BACL TEACHER BIOGRAPHIES

RICHARD ALDAG:

Richard Aldag currently teaches classical music at San Jose State University and is the founder and co-director of the Silicon Valley Youth Conservatory at SJSU. He was the adjunct assistant professor at Fortham University for  almost 10 years up to 1992. He has a Ph. D. in music from City University of New York Graduate School and University Center. He has won numerous awards, been involved in many professional activities and served on many music  commissions.

JEFF APPLEBAUM – AN INSIDE LOOK AT TODAY'S WORLD OF COMEDY

Jeff Applebaum, a New York City native, has lived in California for over 16 years. Jeff has traveled North America performing standup comedy for audiences large and small, for over 12 years. Jeff's comedy draws on his own life experiences, such as life with his wife and son, and being the only white kid on his Little League team in Queens, NY. He was cast by Sandy Hackett, Buddy Hackett's son, to play the principal role of Joey Bishop in "The Tribute to Frank, Sammy, Joey, & Dean - The Rat Pack" at the Post Street and Marines' Memorial Theaters in San Francisco, the Royal George Theater in Chicago, as well as the Greek Isles Hotel & Casino Star Theater in Las Vegas. Jeff won the "Comedian of the Year - 2003" in the SF Bay Area Cabaret Competition, and has two engineering degrees from MIT.

SANDRA BARROS:

1) WINE AND FOOD PAIRING
2) WINE APPRECIATION

Sandra Barros, a native Californian and Italian, has a love of fine food and wine in her blood. After owning her own business for 15 years, she decided to switch careers and dive into wine. Sandra has been in the wine industry for over 10 years and she teaches a weekly component wine class at Merryvale Winery in St. Helena. Along with owning her own business, The Wine Geek, Sandra also teaches classes and organizes wine parties for individuals, clubs, and businesses.

LETITIA BARTLETT – THE ART OF COMEDY

Letitia Bartlett has been working in the mime, movement and circus world for over thirty years throughout the USA, Europe and Asia . She has trained with Leonard Pitt, Samuel Avital, and Jacques Lecoq in Paris. She has been a member of the Kite Tails Mime Duet, the Tandy Beal Dance Company and the Denver Center Theater Company. Letitia was a performer and director for the children's circus/theater company Make*A*Circus in San Francisco, and now teaches at the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. Letitia performs in schools, theaters, nightclubs, colleges and parks. She also adds an unusual zest to conventions and promotional events. She is also on the faculty of the American Conservatory Theater and currently works as a freelance circus performer.

GEORGE BOYET -- NAPA HISTORY

George earned his BA in history at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and his MA in political science at Oklahoma State University. For over three decades he taught history, political science, and sociology at Napa Valley College. A theater fan, classical music-lover and longtime tennis aficionado, George has traveled widely. He stays involved in local politics, gourmet food and wine groups, and is a board member of the Napa County Historical Society, Napa Bocce Association, and Napa Valley Retired Teachers. George enjoys leading docent tours at Copia.

BRUCE BRAMLETT – RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM

The Rev. Bruce R. Bramlett is the Program Coordinator for the "Extremes of Hate: Holocaust Studies and Critical Thinking" program at the Silicon Valley Conference for Community and Justice in San Jose. He provides educational programming and heads a Holocaust Survivors' Speakers Bureau for Bay Area schools and institutions. As an ordained Episcopal priest, he has spent most of his career as a teacher and pastor with a passion for work in the Jewish-Christian encounter. Rev. Bramlett did graduate work at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley in Post-Holocaust Christian Thought, Jewish-Christian Relations and Holocaust Studies, and regularly lectures at many Bay Area institutions.

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SONNY BUXTON:

1) GREAT JAZZ SINGERS
2) BIG BAND JAZZ
3) SWING IS HERE - AGAIN!
4) FRANK SINATRA
5) DUKE ELLINGTON
6) ELLA FITGERALD
7) ENJOYING JAZZ

Sonny Buxton has had an amazing career in both the music and film industries. He has worked with such musical greats as B.B. King, Ray Charles, Stan Getz, Peggy Lee, Tito Puente, James Brown, and many more. Two jazz nightspots in San Francisco - Milestones Jazz Club and Jazz at Pearl's - were the culmination of an early dream of Buxton's. Buxton has received two Northern California EMMY awards, two Associated Press awards, and a Silver Medal Award from New York's International Film and T.V. Festival. Currently, Buxton can be found hosting Midday Jazz on KCSM. He is also a lecturer at Stanford University.

