Brooke Bennett-Day, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology; Program Director, Human Services. B.S. (Psychology) Valdosta State University 1999; M.S. ( Social Psychology) Florida State University 2004; Ph.D. (Social Psychology) Florida State University 2007. My primary interests involve the effect that race may have on an individual's face recognition ability, as well as the developmental differences in child and adult memory for faces. Additional interests include interracial attitudes and stereotype formation, juror interpretations of legal proceedings, and best teaching practices.

Holly L Boettger-Tong, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology; Director, Center for Women in Science and Technology. B.S. (Biology) St. Louis University 1986; M.S. (Biology) University of Alabama at Birmingham 1988; Ph.D. (Biology) University of Alabama at Birmingham 1992. Holly’s lab uses both in vitro and in vivo model systems to analyze the molecular mechanisms which control female reproductive tract cellular proliferation. In addition, she is interested in the role of the retinoic acid signaling pathway as it influences early vertebrate embryo development.

Jim Ferrari, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology; Program Director, Environmental Studies; Wesleyan College Arboretum Director. B.A. (Biology and Northern Studies) Middlebury College 1986; Ph.D. (Ecology) University of Minnesota. My research interests include bird-plant interactions, seasonal patterns of bird diversity, leaf litter dispersal and effects of leaf decomposition on soil nitrogen cycling rates, and forest ecology.

Vince Coughlin, J.D., LL.M

Vince Coughlin, founder of the WALL program, received a B.S. (Physics) from Bucknell University in 1963, an M.S. (Physics) from Franklin & Marshall College in 1973, a J.D. from the University of Toledo in 1977 and an LL.M. from Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law in 1990. He retired from General Electric as a Senior Patent Counsel to GE and RCA Licensing Operation. Vince has taught law-related courses at Harrisburg (PA) Area Community College, the University of South Carolina Aiken’s Academy for Lifelong Learning and at WALL where he has served as the facilitator for Great Decisions since 2012. Vince’s interests include Constitutional Law and Lifelong Learning.

Jim Barfield

Macon native, career educator and published author, James Barfield is an exhaustive and enthusiastic expert on the history of Macon, Georgia. He has been active in historic preservation for more than 30 years and is a leading advocate for Macon’s historic and architectural heritage. He is committed to educating and inspiring appreciation for our unique city.

Nadine Cheek, M.M.

Mildred Goodrum Heyward Professor of Music; Program Director, Music. B.M. (Voice) Wesleyan College 1979; M.M. (Vocal Performance) Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music 1981, M.M. (Choral Conducting) Yale School of Music 1991.I am interested in teaching the young singer how to use her voice well in the performance of a variety of repertoire; including classical art-song, opera, sacred music, and Broadway. I have a particular interest in 20th-century and contemporary American song and choral literature.

Dr. Jim Rowan

Professor of Psychology. Program Director, Neuroscience. B.A. (Biology and Psychology) Malone College, 1988; M.A. (Experimental Psychology) Kent State University 1990: Ph.D. (Experimental Psychology with Biopsychology Concentration) Kent State University 1993. My area of interest is comparative cognition, more specifically, how humans and animals learn lists of information. I am also interested in the effects of early exposure to drugs on list learning in adulthood.

Saralyn DeSmet, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of French and Spanish; Program Director, French. B.A. (French and Spanish) Vanderbilt University 1990; M.A. (French Literature) Indiana University 1993; Ph.D. (Romance Languages) University of Georgia 2001. My professional interests include 18th-century women’s epistolary novels in French, especially Isabelle de Charrière, translation, and foreign language education.

Martha Duke

Martha Duke is a member of three Opera Guilds, The Met, Glimmerglass, and Central Georgia. She is in charge of recruiting people to do the pre-opera chats in Macon and has presented many of them herself. Martha has previously taught or co-taught the opera course for WALL on several occasions.

Vivia Fowler, Ph.D.

