We’re pleased to announce that Encore Learning is introducing a new membership and registration portal designed to make registering for courses and managing your account easier than ever.

Why Are We Changing?

Our new portal offers several improvements that will enhance your experience:

• Easier registration for classes and events, including filter options and wishlists
• Better member records to keep your information accurate and easy to access
• Simpler membership renewal process with the option of automatic renewal
• Better course history tracking to help you view the classes you’ve taken
• More reliable online payments for a smoother checkout experience
• Reduced administrative work, allowing our staff to spend more time supporting our members and developing quality educational programs

We believe these improvements will provide a more convenient and reliable experience while helping us better serve our growing learning community.

What Do I Need to Do?

Watch for an email from Encore Learning inviting you to activate your account in the new registration portal.

When you receive it, you’ll be prompted to:

1. Set your username (we highly recommend using your email address).
2. Create a password for the new portal.

Once your account is set up and you have verified your membership is current, you’ll be ready to register for courses when registration opens on September 8th.

Note that emails from Encore Learning’s portal will be from: noreply@imperisoft.com

You may wish to add this email to your allowed senders and ensure it is not blocked or unsubscribed. Do not send messages to this email, always correspond with Encore Learning via info@encorelearning.net.

No Change to Class Web Pages

There will be no changes to our class web pages found on our website. All class information including course materials, Zoom links and passcodes, recordings, etc., will still be available on our website as they have been.

We’re Here to Help

We know that transitioning to a new system can bring questions, and we’re committed to making the process as smooth as possible. If you need assistance at any time, please contact us at info@encorelearning.net. Our staff will be happy to help.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support as we make this exciting improvement. We look forward to providing you with an even better registration experience!

We are so excited about the upcoming fall semester! Fall 2026 offers our members 41 compelling courses, with 21 in-person classes, 10 virtual and 10 hybrid offerings available for both in-person and virtual participation simultaneously. Eighteen 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 3 at 9:30 AM.

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

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

Join us on Wednesday, August 26 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon for Encore Learning’s Back to Campus event.

Summer’s end means its time to look to the fall. Come join your friends at Encore Learning for a morning of reconnecting and updates. Meet prospective instructors, get help with your online account, or just hang out. You can see where your classes will be held and learn about parking. Hope to see you there!

Look for us in the foyer of Van Metre Hall and in Room 308. Coffee and donuts will be provided.

Van Metre Hall is located at 3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22201

Parking connected to the building is entered via Kirkwood Drive. Parkers must create a Metropolis account to park in this garage. Metered street parking is also available in the area.

In addition to the return of many beloved instructors, Encore Learning’s Fall 2026 semester features eleven new instructors, covering a broad range of subjects. Highlighted below are just a few of the courses.

Danger, Suspense and Deception: The Best of Alfred Hitchcock. Join instructor Jay Sherwin on an exploration into the mind of one of film’s most legendary figures. Discover why Alfred Hitchcock’s memorable, suspenseful films endure. 

Foodways: How Six Foods Changed Human History. Food is something everyone thinks about, every day. However, few think about the role of food in our history. Brian Patterson explores how food choices reflect deeper systems of history and identity. 

Gerrymandering. Want to learn more about the evil twin of legislative redistricting? Join Peter French in a timely exploration of gerrymandering – what it is, how it’s done and who’s doing it.

Chemistry Matters: Making the Invisible Visible! Chemistry is not just a course you had to take in college – willingly or otherwise. Reva Savkar will show us why chemistry is integral to understanding the world around us and how it affects our daily lives.

What’s Love Got to Do With It? Cross-Cultural Notions of Romantic Love. Laura Ahearn uses an anthropological lens to highlight the differing meanings and expressions of romantic love in this country and in other cultures.

As you peruse the full list of Fall 2026 course offerings, you may notice some themes: 

The Arts: From State to Screen

• Danger, Suspense and Deception: The Best of Alfred Hitchcock
• The Magic Behind Film Music
• Classic vs. Contemporary Plays
• Shakespeare’s Comedies
• Songwriters Gone Too Soon

America’s History: Conflict, Change and Progress

• Visualizing the Civil War in Arlington
• Massive Resistance in Virginia: Two Paths to School Desegregation
• Revolutionary Writers and Their Rhetoric
• Great American Stories of the 20th Century
• History of Military Aviation: Expectation Meets Experience

The State of American Democracy

• Intelligence in Democratic Societies
• Gerrymandering
• Assessing the Midterm Elections
• Issues in National Security

There are many wonderful courses from which to choose! Browse the whole semeseter options here.

