Betty Carteret & Eric Shen

Betty and Eric are retired mechanical engineers who moved to Anacortes in 2004 from Richland where they lived & worked for 27     years.  Eric has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State    Univ.  Betty has a BA in Asian Studies from the Univ. of Virginia and    a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State. Eric worked in nuclear power plant construction early in his career and both worked for over 20 years in the Tri-Cities as engineers and project managers on energy technology

Fred Curow holds a BA in History from Michigan State Univ. and both an MA in Pol. Science (Int’l Relations) & an MEd. in Curriculum from Univ.of Hawaii. He taught high school courses for 35 years, focusing on global issues, International Relations, and U.S. History, before retiring in         Anacortes in 1998. He is currently a substitute teacher at Anacortes High School.

Lin’s navigation career started when she was six navigating in a small rowboat rowing around many islands on the coast of Connecticut.  Purchasing a sailboat in 1992, Lin took the advanced coast navigation class taught by the USCG Auxiliary here in Anacortes.  As Lin says, “Haven't gotten lost (yet).”  

Joe Halton moved to Anacortes after retiring from Texas State Government in 2000.  He has been an active birder for about 20 years.  After moving to Anacortes he developed a beginning birding           program that he has taught for Skagit Audubon for the past several years.  In addition to birding his hobbies include photography and writing.  He and his wife have birded in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and other western states

Dr. Kovach received undergraduate degrees from Wayne University and his Ph.D. (Chemistry) from Harvard.  He served in the Navy in WWII and retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Captain.  He embarked on an academic career as teacher and researcher, but changed direction after serving as scientific liaison for Commander, U.S. Forces, Germany.  In 1959 he joined the newly-established Office of Science Advisor in the U.S. State Department where he served for over twenty years.  This included service with NATO in the 1970s, where he was named Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Scientific Affairs.

Candace Lower

Candace Lower was raised in Anacortes and educated at the    University of Washington (BA in Engl. Lit., MA in English).  She     attended the Univ. of Texas to pursue a PhD in Applied      Linguistics, finished her coursework & exams, but moved back to        Anacortes before finishing her dissertation.  She now teaches at Skagit Valley College in Oak Harbor and has taught grammar, composition, research and technical writing, fiction, poetry, drama studies, science fiction as cultural anthropology, cross- cultural communication, etc.

M. J. Mosher, Ph.D., R.N.

M.J. Mosher holds two undergraduate degrees in nursing, an MA in medical anthropology from the Univ. of Colorado, a PhD in   biological anthropology & population genetics from Univ. of Kansas, and a post-doctoral fellowship in the genetic epidemiology of cardiovascular disease at Univ. of North Carolina.  She has taught Nutrition to pre-med students at the Univ. of Kansas.

Peter Nelson holds a BA in Economics and an MS in Business    Administration.  He has taught in the Business departments at   several colleges, most recently at Skagit Valley College.  Pete also worked as a Claims Manager for ATSF & BNSF railway companies, overseeing the Law Dept and attorneys’ legal assignments, so has a thorough background in all facets of business law.

Michael Newbrough, Ph.D.

Michael Newbrough holds a BA in French and MA in Political Science from the University of Nevada, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara along with being a Fulbright Scholar during his graduate study in International Relations from l’Universite de Paris, Sorbonne.

Michael was a Professor in the Department of Economics, History & Political Science at Palomar College in San  Marcos, California for 30 years.  His publications (supplementary textbooks) include Liberty and Consciousness, America and the World and Essentials of California Government.

Caleb Parson

A senior himself, Caleb has years of experience consulting and teaching about computers both here in Anacortes and   internationally.  He holds a Master’s in Educational Technology and is dedicated to sharing the joys of computers & the internet.

Gisele Muller-Parker

Terry SlotemakerX

Terry Slotemaker was raised in Whatcom County, WA, near Everson on a dairy farm which his grandfather purchased around 1900.  After graduating from high school in 1955, he served as a medic in the U.S. Army from 1956-1958, then attended Western Washington College of Education (now WWU), graduating in 1962.  Terry taught fifth grade at Fidalgo Elementary School for two years and then worked for the next 29 years at Anacortes Middle School teaching U.S. History and Language Arts.  He has been employed by the Anacortes Museum since 1994 to do historical research, assist with inquiries, provide educational services, and to write about local history.  He is married, with three adult children and six grandchildren.

Brad K. Smith, Ph.D.         

Brad has taught geology and physics at Skagit Valley College for over 10 years, following a career of teaching and research at universities in the U.S. and abroad.  His geologic research centers on how rocks deform during mountain building processes, and his field studies have taken him to Antarctica (twice), throughout North America, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, and New Zealand.  His current interests include Northwest Geology and science education in elementary and secondary schools.  A native of Washington State, Smith received a B.Sc. degree in Geology/Geophysics from the Univ. of Washington and his Ph.D.from the Univ. of California, Berkeley.

Jim Taylor

Captain Jim Taylor has a 100-ton U. S. Coast Guard license for near coastal navigation, with sail endorsement.  He has sailed and chartered the 46 foot schooner, “Sophia Christina,” in the Pacific Northwest for 15 years with a clean record.  He served in the U. S. Navy as a commissioned officer and officer of the deck underway on an Atlantic Fleet destroyer. After high school he was a deck hand on the brigantine “Yankee” under Irving Johnson's watchful eye. Prior to owning the “Sophia” he sailed on other people's boats for much of his life.

Larry Verbano

Larry Verbano holds a BA in Psychology, 1970,  from Brown University, MA in Clinical Psychology, 1972, from    Temple University and post-MA: Western Washington University, University of Washington, Seattle Pacific University, etc. (It's never-ending!)   Larry’ career includes 19 years, school psychologist, Jefferson County, CO, and Skagit County/ Anacortes, WA.  He has spent the past 14 years as a teacher for the Anacortes Middle School Challenge Program.
 

Joseph Vitovec

Joseph Vitovec was a student active in politics; he escaped Czechoslovakia in 1948 after a communist coup d’etat.  He spent the next two years in refugee camps in Germany, France, and Italy.  He immigrated to the United States in November 1950 and spent one year in Minneapolis, Minnesota, working as a bus boy and dishwasher at a country club.  Hoping to fly, Joseph enlisted in the Air Force and spent 24 years in uniform.  While in the Air Force, he attended school at night, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University with a degree in History and Art, and a Masters Degree in Urban Studies from the University of Texas in Arlington.  After a stint as a High School teacher, he accepted federal employment with the Department of Agriculture as a Director of Instructional Media.   Joseph followed this with a position as Art Director of Flight Safety International and  an eventual re-hire by the Air Force as a civilian Chief of Multimedia Training and Fabrication.  During this time, for twelve years, he functioned as an adjunct instructor in Political Science at the Tarrant County Community College in Fort Worth, Texas.

Joseph’s thesis, “The Texas Czechs:  A Study in Ethnicity” was accepted by the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, Texas.

Ruth Vitovec

Ruth Vitovec graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, in 1989, with a BS in Education.  After receiving her certification for teaching in Texas, she taught briefly in the Fort Worth Independent School District before joining the staff of Tarrant County College as an adjunct instructor in Remedial English.  In 2000, she and her husband, Joseph, moved to Anacortes.  A native Spanish speaker, she has been actively involved in tutoring ESL/ELL students both privately and through the services of the Skagit Literacy Center. 

Susan Lavell Warm earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, where she studied poetry.  A Western Washington native (raised in Mukilteo) with a maritime background, she recently moved to Anacortes when she married her husband, Wally, and started a family.