President of Wesleyan College; B.A. (Religion and Sociology) Columbia College 1976; M.A. (Religion) The Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary 1980; Ph.D. (Psychological and Philosophical Foundations of Education) The University of South Carolina 1994. My disciplinary interests are in biblical studies, women's studies, and philosophies and practices of religious education. In higher education, I am interested in issues related to student success and retention, especially in the first year of college.

Clarence Betleyoun

Clarence Betleyoun is an internationally known artist who has taught at a number of colleges and conducted workshops worldwide. He has worked in graphic arts for several years where he then turned to teaching and painting full time.

Ed Grisamore

Ed Grisamore is an American journalist who has been a local news columnist for The Telegraph in Macon, Georgia since 1996. He was the recipient of the 2010 Will Rogers Humanitarian Award, presented by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Grisamore has written nine books, including collections of his columns, a history of the minor league hockey team "Macon Whoopees", and biographies of football coach Billy Henderson, humorist and television personality Durwood "Mr. Doubletalk" Fincher, and a history of Macon's Nu-Way Weiners, the second-oldest hot dog stand in America. He teachers journalism at Stratford Academy.

Chuck Rawls

Chuck Rawls is a retired Air Force officer who served for 24 years with assignments throughout the U.S. and Europe. He is a retired public school teacher who taught Georgia History for 15 years in Bibb and Houston County public school systems.

Jim Crisp, M.F.A.

Jim Crisp, Founding Artists Director of Theatre Macon, served as Artistic Director until his retirement in 2018. Highly respected, he received the 2018 Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities.

Barbara Donovan, Ph.D.

Dr. Barbara Donovan is a Professor of Political Science and Dupont Guerry Chair of History and Economics; and Program Director of International Relations. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Georgetown University. She teaches courses in comparative and international politics. Her areas of specialization are German and European politics, democratization, regional integration, and immigration. Recently, she has taught courses for WALL on the European Union.

Bob Berlin

holds a J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University; Harvard University, Program on Negotiation; Harvard University, Advanced Program on Negotiation and is an Adjunct Professor – Mercer University School of Law, Macon State College, Georgia Military College, Middle Georgia College.

Betty Taylor

a member of the WALL Curriculum Committee, has her own facebook page and has developed and administered the facebook pages for the Macon Film Guild and Temple Beth Israel. She is also a content creator for WALL’s facebook page.

Chenny Gan, D.M.A

Dr. Chenny Gan is an Assistant Professor of Music. B.A. (Music and Studio Art) Wesleyan College 2002; M.M. (Music) UNC-Greensboro; Doctorate of Musical Arts (Piano Performance) University of Southern California. Dr. Gan actively performs and teaches on three continents, with assignments that have taken her to settings as diverse as the inner city neighborhoods of Los Angeles to Carnegie Hall and the Mozarteum to guest lecturer positions at three universities in South China. As a scholar, she has presented and published research for the College Music Society, Society for Ethnomusicology, the Harvard East Asian Studies Conference, and others. She often performs with orchestras and renowned jazz musicians and has recorded four CDs.

Steve Nofs

Steve Nofs is the owner of Shamrock Apiaries and is a University of Georgia Master Beekeeper and President of the Heart of Georgia Beekeepers Association. He also sells at the Wesleyan Market!

Jan Lewis, Ph.D.

Dr. Jan Lewis, now retired, was the Chair of theatre at Wesleyan College and has taught Shakespeare for many years. Dr. Lewis joined the Wesleyan Theatre program in the fall of 2006 as a scholar, teacher, author and director. Prior to coming to Wesleyan she was a professional director, producer, playwright and actor for 20 years in theaters in and around Los Angeles.

Regina Oost, Ph.D.

Dr. Regina B. Oost earned a Ph.D. in 18th and 19th-century British Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Utah. She has taught English at Wesleyan College since 1991, including classes on Austen, women’s writing, and 19th-century British literature and culture.

