The Academy Board

The Academy Board welcomes you. The Board members bring a wealth of experience to the Academy. They have organized a top notch program.

President: Diana Wilson

Diana Wilson, one of the Academy’s founders, is Professor Emerita in English & Renaissance Studies at the University of Denver. She has won 3 NEH grants for her work on Cervantes and given invited lectures at Yale, Harvard, Cornell, NYU, UCLA, Oxford, etc. Recently she delivered the 50th Anniversary Cervantes Lecture at Fordham on the uses of Islam in Shakespeare and Cervantes. Her latest book addresses the impact of the New World on the European novel (Oxford University Press, 2000).She has taught college students for some 25 years.

President Elect: Ralph Plimpton

Ralph Plimpton was a manager and Vice President of Human Resources with Arco and Amoco until the early 80’s. Until retirement in 2003 he founded and operated an outplacement consulting firm serving corporate clients in 17 states in the Mountain States and the West. During that period he and his associates worked with thousands of individuals in developing their best skills and capabilities in the process of finding new opportunities or careers. Ralph has had a lifelong interest in economic, political, cultural and social issues. In recent years he has developed expertise in several subjects of interest to senior adults. He is a regular Academy facilitator. Over his career he has given hundreds of lectures on subjects of interest to a wide range of participants.

Treasurer: Paula Kauffman

Although Paula has pursued the usual retirement pleasures—travel, new hobbies (a perennial beginning golfer), volunteer work, and learning—she has also had the uncommon experience of working for one-month in southern Africa, where she helped the government of Namibia set up a social insurance program. Having spent her professional career in the United States Social Security Administration, Paula has strong opinions about the privatization of the program and does public speaking on this subject from time to time.

Secretary: Larry Duggan

Larry, one of the Academy’s founders, has provided expertise in marketing and development for the Academy. He is a retired construction executive having received an Architectural Engineering degree from the University of Colorado. He was an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. He served as a docent and day chair at the Denver Art Museum. Volunteer work includes Habitat for Humanity and his Homeowner’s Association.

VP-Curriculum/Facilitators: Sheila Porter

Sheila has an undergraduate degree in fine art with a minor in African art history as well as a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, which she has practiced for thirty years. In her diverse practice, she has treated dancers, artists, actors, rapists, and serial killers, along with a host of other clients with less dramatic problems! She has been an international speaker since the ’80s for the American Institute of Medical Education, a group that studies the psychological makeup of artists and its impact on their work.

VP-Facilities: Bil Buhler

Bil Buhler was born and raised in central Idaho. He received his Masters degree from DU in Computer Science, when he first fell in love with Denver. He lived in Seattle and Chicago before moving to Denver 20 plus years ago. After retiring from computer programming his avocation as a potter became a primary focus. He thinks he should have made that switch much sooner, because he’s having so much fun with his creations.

Member-at-Large: Fred Abrams

Fredrick R. Abrams, M.D., is Director of The Clinical Ethics Consultation Group. In 1996, he retired from clinical medical practice after 42. In 2003, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Center for Bioethics and Humanities of the CU Health Sciences Center. In 2006 he was awarded the Isaac Hayes, MD and John Bell, MD Award for Leadership in Medical Ethics and Professionalism by the AMA Foundation and the Board of Trustees. Currently he serves on the Boards of the Life Quality Institute of the Denver Hospice and the Center for Bioethics ad Humanities of the CU Health Sciences Center and is consultant to the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, the Peer Review and Medical Quality Improvement Organization for the State of Colorado.

Member-at-Large: Bennie Bub

Bennie Bub is a South African neurosurgeon who is board certified in three different specialties on three continents.  His teaching career began when, as a medical student, he taught physics at a technical college in return for free car maintenance courses.  He has studied or taught at the University of Cape Town, the Royal College of Surgeons in the UK, the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases and Epilepsy, Harvard College, and the Boston Conservatory of Music studying the violin. He founded the first multidisciplinary clinic in South Africa for the management of intractable pain.  He immigrated to the USA in 1976, joined a Denver practice, then founded a successful database company. Since retirement he has indulged in his love of music, travel and voracious reading, all the while striving to stay au courant with the neurosciences.

Member-at-Large: Sherma Erholm

A career public school teacher, Sherma Erholm holds a bachelor's degree in speech and music, and a master's in communication theory and psychology. As a “learning junkie', she now enjoys going outside her fields of expertise to research and facilitate discussions in widely varying subjects. She has taught music and communication theory in public schools and has facilitated adult courses of interest, not necessarily in her field of expertise, e.g., futurism, China, evolution, the U.N. and others. Other fun for her consists of travel which emphasizes the local culture, singing with the Alpine Chorale, gardening, mountaineering, paleontology, and skiing.

Member-at-Large: Joyce Meyers

Joyce is a native Coloradoan who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Loretto Heights College in Denver. Taking an early retirement from being a Senior Account Manager at a small advertising/direct marketing company, Joyce is now an active volunteer in the community in addition to working as a full-time mother for her 13-year old twin daughters.

Member-at-Large: Gail Sweeney

Gail has a B.A. from the U. of Illinois and an MBA from D.U. She is a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and is retired from a management career with a large technology corporation. She is currently a small business owner dabbling in interior and landscape design.

Director: Sally Kneser

Sally is a retired teacher of French and English. She has been an active volunteer for over 25 years, serving frequently as chair, president, or secretary. She has taught facilitating to Junior League volunteers, Girl Scout Leaders, PTO Presidents, and facilitators.

The original board worked tirelessly to organize the Academy. The response has been overwhelming as hundreds of Denverites discover added pleasure in learning.
Board members enjoy spirited discussions at their meetings. Diana shared information with Bob Stark.
Larry, Sally and Jim review classroom layout plans.