JOHN CARMAN:

1) THE FUNNIEST MOMENTS IN TELEVISION
2) THE SHOWS THAT TRANSFORMED TELEVISION

John Carman has been a TV critic for 25 years, the past 16 years at the San Francisco Chronicle. Before that, he was the TV columnist for the Atlanta Constitution and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

TONY CASTLE -- VAUDEVILLE AND MORE

Tony Castle has been getting up making a fool of himself since he was five. He emceed his first show while in the Cub Scouts and was in his first play in 1961. After more than 30 years in educational theatre, community theatre, and a 10-year stint at Los Altos Conservatory Theatre, under the direction of Doyne Mraz, he began doing comedy on the road and in clubs in 1987. In 1992 a friend asked him to perform at a retirement community-and there Tony found his audience. Since then Tony has developed his One-Man-Vaudeville Show and now performs it 30 to 40 times per month, in all levels of retirement living. He also has a vaudeville show geared specifically to veterans and ‘Rosie-the-Riveters.' Tony hopes to continue doing his show as long as there are heroes to thank.

LARRY EILENBERG -- THE ART OF COMEDY

Larry Eilenberg was for nine years the director of the Magic Theater, one of San Francisco’s most respected theater companies. Eilenberg is widely credited with having rescued the Magic from artistic uncertainty and financial disaster in 1992. He has been a major force in Bay Area theater since he moved here from Colorado where he ran the Denver Center Theater Company's new plays program. He has taught at San Francisco State University for two decades. In three terms as chair of the Theater Arts Department, where he still teaches a very popular course in comedy, Eilenberg helped make the department an active player in local theater. He has also co-produced new plays with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Asian American Theater Company and Lorraine Hansberry Theater. He helped initiate and was co-artistic director of four annual, high-profile New Vaudeville Festivals.

MICHAEL GRAHAM:

Michael Graham is an astute political observer of the U.S. Constitution, who approaches the subject with deep knowledge and a dry wit. Graham grew up in Oklahoma and received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Political Science at  Oklahoma State University in his home town of Stillwater, Oklahoma. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from U.C. Santa Barbara. He has taught at many universities including Oklahoma State University, U.C. Santa Barbara,  Northwestern University and Loyola University of Chicago. He is a Full Professor in the Political Science Department at SFSU. Graham's major teaching and research interests are in the fields of public law (constitutional  law, the judicial process and judicial behavior with an emphasis on the U.S. Supreme Court) and American political institutions (Congress and the Presidency). Civics was never so good.

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JEHON GRIST:

Jehon Grist received his Ph.D. in Near East studies at the University of California at Berkeley and has done doctorate work at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has done archaeological research on the biblical city of Tel  Gezer at Beir El Balah in the Gaza Strip and studies in the Valley of the Queens at Luxor, Egypt. He is the assistant director of Lehr House Judaica in Berkeley, the Bay Area's largest Jewish adult education program. He has  been published in archaeological journals.

DOMINIQUE JANDO -- THE ART OF COMEDY

Dominique Jando began his involvement with the performing arts more than four decades ago, in his native France, when he first stepped into a circus ring as a clown at the legendary Cirque Medrano in Paris. In 1974, as General Secretary of the Paris Cultural Center, he participated in the creation of France's first professional circus school, and of Le Cirque à l'Ancienne, which eventually became the French National Circus. In New York he was Associate Artistic Director for the Big Apple Circus for nineteen years. A circus and popular entertainment historian, Dominique has published five books and written many articles on these subjects, both in Europe and the US.

KAREN LEE:

1) WINE AND FOOD PAIRING
2) WINE APPRECIATION

Karen Lee has been employed by Beringer Vineyards in St. Helena, CA for over sixteen years assisting visitors worldwide in discovering the delights of wine. With both public and trade visitors she leads them using various methods to enhance their knowledge and experience of wine and wine with food. A travel enthusiast, she visited South Africa in 2000 and Italy in 2002 with Elderhostel and was thrilled by the expertise of the instructors she encountered.