Rabbi Damian Eisner

Rabbi Damian Eisner is the Torah Club Director for First Fruits of Zion, an international organization that specializes in the study and teaching of Scripture from its historical, linguistic, and cultural context using the latest scholarship, ancient Jewish sources, and extra-biblical literature, and thereby presenting a Messianic Jewish reading of the Bible and early Jewish-Christianity. He also is the Rabbi at Shalom Macon, a Messianic congregation in Macon, GA, and has been actively involved in the Messianic community for the last 20 years. Having been raised in a traditional Jewish home, then spending 10 years attending churches before returning to the synagogue, he is about to offer members the unique perspective of both sides of the Judeo-Christian “equation.”

Rabbi Aaron Rubinstein

Rabbi Aaron Rubinstein is also a musician, an avid listener and a collector of music as well as a dedicated reader of literature. Music is a powerful portal for cultural exploration and class members will experience various types of Jewish music within a larger cultural context.

Nadine Cater, B.S.

Nadine Cater holds a BS in food and nutrition. She is currently teaching nutrition at Helms College.

Parrish Jenkins

Parrish Jenkins is a licensed financial planner with Edward Jones. She is a graduate of Wesleyan College and also holds Georgia Insurance licenses for Life and Variable Products. Parrish is licensed for Series 7 and 66 for securities.

Ernst Takacs

Ernst Takacs was born and raised in Bavaria and recently moved to Macon where he surprisingly finds a lot of similarities to his beloved native Bavaria.

Richard Davies, Ph.D.

Dr. Davies is a retired United Methodist minister who holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. He has traveled extensively in Greece and Italy and has an interest in classic mythology.

Emily Woodyard, M.B.A.

Emily Woodward has an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi and worked as a researcher for the University. She has completed certification for Genealogy through the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Lisa Sloben

Lisa Sloben, Curator of Collections at wesleyan College, is a graduate of Fashion Institute of Technology and Wesleyan College (Art History).

Katherine Walden

Katherine Walden has 40 years of interior design experience, along with more than 30 years of freelance writing skills. She returned to school to pursue her interior design career and first began her teaching experience at Wurzburg, Germany. She taught at Macon State College and Central Georgia Technical College, while also writing for Macon Magazine, Address Macon, and Georgia Family Magazine. She currently writes weekly events columns for The Telegraph and a monthly column for The Telegraph on interior design.

Jeff Cox

Jeff Cox is the Chief Meteorologist at WGXA-TV in Macon.

Johnathon Hardwell-Dye

Jonathan Harwell-Dye is the director of creative placemaking at Macon Arts Alliance where he leads the arts-based community development initiatives in Mill Hill: East Macon Arts Village. He is a member of the One Macon! Economic Development Implementation Committee and on the board of the Middle Georgia State University Alumni Association. He’s a graduate of Leadership Macon, the Middle Georgia Regional Leadership Champions, and GeorgiaForward’s Young Gamechangers.

Normal Tyrus Ivey, D.D.S

Dr. Tye Ivey is a dentist by profession and an accomplished photographer by avocation.

Trip Shinn, Ph.D.

Dr. Trip Shinn is a Professor of Economics and Associate Director of the Center for Economic Analysis at Middle Georgia State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of South Carolina and has additional degrees in History and Philosophy.

Chester Fontenot, Ph.D.

Chester Fontenot is the Baptist Professor of English and Director of the Africana Studies at Mercer University. He has published 8 books, over 70 articles, and was the founding chair of the Black Literature and Cultural Studies Division of the Modern Language Association. He is also a founding editor of Black American Literature and Culture.

Susan Welsh

Susan Welsh is the Executive Director of the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon as well as an artist in her own right.

Nicholas Steneck, Ph.D.

Dr. Nick Steneck is Associate Professor of History, Department of History and Political Science and Co-Director of Confucius Institute, Wesleyan College.

Lody Odeh, Ph.D.

