Candidates for the OLLI Board of Directors 2022
Lillian Brooks
Dick Crawford
Jim Dann
Marilyn Harriman
Bonnie Nelson
Michele Romano
Doug Snoeyenbos
Ray Willson
Carolyn Wyatt
Candidates OLLI Mason Board of Directors 2022
My career in law started in Atlanta, Georgia where I practiced criminal and family law. In Virginia, I worked for over 25 years as Director of Court Services for the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Alexandria. In that capacity, I served on multiple local, state, and federal government boards, commissions and committees and partnered with private and non-profit agencies to achieve the best results for court-involved youth and their families and families of domestic violence. My experience includes fostering community relations through successful outreach, implementing evidence-based programs, developing and institutionalizing public policy, securing and managing grant funding and ensuring effective management practices. I have a law degree from Atlanta Law School and Masters level courses in social work and public policy
I served on the OLLI Board from 2018-2020 and was appointed the Chair of the Governance Committee by two OLLI presidents. During my tenure as Chair of the Governance Committee, the OLLI Policy and Procedure Manual was completely revised. Additionally, I am an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University and teach three undergraduate courses: Juvenile Justice, Family Law, and Criminal Law.
I would like to serve on the Board so I can bring my experience to OLLI as we face a range of new and persistent issues in the coming years. Increasing our membership is extremely important as this affects the sustainability of OLLI on many levels. The OLLI courses are already providing strong intellectual instruction with highly knowledgeable teachers. I am committed to continuing that tradition along with increasing the use of technology for members who prefer home learning. Lastly, I want us to reinforce our professionality as an organization which is why I, along with my committee, continue to update the OLLI Policy and Procedure Manual.
Dick Crawford has spent his professional life immersed in the public policies and interests that shape the food, agricultural and trade policies. He is a trusted advisor with an extensive network of policymakers, business leaders, academic experts, and nongovernmental organizations around the globe.
During the past 40 years he has moved from the U. S. House Committee on Appropriations to the National Restaurant Association and finally to McDonald’s Corporation. At McDonald’s he was the corporate officer responsible for interactions with policy and regulatory matters with 118 countries and numerous international governmental organizations. He also conducts a seminar on engaging with public interest groups and other non-market influencers for several graduate schools of business.
Dick previously served as Vice President for Corporate Government Relations at McDonald's Corporation. He directed all the corporation's international, federal, state government relations activities, served as principal government relations advisor to the Board of Directors, the CEO, and other senior managers
He served on the Executive Committee of the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the Boards of Directors of the National Restaurant Association and the International Franchising Association. He was a member of the National Academy of Science’s Food Forum and two federal advisory committees—Committee for Wholesaling and Retailing, and the Secretary of Agriculture’s Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases Advisory Committee.
Dick has been a member of OLLI since 2018 serving on the Governance Committee and as a moderator for the What’s in the Daily News class and club.
Jim has been a member of OLLI since 2015. Has taken almost 150 OLLI courses in that time. Frequent presenter at the Investment Forum. Poetry published in OLLI Ink.
He retired after a 40-year career at the US Department of Transportation. Served as Deputy Office Director and Deputy Assistant General Counsel. Had major leadership role in assisting with industry recovery after 9/11 attacks. Represented DOT in major airline bankruptcy cases. Leadership role in airline merger cases, airport slot awards, and new entry. Earlier, served as Counsel to DOT’s Inspector General and with Federal Highway Administration on construction and grant issues.
Jim was a Captain, US Air Force JAG.
Received a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service; J.D. from George Washington Univ. School of Law (both with honors). Member, District of Columbia Bar.
Volunteer activities include: Served as Scoutmaster for DC inner-city scout troop. Tutor, Lorton Community Action Center. With wife, obtained and processed over 750 books for the library at Washington Jesuit Academy, a DC elementary school for boys from low-income families. Church Finance Council member, and men’s club officer. Runs clock and scoreboard for school basketball games.
Married to wife Suzanne (also an OLLI member) for 51 years. Two married daughters, both honors graduates of the University of Virginia.