SUSANNA LOMBARDI:

Suzanne Lombardi received her master's degree in art history from the University of California at Berkeley in 1984 and currently is working on her Ph.D. in the  subject at the University of San Francisco. She has taught art  history at Dominican College  in San Rafael from 1989 to the present, and was the department's acting chairperson in 1995.  She was an instructor in art history at the College of Marin from 1986 to 1991. She also  serves  as an art appraiser for the auction house of Butterfield & Butterfield.

PHILIP MALDARI -- CURRENT EVENTS: THE MIDDLE EAST

Philip Maldari got his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering  from the University of California at Berkeley in 1969. He began working in 1993 in news and public affairs at KPFA -- a non-commercial listener-sponsored  radio station. He was selected  the station's public affairs director in 1982. In 1987, he also began co-hosting KPFA's "The  Morning Show." Mr. Maldari has received awards from the Corportion of Public  Broadcasting for  local programming and public affairs and the National Federation of Community Broadcasters for  public affairs. He teaches a course in current events and worlds affairs at the College of  Marin.

BRIAN MALOW -- INSIDE LOOK AT TODAY'S WORLD OF STANDUP COMEDY

Brian Malow began his standup comedy career 15 years ago in Austin, Texas. A veteran of the comedy club circuit, he has performed in nearly 40 states and Canada, and has been featured in such diverse places as the Discovery Channel, the Austin Chronicle, the San Francisco Chronicle, Cat Fancy Magazine, TechTV, the Arts & Entertainment Network, and as a commentator on public radio. His Neil Armstrong routine was once heard aboard the space shuttle while it orbited the Earth. Brian now lives in San Francisco, where he performs locally and continues to tour nationwide. For more information and a taste of his humor, visit his website, www.butseriously.com.

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JOAN MANKIN -- THE ART OF COMEDY

Joan has been a company member of several leading Northern California physical theater ensembles, including the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Pickle Family Circus, and the Dell'Arte Players Company. She has directed and performed for numerous companies and workshops such as the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, the San Francisco New Vaudeville Festival, American Conservatory Theater, theatres in Marin County, San Diego and San Jose, CA, Colorado Springs, CO, and Calgary, Canada. Aside from her acting, comedy troupe, and improvisational comedy work, Joan has also performed in several films. Joan has taught at San Francisco State University, the Clown Conservatory of the San Francisco Circus Center, University of California at Santa Cruz, Antioch University in Ohio, the American Conservatory Theater, the Dell'Arte School of Physical Performance, and the High School of the Performing Arts in San Francisco.

JOE MARCHI:

Joe Marchi is one of our favorite teachers. Few instructors bring as much enthusiasm to a subject as Marchi brings to the American musical or as vast a knowledge.  Joe received his B.A. from San Francisco State University  in 1952 and his M.A. from Teachers  College, Columbia University in 1957. He was both high school instructor and counselor. He retired from the faculty of Canada College in Redwood City, CA where he was instructor,   counselor and Assistant Dean of Students. From 1984 to the present, he has served as  Director of the Center for the American Musical at Canada College. From 1986 to 1993, he served as host of the radio show at KCSM,  "Regards to Broadway." Joe speaks to numerous groups about the many aspects of the American musical.

DAVID MEIR-LEVI:

1) CURRENT EVENTS: THE MIDDLE EAST
2) DEAD SEA SCROLLS

David Meir-Levi currently lives in Palo Alto, CA. He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University, and an MA in Near Eastern Studies from Brandeis University. He taught archaeology and Near Eastern history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the University of Tel Aviv in the 60's and 70's, during which time he completed his service in the Israeli military. Upon returning to the USA, Mr. Meir-Levi has worked as a professional Jewish educator. He has lectured at Cal-Poly Institute and the Monterey Institute for International Studies as well as synagogues, churches, universities and service organizations. He has a weekly radio show, "Mid-East Media Watch" at KZSU Stanford and a monthly column on Zionist history in the Jewish Community News. David is the Director of Research and Education at the Israel Peace Initiative (IPI), a grass-roots not-for-profit organization in the San Francisco Bay area working to educate the American public and its leaders in to the history of the Arab-Israel conflict and realistic options for resolution.