Lody Odeh did doctoral course work in International Affairs from the University of Virginia. With a Masters degree in International Trade from George Mason University, and an undergraduate degree in Economics and Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. Teaching university level courses in Economics, Management, and Globalization.

Xinqian Peng

Mary Keating, Ed.D.

Mary Keating holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Music (Voice) from Indiana University, a master’s degree in music from the University of Florida, and specialist and doctorate degrees in education, also from the University of Florida. She has been a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera auditions and for several years sang in the repertoire company of the Frankfurt (Germany) Opera. She taught music for many years and was also a successful grant writer and college fund raiser. Now retired, she lives in Dublin, teaches music appreciation at GMC’s new Dublin campus, and coordinates the opera chats that precede every broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera in HD at the Douglass Theater.

Gul Celkan, Ph.D.

Dr. Gul Celkan has a BA, MA and PhD in English Language and Literature and a minor in History from the University of Ankara, College of Languages, History and Geography. She has taught “History of Turkey and the Turkish Reforms” to foreign students enrolled at the University, and presently teaches at Middle Georgia State University.

Paul Fisher

Mr. Paul Fisher is the Curator of Science at the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences, following a twenty year career as an Aerospace and Electrical Engineer.

Doug Skelton, M.D.

Dr. Doug Skelton, Dean Emeritus of Mercer University School of Medicine, received his MD from Emory, completed psychiatric training at Columbia, followed by a two-year assignment to federal prisons in Oklahoma and West Virginia where he examined many federal prisoners for competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility. He later served as Emory's service chief for the psychiatry service at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Michael McGhee, D.M.

Dr. Michael McGhee is Associate Professor of Music at Wesleyan College where he teaches music history, music theory and literature, organ and harpsichord. He performs frequently and has won numerous organ competitions.

Deidre Donmoyer, Ph.D.

Dr. Deidre Donmoyer is Professor of Communication and Director of Woman’s Studies at Wesleyan College. Dr. Donmoyer’s research combines these two disciplines: using film and other media texts as a primary basis of symbolic analysis; she works to come to understandings of how women are represented and who they are they thought to be, thereby exploring how society may expect women to behave and interact in everyday life.

Christopher Blake, Ph.D.

Dr. Christopher Blake, who was born, raised and educated in England, is President of Middle Georgia State University.

Rabbi Aaron Sataloff

Rabbi Aaron Sataloff has been the Rabbi at Temple Beth Israel since 2017. His undergraduate degree was in Judaic Studies. He earned his M.A in Jewish Literacy from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where he also received his Rabbinic Ordination. Rabbi Sataloff also holds an M.A in Jewish Nonprofit Management.

Shelly Martin, Ph.D.

Dr. Shelly Martin is professor of Psychology at Wesleyan College as well as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with many years of clinical experience. She is also an avid and experienced long distance backpacker who completed the northbound hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2018. She earned her doctorate in Psychology at the University of Virginia.

Richard Ackerman, M.D.

Dr. Ackermann received his Bachelor of Science from Furman University and his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Naval Hospital, Charleston, SC. He is board certified in family medicine and also certified in geriatrics and in hospice/palliative medicine. Dr. Ackermann is the Hospice/Palliative Medicine Fellowship Director. His special interests are geriatrics and end of life care. "I came to Macon in 1991, attracted by Mercer's unique method of teaching medicine. I've been on the family medicine residency faculty for 22 years - I was the residency director for 5 years. My clinical passion is caring for frail older adults, particularly those living in nursing homes and those facing end-of life decisions."

Johnny Mack Nickles

Johnny Mack Nickles, captivated by American history since childhood, has been an avid collector of native American artifacts and War between the States collectables for more than fifty years. He has guest lectured at Middle Georgia State University, to various Confederate and historical groups as well as to school children in Bibb and Jones Counties and Clinton, Georgia.