Some thoughts as to how Jim can contribute to OLLI as a Director: Expand membership by adopting a standard pitch and encouraging members to have it placed in their community newsletters and at senior living sites. Expand course offerings by partnering with merchants, docents, and other educational institutions in the area, as well as reoffering successful past courses.
Since joining OLLI four and a half years ago, I’ve taken over 50 courses across the spectrum of offerings and taught three literature courses. I have a good understanding of the breadth of content and outstanding teaching available. I also understand what goes into teaching a course in person and on Zoom, and understand the site assistance and technology needed to produce a great class. As a board member, a major interest is keeping that breadth of content, instructors to teach students, and the support needed to produce them.
I joined OLLI after retiring from Fairfax County Public Schools where I taught AP Language and Composition and Honors English. Before teaching in Fairfax, I taught Journalism and English and advised the yearbook and newspaper in Germany (DODDS) and Oregon. While living in Texas, I researched and wrote 20 courses on early childhood education for Central Texas College. Those courses are still taught in some Texas colleges and as far away as Australia today.
During my husband’s Army career, I worked with military family members as a family support group leader and later as an Army Family Team Building master trainer collaborating with volunteers, soldiers, civilians, and family members.
My education includes a M.Ed. in Curriculum Development and Educational Leadership from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and B.A. degrees in English Literature and Journalism from the University of Oregon, Eugene Oregon.
Soon after Bonnie retired from her career as a teacher and counselor, a friend and member of OLLI asked her if she had joined OLLI yet, she said “no” and he said, “you will.” Sure enough, she did shortly thereafter (fall of 2016) and is grateful for his encouragement. OLLI has offered so much educationally, socially, and even physically (she enjoys the Tai Chi classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and assists in hosting). She’s gained knowledge, new experiences, and wonderful friends.
In 2017, the Chair of the Humanities and Social Sciences Committee asked Bonnie to participate in a sub-committee She has enjoyed helping develop courses; she especially enjoyed working with other members to develop last fall’s course, “Challenges to Our Democracy.” It’s been sometimes nail-biting but exciting to get the right speaker and watch a course come together.
Bonnie earned her M.S. in Vocational Rehabilitation Services. However, she found her love teaching and counseling students from 2nd grade to high school. During her last 10 years of full-time work, she developed the Arlington County Twice Exceptional Program for gifted students with IEPs, and Bonnie still works part time facilitating senior project, a requirement for graduation at Wakefield HS. In 2010, she achieved National Board Certification as a Professional School Counselor while working with these amazing students. In addition, Bonnie has volunteered at her church on the Welcome Committee and tutored at Cardinal Forest Elementary.
Bonnie loves to learn, enjoys helping others. and would like to continue helping the staff and members of OLLI who have helped her in so many ways. Everyone has been kind and accepting of her challenges with technology. But she's learned a great deal as well as having significant experience writing, editing, participating in meetings, and working in groups. She hopes she can be of assistance to others. Brainstorming is a favorite of hers since groups can come up with creative solutions that might have been missed. And she hopes she can continue to help with recruitment efforts, since it is very easy to tell others of the many great things about OLLI.
For those who don’t know me, I am a retired physician and associate clinical professor at VCU. My specialty was Family Medicine and I practiced for 30+ years in Fairfax County. I was also a critical care nurse for 12 years before that and even opened the first civilian ICU in Fairbanks, Alaska during the oil boom (so cool). I grew up between Ohio and Florida, met my husband on a blind date at Kent State University his freshman year, and we got married four years later. Over my career I have served on the VCU Board of Visitors (Directors), the VCU Health System Board, the Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Medical Executive Committee and chaired the Department of Family Medicine at Inova Fair Oaks. Many of my patients told me I had to join OLLI as soon as I retired in 2016. That’s exactly what I did and have loved every minute of it. The rich abundance of courses is incredible and the ability to share my knowledge as an instructor has been so rewarding. I am also a co-chair of our Science, Technology and Health Committee. And then there are the people … what an incredible group of enthused, intelligent, engaged members and professional staff.
I would hope to share my medical expertise with the OLLI Board of Directors as we continue to work through and emerge from this pandemic. Often for every two steps forward there is one step back. History tells us that there is always going to be another pandemic but this one has taught us a lot. OLLI is stronger, more resilient, more versatile, and more able to adjust to the unexpected because of lessons learned these past two years. My husband and I spend a couple of months every year at our second home in Tucson, AZ and I also teach at OLLI UA there. I would like to be able to share some of what they do with our OLLI as theirs is very different.
