We are so excited about the upcoming fall semester! Fall 2025 offers our members 41 compelling courses (31 of which are new), with 24 in-person classes, 11 virtual and 7 hybrid offerings available for both in-person and virtual participation simultaneously. Fifteen courses will also be recorded.

Browse the catalog here. If you’d like an easy way to see all the courses by day, check out the calendar view. All of our listings clearly state whether a class is virtual, in-person, hybrid or being recorded.

Please join us for the Fall Course Preview on Thursday, September 4 at 9:30 AM.

Course registration begins at 10:00 AM Monday, September 8. 

You can register anytime after 10:00 AM on September 8, but some courses do fill-up early. Login before registration is open and make sure your username and password are ready to go.

Be ready for registration on Monday, September 8.  

• Be sure you can login to your Member Account, and that your username and password are working. Ask to reset your password if you are not able to login. Login to your account here: https://encorelearning.asapconnected.com/MyAccount
• Check that your membership is up to date. The member expiration date is on the screen below your contact information. If your membership expires before your class ends, then you will need to renew your membership.
• If you need to renew your membership or join, click here: https://encorelearning.asapconnected.com/#Memberships

Doing this ahead of time will help make your registration go smoothly!

We are pleased to offer seven hybrid courses this Fall. Hybrid courses are simultaneously taught virtually on Zoom and in-person at the GMU Arlington campus (Mason Square). While you should register for the version of the class that best fits you, hybrid classes do allow some flexibility if you can’t make it to the GMU classroom for some reason. Virtual students can also check in with the office if they’d like to attend an occasional session in-person (depending on classroom space availability).

Hybrid classes planned for Fall include:

• Japanese Art: Words and Images – Carol Morland. This course explores the visual and interpretive role of inscriptions in East Asian art, focusing on how text—through calligraphy, authorship, and content—shapes the viewer’s experience of paintings and prints. Emphasizing Japanese works but including Chinese examples, it examines narrative handscrolls, religious images, portraiture, literati landscapes, Rinpa school formats, and contemporary manga.
• Organizing What You Know: A Practical Guide to Personal Knowledge Management – Barbara Fillip. This six-session course offers practical strategies and simple tools for organizing personal knowledge—helping you capture life lessons, manage information overload, and create a system that supports lifelong learning and meaningful connections. Topics include filtering digital content, using tech tools like Evernote and mind maps, linking ideas, preserving wisdom, and optionally building a knowledge legacy to share with others.
• Twentieth Century Arlington: History By The Decades (1900–1930) – Bill Fogarty. This course offers a survey of Arlington County history from 1900 to 1930, set against the backdrop of major events in Virginia, the U.S., and the world—including technological advances, World War I, a pandemic, and racial tensions. As the first in a planned series covering Arlington’s 20th-century history, the course encourages active discussion and participation.
• Genealogy: More Than Names and Dates – Roy De Lauder. Explore your roots by tracing your family’s history—discover where your name came from, what your ancestors did, and how to uncover their stories like a private investigator. This course will guide you in finding records beyond your immediate family, using online and offline sources, organizing your research, overcoming obstacles, and understanding DNA testing.
• Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution? – Tyler Anbinder. Reconstruction was the period following the Civil War when Americans sought to rebuild the nation and address the unresolved issues of secession and emancipation through political and legal means rather than warfare. This course will explore how national leaders handled Reconstruction, examine its impact on the South’s freed people and former enslavers, and trace how rising white resistance and economic crisis ultimately led to the rollback of Black rights and the rise of Jim Crow laws.
• Freedom and Democracy in America – James Grefer. This course, part of a continuing series on freedom and democracy in the U.S., examines these concepts through economic, historical, and philosophical lenses across four sessions. Topics include the meaning and complexity of freedom and democracy, America’s historical journey toward both, global comparisons, and the role of U.S. institutions in sustaining or undermining them.
• Indigenous Latin America: Contributions, Challenges and Change – Robert Albro. This course explores the rich legacies and contemporary diversity of Latin America’s over 40 million Indigenous peoples, examining how they have shaped the region’s identity while navigating centuries of colonialism, state repression, and urbanization. Through case studies from countries like Mexico, Bolivia, and Brazil, we will analyze Indigenous social movements, resistance to extractive development, and their ongoing cultural, political, and ecological contributions. This study explores contemporary indigenous life across the region through conservation, legal and political activism, and the evolving identities and autonomy of indigenous populations as they engage with new media technologies, highlighting their deep integration into the social fabric.

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. Robert Albro

By Jutta Bauman

Trained in sociocultural anthropology, Dr. Robert Albro has maintained a long-term ethnographic focus on urban and indigenous politics in Bolivia. He is also an expert on Latin American social and indigenous movements. In addition, Dr. Albro researches and regularly writes about domestic and international cultural policy frameworks, including formulations of cultural rights, cultural diplomacy, and intersections between cultural knowledge, security and technology. Climate Change, science and technology. Rob presents a cultural and social anthropologist’s point of view to help us understand the issues and questions of today. 

