – Search for Life on Other Worlds (in-person GMU)

6031 – Intro to Fall Birding – Tuesday (in-person various locations, 9/30 start)

6035 – Technology Hot Spots (virtual, recorded)

7030 – Freedom and Democracy in America (hybrid, recorded)

7039 – Indigenous Latin America (hybrid, recorded)

Encore Learning is fortunate to have such a wealth of knowledgeable, engaging and all around wonderful volunteer instructors. We hope to feature one or two instructors each newsletter to share a bit about them. We welcome additional writers and submissions. Thank you!

Dr. Iska Alter

By Carol Fuller

Dr. Iska Alter, professor emerita from Hofstra University, has acquired quite the fan club who attend most, if not all, of the courses she offers for Encore Learning. Whether it’s Shakespeare (and she’s taught the full gamut of 38 plays, including how different productions work), the Novella, or history novels (including tales of slavery and the plague), she brings a richness of knowledge and personable classroom warmth to everything. It’s unusual to have a teacher who can engage the participants so well that they not only learn and share with each other but, as she says, they teach her as well. The time flies so fast that we never have time to cover everything. You don’t have to like the works we study; you just get to enjoy the back and forth of ideas flowing from the participants as Dr. Alter expertly guides the conversation with her questions and positive responses to all. No wonder that about 80% of the participants are return students and enthusiastically commend her classes to others. We’re all eagerly looking forward to the course in the Fall on the “Salesmen“: Death of a Salesman (Arthur Miller), The Iceman Cometh (Eugene O’Neill), and Glengarry Glen Ross (David Mamet).

Thank you Iska for sharing your knowledge with Encore Learning for over 15 years!

Dr. Michael Collins

By Deb Spero and Jutta Bauman

It was a real pleasure to serve as Class Aides to Mike Collins last spring when he taught Eight Modern British Poets. Dr. Collins is a teaching professor emeritus in the English Department at Georgetown University, specializing in Shakespeare, modern British theater, Anglo-Welch poetry, and American Literature. He holds a PhD from New York University and has published widely.

Not knowing much about poetry, I (Deb) would have signed up for the course even without being a Class Aide, just because I wanted to learn more about the subject and because I had previously enjoyed lit classes with Mike. Participants with more background enjoyed the class because it allowed them to get re-acquainted with classic “modern” poetry, deepen their knowledge, and refresh their memories as he made the poetry come alive. 

Mike was such a wonderful instructor and clearly loved his chosen poets. We learned about the poet as well as the more “technical” aspects of meter and rhyme, plus Mike offered great insights into the meaning behind the words. He also framed the poems in the times they were written, which gave us a fuller appreciation of the poet in his environment. Mike was also very interested in engaging with participants and discussing their reactions to the poems. 

This fall, Mike will be teaching Shakespeare’s Hamlet and you can be sure he will bring his knowledge and wisdom to this class, just as he always does! We feel very fortunate to have Michael Collins as an Encore Learning instructor. 

On September 18, the Academic Programs Committee hosted a virtual orientation and discussion for new instructors. The event was organized to support 13 instructors teaching this fall, most of whom have extensive teaching experience, but who are new to teaching at Encore Learning. Veteran Encore Learning instructor and Class Aide Committee Co-Chair Mike Stutts led and coordinated the presentations, in collaboration with two other very experienced instructors, Janet Auten and Rob Albro. Mike, Janet and Rob shared tips and best practices in teaching for Encore Learning in areas including course planning, optimizing student engagement, and using Powerpoint effectively for in-person, hybrid and Zoom classes. There was robust discussion, and Kerry Fraatz and Lora Pollari-Welbes explained use of the portal and other logistics. The recording was shared with all 13 new instructors, and in the near future, the link will be available on a new “Instructors Corner” page on the Encore Learning website, along with a tip guide. A huge thank you to Mike for the offering to lead this initiative, and for the major contributions from Janet and Rob. –Susan Bornstein, Academic Programs Committee co-Chair

Susan joins the Encore Learning Board of Directors as the new Co-Chair of the Academic Programs Committee after serving on the Class Aides and Academic Programs Committees, as a course coordinator for a 2025 Black history of Arlington course, and as a regular class aide since 2024. She is a passionate life-long learner and takes a wide variety of Encore Learning courses.

