Brief Biographies on our Chelmsford Community Education Instructors
Maureen J Baker has been painting for over 17 years. She has studied with national and international artists. Learning many different styles and techniques has influenced her work and helped her to create a relaxed style of realism. Maureen paints mostly in acrylics and oils, occasionally in watercolors. Her work has been recognized for awards in professional categories both locally and regionally. She teaches in her studio and local venues in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and seminars throughout New England. Maureen teaches regularly at a regional convention in Rhode Island. In 2008 she taught at a national convention in Ohio.
Scott Brogan has been conducting financial seminars for more than eight years and has over 10 years experience working with families. He has a private practice with two locations and clients all over New England and New York.
Yuko Broskie has over 15 years experience in Japanese language instruction for both Adult Education and private lessons. She attended Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Japan, and served as a radio announcer, singer, actress and master of ceremonies for various companies in her native country. She has lived in the United States since 1979.
Dr. Gerard Cassista is a practicing chiropractor and has been in practice for over 25 years. He is a former instructor of radiation physics at Palmer College. Dr. Cassista runs a leading-edge chiropractic office, which takes spinal reconstruction to new levels. He is a keynote speaker throughout the country on a number of health related topics.
James Czerlonka is a graduate of Bentley School of Accounting and Finance (now Bentley College) and has earned an Associate of Science degree in Information Systems from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. He has held several administrative and management positions including more than a dozen years as co-owner of a printing business formerly located in Lowell. He was also registered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a practicing public accountant. Mr. Czerlonka designed and has taught the Bookkeeping for the Small Business course at Chelmsford Community Education since 1984. Beginning in the fall 2005, he also teaches an additional course entitled QuickBooks – Computer Accounting for the Small Business, a hands-on course using the very popular QuickBooks computer software.
Lynne Eriksen has been a Ballroom Dance educator for over 25 years. She was Director of the Ken Silva Ballroom Dance Studio, formerly of Lowell. Her daughter, Kristen, now works at her side, continuing a family tradition of teaching ballroom dance. By day, Lynne is an Early Head Start teacher with Community Teamwork of Lowell.
Joseph Frantiska has been an American Heart Association certified CPR instructor for over eight years. He has also been a Massachusetts certified emergency medical technician for over twenty years. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Thomas Gallagher grew up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and has taught in Chelmsford for 13 years at the high school and the middle school levels. Tom is the head coach for Chelmsford High School’s hockey and lacrosse teams. He also taught in Lowell for a year, and at an at-risk school for inner city kids, and is currently working on his master’s degree in math. Tom enjoys teaching each and everyday and hopes to help the students feel more comfortable about taking the SAT test.
Laurie Hartzel is a Certified Coach Practitioner, accredited by the Certified Coaches Federation of Canada. Her mission is to empower individuals to know themselves, and support them in the fulfillment of their personal goals. Her private practice is based in the Chelmsford, Massachusetts, area and offers a complimentary, free consultation over the phone or e-mail. Laurie also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Translation, and a Master of Arts in Teaching Languages from the University of Maine in Orono. She has been in the teaching field for over 16 years.
Linda Holden has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Lowell. She has worked 10+ years in the high tech industry in international finance/treasury. She has dealt with Spanish speaking parts of the world because travel is required. Linda is currently in an academic environment, combining office work and teaching in Spanish.
Kim Kaminski-Donaher has been enjoying cooking classical and home-style cooking for the past 20 years. Her cooking experience includes all types of cultural delicacies from the Mediterranean (such as Greek, Spanish, Italian, and Polish dishes) to the tropical flavors of the Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands. Having lived in Germany for seven years, Kim also enjoys making traditional Bavarian foods. She also loves cooking with bold flavors of Japanese and Chinese cuisines as well as the spicy palette-pleasing dishes of Mexico. New England cooking reigns supreme in Kim’s kitchen with over 250 cookbooks from countries all over the world and from nearly every state in the US. Can’t find a good novel to read, pick up a cookbook! Kim’s cooking course shows you how to get the most out of reading cookbooks that offer incredible historical information, like the cookbooks of Ellis Island and New England fisherman, to helpful cooking hints from cooking gurus like Emeril Lagasse, Rachel Ray and Paula Dean. Kim has been a student of Mel Starr for three years and is eager to share here individual cooking style and her passion for cookbook collecting with those looking for a unique cooking experience.
