Mildred Patterson

A retired Foreign Service Officer, Mildred served in Denmark, Belgium and Turkey (twice). She has been a Managing Editor of the Encore Learning course catalog and served as co-chair of the Publications Committee from 2010 – 2014. In 2011 she was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee that proposed the name change from the…

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Kate Mattos

Kate is a senior communications executive with a passion for projects that improve the lives of children, families, and communities. Kate served for 20 years as a senior communications executive for the National Education Association (NEA) advancing legislative, policy, and education reform strategies. Kate also directed crisis communications, including those following school shootings. Kate was…

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Steven Shapiro

Steve is a retiree from Fairfax County Public Schools, where he taught math and served as the department co-chair at Falls Church High School. He also served in a variety of education leadership roles. Prior to his teaching career, he spent 25 years in management positions with several leading technology companies, including SAIC, Bell Atlantic…

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Joan Carter

Joan retired from the Department of Justice in 2003 to move to Germany with her husband. While there, she worked as a tour guide with the USO out of Kaiserslautern, leading tours throughout Europe for military families. Returning to the U.S. in 2011, she quickly became a member of Encore Learning, serving as Co-Chair for…

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Jeanne Labella

Jeanne retired in 2014 as a senior vice president of the American Public Power Association, where she spent 36 years as a reporter, editor and manager of the organization’s journalism and other publishing activities. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism from Syracuse University and American University and as a journalist covered national energy…

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Deborah Spero

Deborah retired in 2007 as the Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, having started as an intern two weeks after finishing her degree at the University of Maryland, and much to her surprise, staying for another 37 years in the agency! After retiring, Deb decided to skip the consulting phase of many retired…

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Gail Massot

Currently re-engaging with painting and crafts, Gail retired from a 30-year career teaching French and heading the language department at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC. eight years ago. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work in French at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, following which she lived and worked in France as a textile artist.…

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Noreen Quill

Noreen retired from the federal government in 2011 after more than 36 years and promptly joined Encore Learning. After attending classes for a while, she discovered the joy of being a class aide. She says it gives her an opportunity to learn peoples’ names and get to know them a little better, as well as…

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Christine Milliken

Chris is a retired attorney, who served as the Executive Director and General Counsel of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) from 1986 to retirement in 2001. Prior to her tenure at NAAG, Chris was Vice President and General Counsel of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She has a BA in…

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Martin Suydam

Marty has had several careers: military, government civilian, industry executive and as a college and university educator in subject areas of mathematics, computing science, information technology, and management. His first career was as an Army Corps of Engineer officer retiring as a Colonel. In 1983, he was selected as a member of the Senior Executive…

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