She spent 30 years working with various non-profit organizations to increase economic opportunity for low-income communities in Africa and other regions of the world. Her work included expanding rural access to education, livelihoods and health services and women’s economic empowerment. She lived and worked in 10+ countries, particularly in East Africa, and served three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal.

Susan has lived in Arlington since 2000. In addition to working with Encore Learning, Susan is a long-time mentor of immigrant job-seekers with Upwardly Global, supports refugee/immigrant resettlement with Arlington-based ECDC, and mentors at-risk youth through two local organizations. She also co-hosts a women’s meet-up group to build community and joint learning opportunities.

Susan enjoys ocean exploration, adventure travel, reading, learning about plants, nature, and with her husband, Tony, foraging wild foods, cooking, and cycling.

End of Summer Events

A fun group of Encore Learning members went to the Nationals-Mets game on 8/21 and cheered on our team. We were successful – the Nats won! Thanks to special events committee member Tom Kilfoyle for arranging this great day.

Barbara Noe Kennedy shared hidden gems in Arlington that she wrote about in her book 100 Things to Do in Arlington Before You Die. Many asked where they can buy her book. Barbara advises that you can buy it at Ayers, Trade Winds, One More Page Books, Amazon and the Reedy Book website. You can watch a recording of this event on our YouTube channel here.

Our second sell-out tour of Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory arranged by Tom Underwood was fun and very well received as was the optional lunch afterwards.

The current exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, State Fairs: Growing American Craft, has been getting rave reviews in the Washington Post and on the Sept. 14 edition of Sunday Morning on CBS. Lucky for us, committee member Jan Burchard was able to arrange a docent-led tour of this terrific exhibit soon after it opened. Nineteen of us were able to enjoy the tour and a number then enjoyed lunch at nearby Immigrant Food.

Cow carved from butter at the Renwick gallery’s State Fairs exhibit. Photo courtesy Jan Burchard.

There was a great turnout for our event on Monday, 9/15 – A Gentle Introduction to Composer Richard Wagner with Dan Sherman. This was a hybrid event at GMU and via Zoom. As mentioned during the program, Dan Sherman has compiled a list of resources related to Wagner. You can access these resources here.

Fall events coming up

Here are some upcoming Encore Learning Presents virtual programs, co-sponsored with the Arlington Central Library, which are free and open to the public:

• Monday, 9/29 – Stumbling Stones: Memorializing Arlington’s Enslaved People. Jessica Kaplan of the Arlington Historical Society will tell us about this initiative.
• Monday, 10/6 – Trusted Source: How a Virginia Non-Profit Defied Polarization. Virginia politics as seen by the founder of the non-partisan source VPAP (Virginia Public Access Project), David Poole.

We also have several member tours/events coming soon, including:

• Tuesday, 9/30 – Area2Farms Tour – Indoor, Year-Round Organic Produce in Arlington (in-person)
• Tuesday,10/7 – GWU Museum: Guided Tour of Washington, D.C. History Exhibits (in-person)
• Thursday, 10/16 – Battle of Codes: Virtual Tour of the National Cryptologic Museum (virtual)
• Monday, 10/27 – The Glorious History of Popular Music in Northern Virginia with Ken Avis, Plus an Open House. We’re going to rock! (in-person and open to the public).
• Friday, 10/31 – Women Artists of the DMV at McLean Project for the Arts (in-person)

Many more fun and interesting events are being organized. All upcoming event details can be found on our website, as well as in our special events emails sent out biweekly.

Want to be part of a fun, creative committee focused on presenting unique, interesting in-person tours to our members and presentations on Zoom to the greater DMV ? Think about joining us. Email me – Louise Kenny at LKenny1208@gmail.com.

Encore Learning’s Tom Adams participated in a Panel Discussion on Lifelong Learning on Saturday, September 6, 2025, at the Mary Riley Styles Public Library (MRSPL) in Falls Church City. Tom was joined by Smithsonian Associate’s Director Frederica Adelman; Sally Matts, a Road Scholar “Ambassador” and Jerry Schrager of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at George Mason University. Each panelist spoke of their own journey in lifelong

learning and explained what their organization offers. An extensive

resource list was provided to all participants along with materials from each

organization.

