Course Listing - by Instructor
| Name | Biography |
|---|---|
| Rachael .Garnett | Rachael L. Garnett is an AI-certified strategist and speaker, helping nonprofits work smarter. She is a native of Abilene. |
| Nancy Allen | Nancy Allen, Ph.D, is a previous Professor of Education at the only national university in Qatar. In this position, she developed the country's first M.Ed. program and led the College of Education's in achieving international accreditation. |
| Michael Barr | Michael Barr earned a bachelor’s degree in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. in history from Texas State University. Instructor Michael Barr writes a local history column, called Hindsights, for the Fredericksburg Standard. He is a regular contributor to Rock and Vine Magazine. |
| Tameisha Bolen | Tameisha Bolen, owner of Bolen Vineyards, found her creative outlet in crafting charcuterie boards—an art form that reflects her love for “grazing,” sharing and bringing people together around the table. |
| Steven Brown | Steven Brown is manufacturing general manager of Abi-Mar Foods, Inc. |
| Carole Buchanan | Carole Buchanan, Ph.D., is an award-winning teacher who taught World & European History and trained Advanced Placement teachers to use art to teach about the past. |
| Ed Caughlin | Ed Coughlin, retired Cray system architect, developed AI tools for exascale supercomputers like El Capitan. A Lockheed Martin AI engineer since 1994 and U.S. patent holder, he now teaches safe agentic AI development. |
| David Cho | Instructor David Cho is the seventh music director of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, the National Symphony; and Atlanta, Houston and Seattle symphonies. He resides in Lubbock, Texas, and is actively involved in community outreach. |
| Katie Cortese | Instructor Katie Cortese, author of "Make Way for Her and Other Stories" and "Girl Power and Other Short-Short Stories," has work in journals such as Indiana Review, Blackbird, and Gulf Coast. She holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University and an MFA from Arizona State University. She teaches in the creative writing program at Texas Tech, where she also serves as faculty director of Texas Tech University Press and series editor of the Iron Horse Book Prize. |
| Jeff Day | Jeff Day ranks in the top 15% of all chess players in the United States. He teaches Introduction to Chess at Texas Tech. |
| Charlotte Freeborn | Charlotte Freeborn was born in Dallas and grew up in Longview, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico. She attended Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and a master’s from Perkins at SMU. |
| Dan Gelo | Daniel J. Gelo is dean and professor of anthropology emeritus at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has conducted fieldwork with the Comanche people since 1982 and published extensively on tribal culture and history. |
| Kay Giesecke | is a nationally certified speech language pathologist with both a bachelor's and master's degree. Kay worked for Dallas ISD for 12 years before operating a private pediatric practice in Dallas 25 years and has been a lecturer at both state and international universities and conferences. Now in the Hill Country, she is still providing private therapy for children part-time. Her website is www.apraxiaaustin.com. |
| Tonja Hagy-Valdine | |
| Vaughn Hamilton | Vaughn Hamilton taught English and history and now emergency medicine for paramedics. Today, he enjoys working with the Marble Falls Area EMS. |
| Marsha Hammack | Marsha Hammack is the Director of the SPARK Science Center at Abilene Heritage Square. She has a career of experience in education. |
| Pooja Hegde | |
| Whit Holcomb | Whit Holcomb has a degree in Business and works professionally in communications. A lifelong tech hobbyist, Whit enjoys exploring new tools and sharing practical ways people can use Artificial Intelligence to make life easier, more organized, and a little more fun. |
| Dixie Hoover | Dixie Hoover is a retired site manager for the Texas Historical Commission. She is working with her father on an oral histsory of West Texas Utilities. |
| James Klein | James Klein, Ph.D., is a retired music professor and professional conductor who has over 40 years’ experience in orchestra and opera performances. |
| Kassandra McQuillen | |
| Kathryn Mitchell | Kathryn Mitchell is the education director at The Grace Museum, With her great team of educators, The Grace reaches thousands of students and adults with art and history programming each year, Kathryn ws instrumental in developing the SPARK Science Center for children which will open at the new Abilene Heritage Square. |
| Jordan Nabers | |
| Steven Neves | Steve Neves teaches sculpture, drawing, printmaking and design at Hardin-Simmons University. He has been a very active contributor to Abilene's Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit |
| Aaron Pan | |
| Robert Peaslee | is an associate professor and the chair of the Journalism and Creative Media Industries department at Texas Tech University. His areas of research include media power, fan cultures, film, media and place/space, media anthropology, global/international media, superheroes and culture. |
| Mena Rueffer | Mean Rueffer has background in landscape design and horticulture from the University of Texas. She has been a Highland Lakes Master Gardener since 2018. |
| Cassie Sanders | Cassie Sanders is a Texas Master Certified Florist through the Texas State Florist Association. She currently works as the floral design instructor at the Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center for Lubbock ISD. She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in agricultural sciences from West Texas A&M University. |
| David Schafer | David D. Schafer worked for the National Park Service for 32 years at historic sites in Kansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Puerto Rico, Oklahoma and Texas. Now retired, he researches, writes and leads trolley tours of historic Fredericksburg, Texas. |
| Mitchell Sodek | Mitchell Sodek is the General Manager of the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District and also a member of Region K and Groundwater Management Area 8 water planning groups. |
| Elissa Stroman | Elissa Stroman, Ph.D., is the Oral History Archivist of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech. Originally from Sweetwater, she researches fine arts and women’s histories and is the editor of the West Texas Historical Review. |
| Susan Tarrant | Susan Tarrant earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas. Her artistic inspiration is deeply influenced by the rich shapes, patterns and colors of her childhood in the Piney Woods of East Texas and further enriched by her travels to Hawaii. |
| Marye Tharp | Marye Tharp, Ph.D., is a retired professor of marketing and advertising from UT-Austin and UTSA. Her consulting around international and multicultural branding strategies is focused on U.S. Latino and Latin American markets. |
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