On June 11 the Encore Learning board met for a half day retreat. Facilitated by Kristine Wood of Core Skills, the board identified key stories we’d like Encore Learning to be known for, identified priorities for the next three years and formed a few working groups to explore these further. We currently have groups focused on growth and governance. The outreach activities have been assigned to the Membership Committee and a social/fun group may be meeting soon. Watch for updates and ways you can become involved in our planning.

Iolaire McFadden recently joined the Encore Learning Board of Directors and serves as Co-Chair of the Information Technology Committee along with Barbara Fillip.

Iolaire entered early retirement in 2024 after a 25-year career in the commercial real estate data industry with job titles including Director of Data Science and Quantitative Quality Assurance Director. He had the privilege to work in a technical role without formal computer engineering education. He travels with his wife, Susan, as a primary hobby. He and Susan are long-term volunteers at local charity events, theaters, and for AFAC. As time permits, he is now using AI-assisted coding tools 6-8 hours per day to develop web applications to scratch itches that he has, such as Vedfolnir – a tool to help post accessible content to the non-commercial Fediverse. (The Fediverse is the post-Twitter/Facebook social media platforms running on distributed frameworks — for example, Mastodon.)

Prior to a 2017 kidney transplant, he was on dialysis for three years and continued to travel receiving dialysis treatments around the globe. Iolaire says life is easier now.

Thank you Iolaire and all our volunteer Board members for all you do for Encore Learning!

Get More Out of Your Class

Be a Class Aide!

Have you ever wondered how our classes run so smoothly, both in-person and virtually? It’s because of our amazing Class Aides!

Join us for a Learning Session on

Tuesday, August 11 at 10:30 AM

GMU Van Metre Hall Room 308

Light refreshments provided

Some of the benefits to being a class aide include:

• Credit for one future free course
• Free parking (an option for in-person Class Aides, receive parking or a future free course)
• Meet new people
• Learn new technology
• Contribute to a great nonprofit

All Class Aides receive full training and are guaranteed enrollment in the class they are assisting (first come first served). We have openings for the fall semester.

Email courses@encorelearning.net for more information, to rsvp to attend our learning session – or to volunteer.

August 5 – Repeat tour of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) Museum, highlighting the impact and tragedy of the drug epidemic (waitlist).

August 10 – Encore Learning Presents virtual presentation: Peter C. Cohen on the Supreme Court and decisions about presidential power.

August 20 – Tour of Lincoln’s Cottage, President Lincoln’s summer home (waitlist).

August 31 – Encore Learning Presents virtual presentation: Misinformation – What it is, How and Why it is Created and How to Recognize it.

Photos: Encore Learning members enjoyed some fantastic tours in July. Above: an interesting tour of Area2 Farms, a local indoor organic farm. Photo courtesy Mary Pope. Below: Members were wowed at the Nick Cave Mammoth Exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photo courtesy Jan Burchard.

September 16 – Walking Tour of Congressional Cemetery (registration will open August 6).

September 24 – Tour of Grant’s Courthouse, the site of the trial and execution of conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (this site is rarely open to the public so we are lucky to secure this tour. Registration will open August 20).

September 28 – Presentation of “We, The People” documenting the diversity of our neighbors along Columbia Pike (format pending).

We need your help. Many of our tours have limited capacity so please do not sign up if it is unlikely that you will be able to attend. Please cancel as soon as you know you cannot attend. Members on the wait list are more likely to be able to attend if they know early that a spot has opened up. However, if, at the last minute, you cannot make it, please do let the Encore Learning office know. If a tour fills up, we will look into having an additional tour.

Thanks for all your support in attending our in-person tours and our Monday Zoom and in-person presentations that we present in partnership with the Arlington Central Library. Our committee enjoys uncovering interesting topics and “hidden gems” in our area and discovering limited-time exhibits.

One more reminder. Please do consider joining us for lunch after some of our tours. It is a great way to relax, enjoy each other’s company and have a meal after an enriching tour.

-The Special Events Team: Jan Burchard, Janet Gilleland, Louise Kenny, Tom Kilfoyle, Mary Pope and Tom Underwood

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 met on Thursday, July 30th, for four tables of Bridge at the Lubber Run Community Center. We now meet at 1:00 PM and play until around 4:00. The hosts bring drinks and snacks, and we always have a nice time visiting with our fellow members and, of course, playing some social Bridge. We’ve decided to take the month of August off and will resume our once-a-month gatherings in September.

Anyone who is interested in joining our group can contact the office and either Joan Carter or Sharon Bisdee, club chairs, will contact you to explain how we work so you can decide if the club is for you.

Cinema Club

The Cinema Club continues to be busy throughout the spring and summer. We’ve had nice-sized groups gather to see such movies as the Irish Horseshoe; Pressure, which showed the surprising role that competing meteorologists played in D-Day; and The Invite, a tense and funny drama about couples and marriage. Join us on August 19 for our next movie (to be determined when Cinema Arts Theater releases that week’s films.)

