Visit the south right in your backyard

Come journey to the antebellum south, tune your ear to the tender sounds of Bach and Beethoven, and take a cultural tour of Paris through the ages with stops in Medieval times, the Enlightenment, the Belle Epoque, and the 1920s. All of this is available here in Sonoma County with no tests, no grades and no required reading. The magic is, you don’t have to leave the area to start this journey. Sonoma State University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program is pleased to present three of our most popular instructors this fall at our Healdsburg satellite campus, where we have served hundreds of lifelong learners since 2012. Mick Chantler, Kayleen Asbo, and Bruce Elliott are a powerful trio, often referred to as the Pied Pipers of OLLI, as our members follow them everywhere and take anything they might teach.
We also have a great staff in north county. Joining returning A/V tech guru Vince Dougherty, this fall we are delighted to welcome a new face to our Healdsburg campus. As our new Healdsburg coordinator, Leslie Brutocao brings deep roots in the local community and a marketing career in Continuing and Adult Education to her new position. You will see her welcoming face at each OLLI class, and she will be onsite to handle registration, classroom materials, and all other OLLI inquiries. Leslie’s mother Mary Jo Norman has enjoyed many OLLI classes at our Healdsburg satellite, and they recently decided to make our “Taste Matters” series a mother and daughter summer adventure, enjoying all four classes together. While some Boomers may have thought “OLLI courses are for my parents, not for me,” the Bernard Osher Foundation (that supports all OLLI programs) has defined these offerings as serving adults 50 and older. This represents at least two distinct generations, coming together in the name of learning. We look forward to welcoming the “younger” OLLI audience, while celebrating several OLLI students who continue to expand their minds at the age of 92. The program truly represents a class for every mind, and a student for every topic.
OLLI at Sonoma State is part of an expansive network of 118 programs at accredited colleges and universities nationwide. Sonoma State was the second OLLI program in the country, and is now proud to be entering its 14th year, serving more than 1,500 students. OLLI members comprise a unique community of curious minds. Born of this community are longtime friends that have travelled the globe together several times over; an occasional romance, and the magical reconnection of two fraternity brothers from the East Coast who parted ways after college, and each relocated to Sonoma County in the last year, only to find each other again through OLLI at SSU after 50 years. We are indeed a family, and invite you to join us.
Fall classes begin September 30 at the Villa Chanticleer. For more information, please visit www.sonoma.edu/exed/olli
Carin Jacobs is the Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Program through Sonoma State University.