It would be a true honor and privilege to represent all OLLI members on the Board of Directors. Thank you.
Doug grew up in central Illinois and went to Indiana University, majoring in History and Sociology. He then moved to the D.C. area to attend Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, he worked for 25 years as a litigator for the Justice Department. In that role he represented the United States in many different federal district and bankruptcy courts, writing motions and briefs, taking depositions, negotiating settlements, and participating in bench and jury trials. Doug then served as General Counsel for the U.S. Tax Court for 7 years, where he reviewed opinions before they were published, managed a staff of general docket attorneys, and advised on a broad variety of legal issues.
Doug served as a member of his coop board when he lived in D.C., and as President of his homeowner’s association in Arlington. He also served for several years as Troop Committee Chair and Assistant Scoutmaster for his sons’ Boy Scout Troop 106.
After retiring in 2018, Doug joined OLLI, Encore Learning, 55 Plus, and several book clubs. Doug is an avid participant in OLLI’s What’s in the Daily News and All the News That’s Fit to Print discussion groups. He also recently presented to the OLLI History Club.
Doug loves history, politics, discussions, reading, boardgames, and sitting on his porch. He also swims and plays table tennis and baseball.
Doug believes that the most important challenge for OLLI leadership going forward will be the need to balance the ease and efficiency of virtual meetings with the opportunities for social interaction that in-person meetings provide.
Ray Willson has been a member of OLLI for the past five years and is actively engaged as a member of the Economics and Finance Programming Committee as well as a frequent instructor. Ray joined shortly after retiring as a civilian employee with the Air Force. For his first career, he spent over 28 years on active duty with the Air Force, retiring in 2000 with the rank of Colonel.
On active duty, he held a variety of operational and staff positions including flying positions in both KC-135 and E-3 AWACS units. He held critical positions on the Air Staff and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense dealing with crisis response, space technology, and international trade issues.
Following his retirement from the Air Force, he worked as a consultant in the areas of strategic planning, organizational development, business continuity and disaster response. He worked with, among other clients, the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives.
In 2008 he returned to the Air Force as a contractor before transitioning to federal civilian status. Until his final retirement, he was the sole Industrial Base Analyst for the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics). This position covered a wide range of topics from responding to Congressional inquiries to areas such as assessing the national security impact of proposed foreign purchases of U.S. based companies.
Ray earned his Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy and his Master’s from Purdue University. In addition to his professional military education, he completed the Advanced Management Program at the Information Resources Management College, National Defense University.
Ray and his wife Denise have lived in Fairfax since the early 1990’s. They have four grown children and eight grandchildren. Ray enjoys flat-water kayaking, photography, and trying to keep up with the pace of technological change.
Ray savors both the intellectual and social nature of OLLI. He looks forward to the post-COVID return to in person classes and sharing coffee and ideas with other members.
Carolyn F. Wyatt grew up in Westfield, New Jersey. After graduating cum laude from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio with a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature, she completed her M.A. at Indiana University in Bloomington. She attended Washington University in St. Louis.
Carolyn’s first full-time job was as an instructor at Tennessee State University. She was an instructor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville; Oakwood College, also in Huntsville; and the Defense Language Institute English Language School in San Antonio.
In 1979 Carolyn was hired by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service as an Open Source Intelligence operations officer. During her FBIS career she served some eight years overseas at four different posts. She enjoyed being a tourist in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Carolyn retired in 2002 after which she worked as a part-time Government contractor and held various positions as an instructor, professional effectiveness coach, and customer service representative. She aspires to be a wise woman and poet.
Carolyn has been a member of OLLI since 2015 and was privileged to be elected to the Board in 2019. She partners with Ed Sadtler to teach an OLLI course on poetry writing and she moderates the Memoir and More Club.
She and her first husband Michael S. Moore live in Herndon with a yappy spoiled Havanese who can’t get enough love, a domestic long-haired cat with attitude, and dust bunnies. The dust bunnies are wild.