Sadly, our standby restaurant, Mamma Lucia’s, closed recently, so we’ve had to have our post-movie lunches at other venues that aren’t as flexible. We miss their pizza and the ability to move their tables around to suit our number of attendees. –Caroline Wooden and Dru Dowdy.

Kayak Club

We’ve been having a good spring and summer on the Potomac paddling in kayaks. Maybe a few hot days, but the water often has a nice breeze. The Encore Learning Kayak Club meets up regularly on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month to paddle for an hour or two. We meet at Fletcher’s Boathouse at 11:00 AM, weather permitting. Fletcher’s is part of the Capital Adventures Unbound group – https://capital.adventuresunbound.com/

You don’t need your own kayak or equipment. We rent boats, paddles, and PFD’s from Fletchers. And they have a sturdy dock with great assistants to help steady you in and out of the kayak!

If you like to get out on the water, see some water birds and turtles, and paddle around a little, you might enjoy giving us a try. See the photos of some of us paddling towards Chain Bridge, a large duck watching us from a rock, and a family of ducks sharing a log with a turtle!

We will be paddling through October, as weather permits. The Club Coordinators are Janice Yeadon and Diana Warmann.

Photos courtesy Diana Warmann.

Mindfulness Club

The Mindfulness Club meets by Zoom Wednesdays at Noon for an hour of connection, discussion and meditation. The Club mailing list receives a weekly email with tips on mindfulness and meditation, and with the link to the Zoom. We welcome new members who have no experience with mindfulness practice, as well as those who have years of practice. Many of the Club’s participants find our group meditations to be a useful supplement to their solo practice. Members attend as their schedules permit, regularly, occasionally or sporadically.

To be added to the Mindfulness Club email list, contact the Encore Learning office. – Dwight Rodgers, Club Coordinator

Nonfiction Book Club

The Encore Learning Nonfiction Book Club will meet next on September 14 at 1:30 PM in the Arlington central library, Bluemont Room. We will be discussing Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz. Acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy’s southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today. Feel free to join us. If interested in joining the book club, let the office know, and we’ll add you to the mailing list –Ed Rader and Pat Chatten, co-coordinators.

Travel Club

In the July meeting, members had a chance to give a short presentation on what they consider their Best Trip with the presentations managed by Marty Suydam.

The August 21st meeting will feature a presentation by Sandra Rowland. Sandra will take us off the beaten path to the Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan and the home of Tamerlane. We will travel to Tashkent, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand to see Silk Road forts, beautiful Islamic architecture and what is left from the Sogdian silk road traders and the great Timurid Empire of Central Asia.

The September Travel Club meeting will feature a presentation by Lora Pollari-Welbes on her trip on the Southern Civil Rights Trail.

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 Sandra Rowland.

Join the fun at GMU’s Mason Square Plaza

Summer 2026 Season

To get updates on what is happening at the Mason Square Plaza, like free music and yoga, sign-up for the mailing list here. Or visit the Mason Square website. Maybe join up with some other Encore Learning members for some fun on the square!

We are excited to welcome back Francesca Chilcote to our Encore Learning team. Francesca worked with us as a virtual class administrator during the early years of the pandemic. Fortunately, Francesca is able to rejoin us as Program Associate for in-person and hybrid classes on Mondays and Fridays (among other duties). Francesca looks forward to re-connecting with Encore Learning members and instructors.

I hope you will find your Fall Semester catalog in your mailbox or browse it online. I was so pleased the first time I reviewed the catalog, there is such a fantastic variety of courses. The catalog contents are made possible by dedicated volunteers who recruit instructors, develop course ideas, edit the catalog, and help with distribution.

We’re now ready to get you, our members engaged in the next steps for fall, you can help by:

• Signing up to be a Class Aide. Come learn about it at the Class Aide Orientation on August 11. (see article above)
• Get your account ready in the new portal so you can register on September 8. We’re offering 41 courses this fall and need strong enrollment to make them successful.
• Tell your friends – with so many class options, there’s room to grow our community. Encourage your friends to join and sign up for classes.

Our community is about much more than classes. The Special Events we’ve hosted—and those coming up—are exceptional. We’ve had some hot topics this summer, and look forward to some more entertaining Monday afternoons in the fall.

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 3.

~ Lora

Lora Pollari-Welbes

Executive Director

During June 2026, we welcomed the following new members: Heather Barbour, Charlie DiComo, Edith Gravely, Bonnie Hershberg, Debra Leonard, and Susan Stalder. We 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 Catherine Grace, Katherine Hoffman and Lora Pollari-Welbes for referring friends who became members of Encore Learning!

If you’d like to bring Encore Learning to your community (residential building or neighborhood) to share information about membership, please 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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