Dale Koethe is from Durham, North Carolina, and has a BS in Zoology from UNC and an MS in Entomology from NCSU. Since the birth of her first child, she has been involved with various needlecrafts, including quilting, cross-stitch, smocking, and knitting. She currently sells hand-smocked doll dresses.
Barbara LaViska, President of Great Garments Guild, has been sewing for 35 years. She has been teaching sewing since 1991 and has her own part-time business.
Richard Marion has been an artist and art educator in the Merrimack Valley for more than 35 years. A graduate of Massachusetts College of Art, he also studied at the Chicago School of Design and the Philadelphia Art Institute. A longtime member of the Dracut High School faculty, he has taught courses in various media there and elsewhere. A member of the Artist’s League of Lowell, he also has been a workshop instructor for the Revolving Museum of Lowell. His work has been exhibited widely and is represented in private and corporate collections. A strong supporter of community cultural development, over the years he has been active with many organizations, including Lowell National Historical Park, the Whistler House Museum of Art, and his own Gallery 21.
Norman McBride has been practicing the martial arts since 1984. He earned his black belt in Kenpo and Jujitsu in 1989 and has also studied Tae Kwon Do and Aikido. Norman has been teaching Self-Defense for Women in Chelmsford for 17 years and has taught Martial Arts in several other communities. He teaches advanced weapon techniques to senior students at karate schools in Billerica and Dracut. Norman offers instruction for corporate and private group seminars.
Mary Jo Metro is an investment advisor and manager of the Chelmsford office of Edward Jones Investments, the only major financial-services firm advising individual investors exclusively. Mary Jo has a BS in Accounting from Penn State University, an MBA from Boston University and an AAMS from the College of Financial Planning and Reporting. She is in her 23rd year of working within finance/accounting/investments in both the private and public sectors. Mary Jo is an active member of Chelmsford Rotary, Westford Business Networking International, Chelmsford Business Association and St. Mary’s Finance Board. She has been teaching various classes for nine years. She resides in Chelmsford with her husband and three children.
Joyce Minosh has lived in both France and Italy and is happy to share her broad range of knowledge covering itineraries, museums, hotels, restaurants and tour guides. She has also written workbooks on Paris, Tuscany, Florence and Provence. As well as consulting to those traveling on their own, she continues to lead trips throughout France and Italy.
Robert Moll, a graduate of UCLA and the Art Center School of Los Angeles, is a professional photographer – now retired – who worked more than 25 years in New York in advertising and catalog photography, and some 15 years in Concord, Massachusetts in photography for direct mail and general advertising. He has been teaching at Chelmsford Community Education for more than 10 years. He is currently at work on a photographic chronicle of historic Monhegan Island, Maine.
Charles Morris is the incoming Commander of the Merrimac Sail and Power Squadron of the United States Power Squadrons. He is ranked as an Advanced Pilot and has taught basic boating courses for the last three years. Charles is an avid boater experienced with both power and sail boats on both inland (Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire) and ocean (Casco Bay, Maine) waters.
William (Bill) Pacino is currently a technical writer and editor in the telecommunications and data communications field. He graduated from Tufts University and Boston College. He started in the writing business as a newspaper editor and writer at the Reading, Massachusetts, Chronicle and the Daily Times of Woburn, Massachusetts.
Therese Quinn has been sewing for the past 35 years, and has taught adult education for the past 16 years. She is experienced in making girl officer, crossing guard, and cheerleading uniforms. Also she has experience in making and altering bridal gowns and wedding party dresses. Along with those, she makes custom drapes, English smocked dresses, and children’s clothing from christening dresses up to prom dresses.
Katrina Rotondi has been dancing for 20 years with experience in jazz, tap, ballet, modern, hip hop, lyrical, and line dancing. She graduated in 2001 from Franklin Pierce College with a bachelor’s degree in theater arts (concentration in dance) and also with a business minor. After graduating college she is now teaching dance full time at Karrie Stang’s Gotta Dance Studio and also at senior centers, preschools, after school, and town recreational programs. Katrina also dances in a dance company which recently performed for the Boston Celtics and the Concord Players.