Organized by MRSPL Adult Services Librarian Paula Hawkins with EL member

Catherine McCormick who also moderated the discussion, the event attracted 48 curious lifelong learners who enthusiastically contributed to the discussion. Tom Adams promoted EL teaching and learning opportunities in fall and spring, clubs, special events and reasonable membership and course fees. At least one person offered to teach a new course on political campaigns.

Five the MRSPL Librarians, including Director Megan Dotzler, attended the panel and commented on the value of the program. A few comments from participants included: “Repeat every year” and “Thank you for the program. I learned a lot.” –Cathy McCormick

Thank you to Jan Pomerantz, Martha Trunk and Marty Suydam for acting as Encore Learning “Ambassadors” at our Goodwin Living partner facilities. Lynn Ray has spoken at The Landing, The Trillium and Alexandria Senior Services. Encore Learning will be at the Mason table at Clarendon Day too!

We are currently seeking volunteers for a variety of roles:

• Posting our events in public calendars (such as ArlNow, the Beacon, NextDoor, Positive Aging, etc.).
• Developing strategies to diversify our membership and ensure we are inclusive.
• Planning academic courses or Special Events.
• Joining a newly forming Public Relations/Marketing committee.

If any of these opportunities are of interest to you, please visit our Volunteer page or send an email to info@encorelearning.net.

Please email the Encore Learning office if you are interested in joining any of our clubs or would like more information. You may also visit our Clubs page on our website for details and a full list of our clubs.

Please note: Clubs are maintained by Encore Learning as a benefit to our members. If you’re not a member or have let your membership lapse, please go to our membership page for how to join or renew. Thank you!

Bridge Club

The Encore Learning Bridge Club is getting ready for their first outing after our summer hiatus. We’re planning our first lunch and social Bridge get-together for Friday, October 10th, at the Arlington Mill Community Center on Columbia Pike. The club meets once a month, either in someone’s home or at one of the Arlington County Community Centers. Anyone interested in joining the club should e-mail the office. Staff will forward your interest to us and we’ll be in touch to discuss how the club works. We’re always happy to welcome new Bridge-playing members. – Joan Carter, Sharon Bisdee, club coordinators

Cinema Club

The Encore Learning Cinema Club meets monthly to see a current film and discuss it over lunch. Recent outings have included The Phoenician Scheme, Mr. Blake, at Your Service! and, most recently, A Little Prayer. The next movie dates are Thursday, October 16; Thursday, November 6 and Monday, December 8. –Caroline Wooden and Dru Dowdy, club coordinators.

Chamber Music Club

The Chamber Music Club meets every first and second Friday of the month, at noon, from October through May, to hear chamber concerts sponsored by the Friday Morning Music Club, a venerable institution dating to 1886.

The musicians are superb and the programming, diverse and interesting.

The October concerts are on October 3 and October 10. The first concert will feature works by Cesar Franck, Haydn and Milhaud; the second, works by Chopin, Talbot-Howard, Sarasate and Tchaikovsky.

The venue is St. George’s Episcopal Church, 915 N. Oakland St., adjacent to the Virginia Square Metro station. For those who drive, the church has a small parking lot. On-street parking is available as well. Please contact the office if you wish to join.

– Rhoda Ritzenberg, Coordinator

Global Lunch Club

The Encore Learning Global Lunch Club met on August 21st at Saffron Restaurant in Falls Church. A great turnout and good food.  -Jan Rothstein, Coordinator. Photos courtesy of Mike Hara.

Mindfulness Club

The Encore Learning Mindfulness Club continues to meet by Zoom most Wednesdays from Noon to 1:00 for 20 minutes of guided meditation, some discussion of mindfulness practice, and a bit of sociability. If you ask through the Encore Learning office to be added to the mailing list, you’ll receive meeting reminders as well as what we hope is useful information on contemporary mindfulness practice as well as on the development of mindfulness practice in Buddhist and other venues. You would have no obligation to attend meetings, they are on an as-you-wish-to-attend basis; some participants come rarely but find the weekly emails useful in developing meditation and mindfulness skills. – Dwight Rodgers

Nonfiction Book Club

The Encore Learning Nonfiction Book Club will meet next on November 10 to discuss Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Humankind (Vol. 1) by Yuval Noah Harari. Please feel free to join us at the Arlington Central Library at 1:30 PM to discuss this fascinating book. If interested in joining the book club, let the office know, and we’ll add you to the mailing list.– Ed Rader, Pat Chatten, club coordinators

Travel Club

The Travel Club met on September 19 where Barry Ginsburg shared his trip to the Balkans.

