The goal of this three-week course is to introduce you to the Anacortes community forestlands and some of the amazing organisms that live there, so the next time you take a hike, you can not only enjoy the fresh air and exercise, but also have a better understanding of the events that led to the protection of this special area and a better appreciation for all the fascinating processes going on around you. We’ll start by reviewing the history of the ACFL. Then, we’ll take an in-classroom illustrated tour of some of amazing and often-overlooked organisms that are part of the forest ecosystem. The final session will be a short hike into the ACFL along a wide, flat trail to see what wonders we can find.

Instructor: Jane Billinghurst

Jane is the longtime translator of books by German forester Peter Wohlleben, who wrote the New York Times bestseller, The Hidden Life of Trees. Together with Peter, she co-wrote Forest Walking, a book about experiencing forests to the fullest. She can often be found along the ACFL trails hunched over an interesting mushroom, lichen, or slime mold. To take a peek at some of the treasures she finds, follow her on Instagram at: jane_billinghurst_writer.

Global Positioning System (GPS) has transformed from a relatively unwanted, obscure government program to one of the technological pillars of modern life. GPS provides critical infrastructure not only to the more obvious applications of positioning services (navigation, emergency services, construction, and agriculture), but also highly accurate timing services (communications, finance).

The course will cover what the system is and a non-nerd friendly walk through of how it works (only one equation, I promise, and it’s OK to close your eyes when it comes up). We will cover system accuracy, error sources, and how choice of receiver changes user results. We will also look at the history of the system and the breadth of applications supported by this amazing public/private partnership. Given the criticality of the system to modern life, it’s also essential to look at vulnerabilities including inadvertent interference, deliberate jamming, and spoofing.

Instructor: Susan Crippen

Susan is a retired engineer (EE,CS) who spent her working life in the remote sensing community. Effective use of GPS was critical to most of her projects.

Her GPS experience started in the mid-80s time aligning separate data streams when an incomplete satellite constellation only provided enough visible satellites a few hours a week. A later program was a DARPA funded airborne 3D radar topographic mapping system.

She also holds a private pilot license and has a grateful appreciation of the benefits of GPS instrument approaches.

The American health care system is peculiar among systems around the globe.  We’ll explore and discuss such questions as:

• Where did it come from? 
• How is it structured? 
• How well does it perform? 
• Why is health care in America the most expensive in the world? 

This three-session course will trace the origins and evolution of the health care system we experience today, including its performance during the Covid pandemic.  And we’ll discuss ongoing efforts to make it work better.

Instructor: Aaron B Katz

Aaron Katz is Principal Lecturer Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Public Health where he taught graduate level courses in health policy and conducted health policy projects and research on a wide variety of issues. During his 32 years at UW, Aaron held numerous academic leadership positions and has received many awards, including the American Public Health Association’s Award for Excellence in 2006 and the Outstanding Teaching Award from the UW School of Public Health in 2004. Aaron and his artist wife, Kate Dougherty, moved to Anacortes in April 2019 after living in Seattle for more than 40 years. They enjoy hiking, biking, pickleball, eating in the area’s great restaurants, listening to music, dancing, and traveling.

This course is designed for anyone interested in learning a little more about wine; the viticulture, the most common grapes, and how to taste and pair with food. It will begin with a brief overview of how and where grapes thrive and the eight most common grape varieties. We will cover ‘still’ wine production and classification. Finally, a discussion of what characteristics one should observe when tasting wine and how best to pair wine with food will conclude the three-week course.

Instructor: Connie Pangrazi

Connie Pangrazi retired in 2017 after serving as the Assistant Dean of Academics in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College as well as teaching courses in Exercise Science and Physical Education pedagogy. Prior to entering higher education, Connie taught in public education for more than 10 years. Connie left the public schools to become the Director of Physical Education and Health K-12 for Edison Schools, Inc. In this role, she was responsible for program development, implementation and grant procurement for 126 schools in 22 states across the nation. She joined the Kinesiology faculty at Arizona State University in 2002 as a lecturer. In addition to her administration and teaching responsibilities she has consulted in school districts nation-wide in program development and class management techniques, has conducted numerous presentations at the state and national levels, and is active in numerous state and national professional organizations.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Education, Master of Education in Educational Administration – Arizona State University

Connie purchased a home in Northern Italy in 2021. As the property has a small vineyard and Cantina, Connie became interested in the production of wine. Within the past two years Connie has completed Levels One and Two of the WSET and is currently completing her Wine Specialist Certification. She hopes to one day make her own wine and be involved in the wine industry.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Education – Arizona State University, Master of Education in Educational Administration – Arizona State University