Dr. Robert D. Albro was trained at the University of Chicago and is currently associate director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University. He has researched, presented, and published widely in his field, is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, and enjoys teaching the engaged, seasoned, and experienced class participants that Encore Learning provides.  

He has taught courses for Encore Learning on the impact of climate change on the urban environment, on the impact of future science in the 20th and 21st century, and on populism in Latin America. His classes are supported by extensive PowerPoint presentations, the files of which he willingly shares with the class; but the lecture format is informal, engaging, and frequently a lot of fun, too. Class discussion is encouraged and productive.

Discussions with previous class members revealed an interest in another of Rob’s specialties, Indigenous Latin America: Contributions, Challenges and Change, which will be the topic of his fall 2025 offering. Rob’s classes are hybrid, which allows the participants great flexibility to choose when and how to view each class. One participant summarized: “Due to the posted videos, I was able to attend the entire course on my own time.”

Latin America has hardly been represented in past Encore Learning courses, and the class participants were grateful for an opportunity to expand their knowledge of this important but unfamiliar, sprawling, and complicated area. They appreciated Rob’s long and varied personal experience in the region and praised his choice of pre-reads, his expert balance of presentation and discussion, and his rapport with the class. His courses inspire us and expand our horizons.

Dr. Tyler Anbinder

By David Young and Jutta Bauman

Join Professor Tyler Anbinder to find historical perspective and solace in learning how our Republic survived extreme polarization and challenges around the Civil War. Former George Washington University History Professor Tyler Anbinder will be teaching his fourth class for Encore Learning this fall, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution?.



Dr. Anbinder is a specialist in nineteenth-century America and has published several acclaimed books on pre-Civil War politics and immigration in America. He served as a historical consultant to Martin Scorsese for the making of “The Gangs of New York” movie. His first course for Encore Learning was Immigrants Who Made America 1846-1965, followed by a series of courses centered around the Civil War.

Responding to popular demand, Professor Tyler is returning for his third class in the series with each class based on a nineteenth-century decade. He started a year ago with Political Crises in the 1850’s (of which there were many, as futile compromises on slavery ultimately led to the Civil War). Last term Dr. Anbinder followed with a course on the Civil War from a Washington DC perspective, with a focus on the perspective from Washington. The Fall 2025 class will cover the post-Civil War 1870’s Reconstruction era.

Professor Tyler’s classes are hybrid (simultaneously in person and virtual), thereby offering great flexibility for participants to choose when and how to view each class.  Some participants even chose to take advantage of repeat viewing of recordings to better understand and retain the historical richness of the topics. Professor Tyler manages to fully engage those participants who have very little advance knowledge as well as those who are near experts in the field. His lectures are well structured, supported by interesting slides, and replete with colorful descriptions and images of important historical characters and events. As an example, we gained an understanding of complex individual Civil War battles and how the foibles and actions of individual Generals affected the outcomes, as the survival of our Republic teetered on the brink. Dr. Anbinder welcomed questions from both the in-person and the virtual audience; there were lively discussions with intellectually curious participants. We were left with optimism for the bold experiment of the United States and a hunger to learn more. What happened next?

Mike joins the Encore Learning Board of Directors as the new Co-Chair of the Class Aides Committee after serving on the Academic Programs Committee and as an instructor for two Encore Learning courses.

Mike was awarded Professor Emeritus after a 33-year career at Eastern Virginia

Medical School where he taught multiple courses and seminars, supervised over 200 doctoral students and interns in clinical psychology, and directed a nationally accredited clinical psychology training program. He has been fully licensed as a Clinical Psychologist since 1986 and remains on the Editorial Review Board of an academic journal. Mike’s career included service to the Commonwealth, his profession, and EVMS, including leadership roles on three Virginia Governor-appointed health regulatory boards, as president of the Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists, and as president of the EVMS faculty senate and Vice Chair of his department.

Mike and his wife Pamela moved to Arlington soon after retiring in 2018. This was somewhat of a homecoming as Mike was born in DC and raised across the river in Prince Georges County where he and Pamela were high school sweethearts. When not involved in Encore Learning activities, Mike has been a weekly volunteer for the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) for six years and is a Virginia Department of Health Medical Reserve Corps volunteer and a Disaster Behavioral Health volunteer for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

Mike enjoys reading, music, strength training and, with Pamela, travel, visiting Virginia’s many wineries, walking or biking the streets and trails surrounding their Ballston home, and enjoying nearby family, including two of their four grandkids.

One of the special things about Encore Learning is the opportunity to get to know some very interesting and warm, friendly people. A great way to do this is by attending an in-person tour. You get to know people as you share the experience. Increasingly, the special events group is trying to schedule tours before or after lunch to encourage participants to share a meal to get

to know each other better. These are optional, pay-for-your-own lunches.