The next meeting on October 17th will be given by Linda and Steve Shapiro on their trip out West and to the Baja Peninsula.

The Encore Learning Travel Club meets once a month, usually on the 3rd Friday of the month at 3:30 PM on Zoom. To become a member of the club and receive the club announcements, send an email to the office. We hope to see you virtually on Zoom! -Charlie Hallahan, co-Coordinator. Photo courtesy of Linda and Steve Shapiro.

GMU invites everyone to join a grand celebration of innovation, research and collaboration at Fuse!

Free outdoor campus and community event

September 25, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

at The Plaza at Mason Square

Click here for details

A documentary based on Encore Learning Instructor Peter Harnik’s book, From Rails to Trails, has been used as the basis of a documentary that will be shown on public television on October 15. You can watch a preview here.

September is a month to remember. We celebrated a wonderful course preview, a bustling registration day, matched volunteers to be Class Aides, held engaging Class Aide training sessions, and enjoyed fantastic special events, among many other activities.

We currently have more than 1,100 members and 70% of them are taking a class this semester. In our recent survey, we discovered that while many of our members are active on Facebook, not everyone is following or sharing our posts. We warmly encourage you to connect with us online by following, liking, and sharing our content to help boost our visibility and strengthen our community ties. Although our enrollment has been strong, we still have hundreds of open class seats across our 41 courses, so we invited you to tell more friends and neighbors about the enriching opportunities we offer.


The work of dozens of volunteers make this all happen. If you are not currently volunteering for Encore Learning and want to know more about how you can become involved, please contact us. Come to our October 27 Open House and new members are invited to an informational coffee on November 18. We look forward to seeing you there and continuing to build our vibrant community together!

I hope you enjoy the upcoming semester and are ready to explore, learn and connect.

~ Lora 

Lora Pollari-Welbes

Executive Director

During July and August 2025, we welcomed the following new members and look forward to having them become active participants in Encore Learning. Please introduce yourself to them if you meet them in a class, club or event.

• Ahmed Aly
• Dennis Bloomquist
• Ann-Marie Bolton
• Lillian Brooks
• Judi Buckalew
• Dina Chatila Shaar
• Judith Cherrington
• Fred Day
• Roy De Lauder
• Lisa Dittmeier
• Leigh Geiger
• Janet Glendenning
• Janet Gorn
• Nancy Keppelman
• Robert Loser
• Linda MacCleave
• Megan Mahoney
• Heidi Marshall
• Joyce Mckenzie
• Geerten Michielse
• Lynn Miller
• Luis Moreno

• Carol lee Morgan
• Roy Morris
• Mirembe Nantongo
• Donna Patterson
• John Person
• Steve Pilloff
• Jill Preston
• Mala Rajamani
• Mark Russell
• Sheila Ryan
• Reva Savkar
• Richard Schwartzbard
• Winnie Shapiro
• David Silversmith
• Carol Smythers
• Michael Smythers
• Gretchen Stahl
• Robert Sutter
• Ann Talty
• Judy Tamir
• William Taylor
• Mohammed Zafarullah

Thank you to Goodwin Living, Janet Auten, Judy Connally, Rosemary Jann, Priscilla Lujan, Cathy McCormick, Jennifer Owen, Lora Pollari-Welbes, Gretchen Reinemeyer, Dwight Rodgers, Anne Sellon and Iram Weinstein for referring friends who became members of Encore Learning! Many of these new members above are also new instructors. Spread the word and please refer friends and family to Encore Learning. If you’d like to bring Encore Learning into your community (residential building or neighborhood) to share information about membership, let us know.

Encore Learning is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Any donation is a charitable contribution deductible from income tax to the full extent permitted by law. Members, friends and organizations wishing to support Encore Learning may direct contributions to our General Fund to support our sustainability or to the Arthur W. Gosling Youth Scholarship Fund. If you wish to designate a charitable gift in someone’s honor or memory, please email us indicating how the gift should be recognized. If you would like to discuss tax benefits of charitable giving and charitable remainder trusts, please view our Donate page or contact the office.

We hope you enjoyed this edition of The Inside Scoop. If you would like to submit an article or share some photos of members participating in Encore Learning activities, please email us at info@encorelearning.net.

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