KERRIN MEIS:

Kerrin Meis brings absolutely wonderful slide visuals to her art  history programs. She received her B.A. in art history from Dominican College of San Rafael and Ph. D. at the University of California, Berkeley, where she  specialized in 19th century French painting. She has taught for six years at the College of Marin, focusing on courses  on the art of Tuscany, Venice and Rome. She is an instructor in art history at San Francisco State  University.

MAUREEN O'BRIEN:

1) FRENCH IMPRESSIONIST ART
2) POST-IMPRESSIONIST ART
3) WINE IN ART
4) ART OF THE ANCIENT AMERICAS
5) HISTORY OF MURAL ART
6) HISTORY OF WOMEN ARTISTS

Maureen O'Brien earned both her B.A. and her M.A. at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. She has taught art history courses at Sonoma State University, Dominican University and the College of Marin. Currently, she guest lectures at Dominican University and the College of Marin.

JOHN ROTHMANN:

John Rothmann is a political and foreign policy consultant specializing in the United States, Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Mr. Rothmann received his B.A. and M.A. from Whittier College, and studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Mr. Rothmann worked on the 1968 presidential campaign staff of Richard Nixon, served as Chief of Staff to Senator Milton Marks and Field Representative for Senator Quentin Kopp in San Francisco. Mr. Rothmann has been involved in a broad variety of political campaigns on local, state and national levels, and is a frequent lecturer on American politics and the presidency. Mr. Rothmann served as project consultant on the book Jews in America. He also hosts his own talk show on KGO radio, a local ABC affiliate.

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JOHN STANLEY:

John Stanley is a warm, engaging teacher who has known the entertainment  world closely over the last four decades. He was an entertainment editor and writer for the San Francisco Chronicle for 35 years. During that period,  he interviewed thousands of Hollywood  stars from Bob Hope to Jimmy Stewart. Most of his stories appeared in The Chronicle's Sunday Datebook entertainment magazine, the largest entertainment guide in Northern California.  He hosted KTVU-TV Channel 2's "Creature Features" for many years, is the author of "Creature Features Movie Guide," a guide to horror and science fiction films, and has authored several  novels. John  also creates crossword puzzles for several magazines.

BONNIE WEISS:

1) MAKE 'EM LAUGH: COMIC SONGS FROM THEATER, FILM, & CABARET
2) LEGENDARY JEWISH COMPOSERS OF BROADWAY
3) THE JEWISH GIFT TO THE AMERICAN MUSICAL
4) THE JEWISH POETS OF BROADWAY
5) EVERYTHING'S COMING UP STEPHEN SONDHEIM
6) JUDY GARLAND & MICKEY ROONEY
7) DAZZLING DAMES OF BROADWAY
8) LEGENDARY COMPOSERS OF BROADWAY
9) SONG & DANCE MEN OF THE SILVER SCREEN
10) THE POETS OF BROADWAY
11) WITH A SONG IN HIS HEART: RICHARD RODGERS

Bonnie Weiss is a musical theater historian and reviewer. She has served as writer, producer and director for ten Bay Area cabaret shows, including producing work of Stephen Sondheim's. She holds a BA in Theater Education and a Master's Degree in counseling from New York University. She is founder and president of Musical Theater Lovers United, a club for Broadway and Hollywood music buffs. She currently teaches musical theater history and appreciation at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

WILLIAM WELLBORN:

Concert pianist, teacher and host of the radio program "Piano Legacy", William Wellborn performs and lectures throughout the U.S. and Europe. Dr. Wellborn holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the  New England Conservatory and is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he teaches courses in piano, piano history and opera.

REBECCA YERGER – NAPA HISTORY

Rebecca Yerger a native of Napa, is a historic preservation consultant and historian. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Design at UC Davis. Specializing in research and documentation, such as National Register nominations, she also wrote "Memory Lane," a history column, published for seven years in the Napa Valley Register. She served as Napa County Landmarks President and History Chair of the 1997 City of Napa Sesquicentennial Celebration. In addition to teaching, public speaking and television appearances, she is currently co-historian for a monthly local radio show.

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Last Updated on: February 15, 2008