Participants of the tour of the Victims of Communism Museum enjoyed lunch together after the tour.

We have a number of upcoming Encore Learning Presents virtual programs, co-sponsored with the Arlington Central Library, which are free and open to the public:

• Monday, 8/4, – Barbara Noe Kennedy, author of 100 Things to Do in Arlington, talked to us about Arlington’s history and sites. View the recording here.
• Monday, 9/15 – A Gentle Introduction to Composer Richard Wagner with Dan Sherman. A hybrid event at GMU and via Zoom.
• Monday, 9/29 – Memorializing the Enslaved People of Arlington.
• Monday, 10/6 – Virginia politics as seen by the founder of the non-partisan source VPAP (Virginia Public Access Project), David Poole (author of Trusted Source: How a Virginia Non-Profit Defied Polarization).

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

• Thursday, 8/14 – Nationals vs Mets ballgame.
• Tuesday, 8/26 Tour of Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory, back by popular demand!
• Wednesday, 9/3 Renwick Gallery Tour of new exhibit State Fairs: Growing American Craft (sign-up coming in 8/7 special events email).

For details on all of these upcoming events, watch the Special Events registration page.

Want to help identify and bring forward interesting presentations to our members and, for our Monday presentations, to the greater DMV community? Join our Special Events committee – we would love to have you! Email Louise Kenny at LKenny1208@gmail.com.

Victims of Communism Museum Tour

On July 23, 25 Encore Learning members toured this museum, recognized as “the first museum in the world dedicated to describing both the history of communism as well as its current global reach across Europe, Asia, and South America.” Afterwards, a number of participants enjoyed lunch together (see photo above).

Photos courtesy Tom Underwood

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.

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.).
• Distributing catalogs or flyers at community locations, even your doctor’s office.
• 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 Bridge Club is taking a break for July and August, but will be back having lunch and playing Bridge again in September. – 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 Bob Trevino Likes It, Holy Cow, The Phoenician Scheme, and, most recently, Mr. Blake, at Your Service! The next movie dates are Thursday, August 14 and Wednesday, September 17.

–Caroline Wooden and Dru Dowdy, club coordinators.

Global Lunch Club

The Encore Learning Global Lunch Club met on July 10 at Dolan Uyghur restaurant in Falls Church. The group enjoyed noodles, hot pot, kebab, and other dishes representing the food of the Uyghur people at this relatively new restaurant in Falls Church. 

-Jan Rothstein, Coordinator. Photo courtesy of Mike Hera.

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 September 8 to discuss Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow. Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens’ confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule. 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 July 18 with a presentation by Judy Ballard on her trip to the Brittany area of France.

The next meeting is on Friday, August 15 at 3:30 PM. Dick Juhnke will be presenting on his two-week trip to Sicily in June 2024.

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 Dick Juhnke.

George Mason University’s Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory (FSRTL) Survey Opportunity

The GMU FSRTL has asked us to let our members know about a survey opportunity. The lab is conducting a brief survey to learn more about public perspectives on body donation, forensic research, and science education.

Why is this important?

Your perspectives help ensure that research and education involving human donors are approached with respect, transparency, and inclusivity.

The survey is anonymous, takes about 10 minutes, and is open to all adults. The survey can be accessed here: https://go.gmu.edu/fsrtl-survey.

Click here for more information about the Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory.

I hope you were delighted to find your Fall Semester catalog in the mailbox. This edition is filled with an exciting variety of classes—made possible by dedicated volunteers who recruit instructors, develop course ideas, edit the catalog, and help with distribution. To bring these offerings to life, we need your help in three key ways:

1. Class Aides – If you’re interested in assisting instructors, let us know and we’ll send you details about becoming a Class Aide.
2. Registration – We’re offering 41 courses this fall and need strong participation to make them successful. Be ready to register starting September 8.
3. New Members – With so many class options, there’s room to grow our community. Encourage your friends to join and sign up for classes.

As a volunteer-driven organization, we deeply value every contribution. In June, I enjoyed welcoming four new board members—Louise, Lynn, Mike, and Susan. Together, we reviewed our organizational policies and discussed the important role of the board.

Our community is about much more than classes. The Special Events we’ve hosted—and those coming up—are exceptional. One week, we’re exploring EU politics; the next, learning about Arlington history. This fall, we’re excited to offer three in-person Encore Learning Presents events—two at Mason and one at the library—all with hybrid attendance options. Special thanks to our innovative Special Events Committee for organizing unique tours and meaningful social gatherings.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to sharing all the details about the Fall Semester with you at the Course Preview on September 4.

~ Lora 

Lora Pollari-Welbes

Executive Director

Photo: New Board Members L-R: Susan Bornstein, Mike Stutts, Louise Kenny, Lynn Ray

During June 2025, we welcomed new members Joan Pepin and Micheline Toussaint, 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.

Thank you to Mary Knox for referring friends who became members of Encore Learning! 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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