James R Bodell

James Bodell's sculptures range from small indoor designs to a seven foot garden portal commissioned in Oregon, a thirty-five foot metal sculpture at Mercer Medicine and large pieces at Wesleyan College and Tattnall Square Park. Mr. Bodell began his career in Oregon where he managed traveling art exhibits, artists in residence and work study programs. He then became the Visual Arts Coordinator for the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Next, as Archeological Researcher/Surveyer for University of Washington, Mr. Bodell surveyed and excavated prehistoric Native American habitation sites along the Columbia River. From 2005-2007, he served as Exhibition Preparator for the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, GA.

Amber Erickson, M.P.H.

Amber Erickson received her Masters in Public Health Epidemiology from Georgia Southern University in 2008. Currently she is the director of Epidemiology and Assessment for the North Central Health District, Georgia Department of Public Health. She has led public health responses for several outbreaks throughout her tenure as an epidemiologist, including emerging threats such as 2009's H1N1 Influenza Pandemic, 2014's Ebola, 2016's Zika Virus, and the 2017 opioid overdose cluster in Middle Georggia.

Nick Hazleton

Carole Seegert, Ph.D

A psychologist who has practiced in a variety of clinical and forensic settings with diverse populations, to include working with individual patients, couples, families, active-duty military, inmates, and sexual offenders. She most recently worked (and retired) as Sr. Clinical Director for the Georgia Dept. of Corrections, where we sought to meet federal standards for managing/treating incarcerated transgender individuals. She has experience teaching college - level courses, providing training to mental health professionals, and presenting at national conferences.

Dr. James Black

Dr. James Black, who earned his master's degree in Journalism Management and doctorate in Public Communications, is the Schumann Endowed Chair Professor in Writing for the Media at Mercer University. Dr. Black has the distinction of having created the first student run college newspaper (Mercer Cluster) and American-run student radio program in China.

Brian Whitley

Brian Whitley is co-owner and head brewer at Piedmont Kitchen and Brewery, located in downtown Macon.

Sloan Oliver

Sloan Oliver is a retired military officer and amateur adventurer himself. He has taken several military survival courses to include the elite Ranger School, climbed mountains over 20,000’ in elevation, rafted the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, hiked the Grand Canyon and along the Appalachian Trail, hitchhiked across the country, bicycled cross country, jumped out of airplanes, climbed frozen waterfalls, and slept on high altitude glaciers. He has long been fascinated with unknown places on the planet and with extreme environments. With that fascination comes an interest to learn about those who have sought to discover those unknown places and to fill the voids on the map. Also, exploration pushes humans to endure incredible feats of hardship. It’s fascinating to learn the stories of extreme hardship that adventures and explorers must overcome to succeed.

Helena Xia, M.Ed.

Confucius Institute Faculty

Mercer Medical School Faculty

Dr. Jim Halloran

Yaseen Alhaj-Yaseen Ph.D.

Dr.Yaseen holds two Master’s degrees in Finance and Economics, and a Doctoral degree in Economics. He worked as a FOREX broker and dealer for 18 months, where he bought and sold currencies on the foreign exchange market.

Deborah Davenport Ph.D.

The course leader is a political scientist (PhD, Emory University, 2002) with over 20 years experience in academic research and international climate change politics. She also has over 25 years of experience participating in international climate-related negotiations both as an official delegate and as a reporter for the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

JoAnna Watson

Professor Dean Emeritia Mercer University: Anthropology/Archaeology and Great Books in CLA.

Tyler Schwaller Th.D.

Tyler grew up in a small town in west-central Iowa and graduated from Luther College In Decorah, Iowa in 2007, majoring in religion with minors in music and women and gender studies. He received a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School In Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2010, and then continued at Harvard for a Doctor of Theology In the area of New Testament and Early Christianity. He is also an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church.

Judy Carrigan

Ms. Carrigan has a Master of Science in Biology and had a garden care business for several years.