Renee W. Senes is a financial consultant with Investors Capital Corporation and an independent investment advisor representative affiliated with Investors Capital Corporation Advisory. For 15 years, Renee has provided fee-based investment and asset management, insurance, financial consulting, college and retirement planning for individuals and small businesses from her home office in Harvard. A focal aspect of her practice is working with people in all stages of the divorce process to ensure that they have sufficient income and assets to sustain and support them throughout their lives. A former teacher, Renee enjoys educating her clients and encouraging them, especially women, to be active participants in their financial futures.
Ruth Silk has been piecing and quilting for about 30 years. She has been with Chelmsford Community Education since its inception; first, as an English smocking teacher, and then for the last 15 years or more, as a quilting instructor and doll clothes sewing instructor. Although quilting is her passion, she is an avid knitter, crocheter, embroiderer and she also sews craft items.
Andy Stewart received his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering (emphasis on computers) from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. Andy has been a computer chip designer and verification engineer for 25 years. He built his first personal computer in the late 1980s, and started using Linux around 1993 with Slackware version 1.0. In July of 1997, Andy founded the Worcester Linux Users' Group and has been acting president since its inception. In August of 2006, Andy founded and is the acting president of the Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group. Andy has been teaching Linux classes for Chelmsford Community Education since March 2004.
Liz Stewart is a jewelry designer, instructor, and owner of Lush Beads in Lowell, Massachusetts. She has been a beader since 2000, when her friend got her addicted to the craft of jewelry-making. After a tech industry layoff in 2002, she ventured into the beading world full-time and hasn’t looked back. She shares her love of beads and beading by teaching it to others.
Marcia Sullivan, a Certified Financial Planner™ Licensee, has been working in the financial planning industry since 1993. She began her career as a retirement planning specialist working for the Horizon Group. She joined College Funding Advisors in 1998, after using their services to make a college education for her two children affordable. She has been happily presenting seminars and helping families navigate the financial aid system ever since. Marcia is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music with a degree in classical guitar. (And yes, she does still find time to play.) She completed her studies with the College for Financial Planning in September of 1998 and received her Certified Financial Planner™ designation the same year. She is also a member of the Financial Planning Association. When not meeting with clients or presenting seminars, Marcia can be found hiking with her dogs, riding her horse, or making decadently delicious chocolates for friends and family.
Steve Sullivan has been a computer programmer since 1974. Over the years, he has worked on payroll, budget, general ledger, inventory replenishment, file transfer monitoring, and on-line survey applications for Wang Laboratories, Powersoft, and Sybase. He currently programs desktop and web-based loss prevention systems for DataVantage in Westboro. As a programmer, he spends most of his time turning out well formatted code. However, after the code has been written, the documentation needs to be written. That’s where the word processing comes in. He has been using a word processor for about twenty years and first started using Microsoft Word with version 1.0. Steve has been teaching Microsoft Word for Windows at Chelmsford Community Education since 2002.
Jennifer Sweet has been teaching for the past twelve years at the secondary level. This will be her fourth year with us teaching SAT - Verbal preparation. She has earned a bachelor’s in English and a master’s in Education. When she is not teaching, she enjoys being home with her three children.
Joan Turner has been teaching calligraphy, drawing, and other art-related courses for over 20 years. She is the owner of Joan’s Art Gallery in Bradford, Massachusetts. Joan attended Middlesex Community College and the University of Lowell.
John Wren is the coordinator for an education technology lab at the Graduate School of Education (University of Massachusetts – Lowell), where he instructs students and faculty on the uses of new technology in education environments. Prior to that, he worked for nearly 20 years in the commercial imaging division of Eastman Kodak. Photography has been a lifelong interest, and John went digital nearly a decade ago. He is also a member of The National Association of Photoshop Professionals and The International VR Photography Association.
Page last updated: January 4, 2010
© 2002-2010, Chelmsford Public Schools