Meet the Study Group Committee
June 14, 2021
In a previous posting, the Banner began publication of segments from an upcoming directory of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and committees in which many members will have the opportunity to participate. Additional information on this new initiative will be coming soon, but here’s another sample of what’s to come: profiles of five members of BOLLI’s Study Group Support Committee (SGSC) that works to enhance the educational experience in the BOLLI classroom. In service of this mission, the SGSC supports Study Group Leaders (SGLs) in multiple ways as they transition from the proposal process with the Curriculum Committee to the preparation and presentation of their courses. The ultimate goal is to enhance the teaching and learning experience for both SGLs and class participants.
Susan Benjamin’s career began as an elementary school teacher and she followed up with advanced degrees in school administration/teacher supervision. As a member of the clinical faculty at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, she worked with both undergraduate and graduate students in fulfillment of their degrees toward licensure. She has also co-authored a book on home/school communication. Shortly after becoming a BOLLI member in 2018, Susan joined the SGSC and has been delighted to support study group leaders as well as discover challenge in BOLLI courses as a class member. Susan has been active in the Second Step, the Zakim Center and JArts. When not enjoying family, entertaining, book groups and friends, she can be found on the tennis court.
Janice Burres double-majored in English and Education, earned a master’s degree in Reading Education, and completed the course work for a master’s in Counseling Psychology. She taught middle and high school English at the Dover-Sherborn Regional Schools for nineteen years. As a communication specialist at McKinsey & Company, she traveled around the world training their consultants in writing, public speaking, and group facilitation. Currently she teaches graduate courses to practicing K-12 teachers in various Massachusetts school districts. She has been a member of BOLLI for six years and particularly enjoys courses in literature, psychology, and social issues.
A February 2016 BOLLI lecture series on John and Abigail Adams was Jan Hilley’s first taste of BOLLI and it was remarkably satisfying. Before making this discovery, she spent thirty years in information technology, then the last couple of decades working in research libraries, her longest stint as the Civil Liberties Archivist at New York University’s Tamiment Library. Moving to the Boston area and becoming a BOLLI member have been her most rewarding retirement decisions. Co-chair of the SGSC, along with Marsha Semuels, Jan also leads, with Ralph Freidin, the Conversations on Race Special Interest Group. She also enjoys the New Yorker Fiction group as well as all her stimulating and enriching classes, and, above all, is thankful for the incredible friends she has made at BOLLI.
Kate Seideman came to BOLLI six years ago, at the recommendation of a friend. She had retired from her job as a researcher at IBM where she studied collaboration in organizations. Kate didn’t want to give up learning, and credits BOLLI with pushing her outside her comfort zone, especially with classes in writing, music and both United States and world history. As a member of the SGSC and Zoom committees she enjoys working with SGLs to overcome technology barriers and other issues of concern. After learning so much from BOLLI classes, she looks forward to leading her first course next semester.
Marsha Semuels co-chairs the Study Group Support Committee with Jan Hilley. In her pre-BOLLI life, she served as a senior administrator at Tufts, Harvard and other Boston-area higher institutions. She particularly enjoyed her work developing health science graduate programs and leading strategic planning efforts. Marsha participates in several SIGs, including the New Yorker and the book group. She is grateful to be part of the BOLLI community, where she has both learned all about topics she never had time to study in college and made very dear friends.