Yannan Chen

Dr. Henna Iqbal

I am Dr. Henna Iqbal, currently teaching as an Assistant Professor at Mercer School of Medicine. My background includes a Ph.D majors in Microbiology/bacteriology from University of Oklahoma and a prior medical school graduation from Karachi, Pakistan.

Robert Fieldsteel

Robert Fieldsteel is president of The Macon Film Guild and Artist-in-Residence, Playwriting at Wesleyan. He resides in Macon following a distinguished 28-year career in Los Angeles as an actor, writer, producer and educator in film, TV and theatre.

Dr. William Rawlings

Emery University at Oxford and Atlanta, 1966-1969 Tulane University School of Medicine Tropical Medicine, 1969-1973 – M.D. John Hopkins Hospital, 1973-1975 – Post-doc residency in internal medicine Honorary Doctor of Science – Mercer University, 2011

Ed Lau

Retired firefighter and paramedic for thirty years including investigative training. Using his background and training and an interest in history and architecture he has dedicated himself to helping people ease their fears by investigating what caused the events people report, and whether they may be caused by natural or paranormal activity.

Brian Daffern

Maranda Dewberry

She is a full time psychic medium living in Macon. She has over 500 connections on Linkedin and references and recommendations from four sessions at Healy Point Country Club that were checked by Ken Heller. People in attendance witnessed contacts with deceased loved ones which in some instances were comforting and in other instances were surprisingly revealing, but made a deep and lasting impression.

Leigh Villegas

Ken Heller

WALL member and retired banker

Jeff Seeley

Director of Music at Vineville United Methodist Church, and retired Associate Professor of Church Music at Mercer University. He is an ordained deacon in the South Georgia Annual Conference and has served United Methodist churches in various pastoral/musical roles for 40+ years.

James N. Smith

Derek Jackson

Terry Anne Homan

Megan McNaught

Jessica Walden

Kari Waltz

Kristina Peavy, M. LS

Steve Haberlin

Weihong Liu

Dr. Eman Alotair Abdulla

Confucius Institute Staff

Ethiel Garlington

Ethiel Garlington has served as the Executive Director of Historic Macon Foundation since March 2014. He has a Master’s of Historic Preservation degree from the University of Georgia and has worked in the preservation field for over 20 years.

Bob Moon

Dr. Huichun Liu

Delmas Crisp

Dr. Delmas Crisp holds a PhD in British Literature. He has taught British Literature to students at 3 universities, including Wesleyan College.

Carolyn Garvin

Carolyn Garvin is a retired Mercer Professor of Education and has taught Storytelling courses for ElderHostel.

Hinda Ramsey

Julia Morrison

Jane Winston

Rose Thornburg

Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar

Patrick Bradley

Rick Maier

Ann Kane

Richard Wilson

Andrew Reeves

Bill Hargrave

Cara Heard

Sarah Pugh Montgomery

Donna Green

Donna Green graduated with a BA in English from Western Kentucky University. She studied the Bible through Bible Study Fellowship, an in-depth, non-denominational Bible Study for 9 years. She has been a Bible Study Teacher for over 20 years.

Douglas MacMillan

Doug MacMillan started his lifelong interest in recorded music when he was a boy, ever since discovering his grandfather’s 78s. He has been collecting records over the last 60+ years and has amassed a collection of well over 5,000 records. He has also had experience in professional audio in the television and film industry.

Dr. Brandi Simpson-Miller

Dr. Brandi Simpson-Miller is a social historian of Ghana whose research investigates the history of food, cooking, and eating from the 17th century to the present day. She holds a Ph.D. from SOAS University of London, and an MA in World History from Georgia State University. Currently she is an Assistant Professor of History and the Assistant Director of the Lane Center for Social and Racial Equity at Wesleyan College in Macon.

Joe Finkelstein

Mr. Finklestein has spent over 20 years as an educator teaching technology (computer science, audio/video/film) to students of all ages. He is happily married to Ellen for 34 years and has 2 awesome boys, Will (28) and Jack (25).