Staff

Susan Hoffman, Director

For the past sixteen years Susan has worked at UC and CSU campuses launching new interdisciplinary and international programs. She served for a decade (1986-1995) as the Executive Director of the California Confederation of the Arts, representing California artists, art educators, and arts organizations in Sacramento and Washington D.C. and developing cultural and educational policies. Her creative work includes being a writer and filmmaker. Her faculty appointments have been in creative writing, theatre, and political philosophy.

Nicole Magnuson, Program Coordinator

Nicole Magnuson has lived in Europe, Mexico, Canada, and on both US coasts, but always comes back to Berkeley. With two Cal degrees, she has managed environmental, arts, and educational nonprofit organizations, including campus appointments at UC Extension and the National Writing Project. She enjoys travel, food and cooking, and languages.

 

Satya Levine, Communications Coordinator

Satya joined OLLI in 2009, bringing a background in publishing, graphic design, and web media, as well as a passion for lifelong learning. A native of Sonoma County, Satya lived in Israel for many years before returning to the Bay Area in 2008. When not at OLLI, Satya pursues interests in health, gardening, and art.

Gerard Alcantara, Classroom Coordinator

Gerard returns to OLLI @Berkeley where he served as a Program Assistant from 2008–2009. Most recently, Gerard worked as a manager at a yoga retreat center in Hawaii. He has a background in mind-body health and has served in university administrative positions in California, Oregon, and Hawaii. He has worked in art galleries in New York City and also lived and taught in Europe. He loves travel, film, and good food.

Sandra von Doetinchem, Research Assistant

Sandra joined OLLI in March 2010. She holds a German diploma in educational sciences with a focus on adult education from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Her main research interests include older adult education, global lifelong learning and comparative adult education. She has worked for various universities and research institutions, including serving as a consultant for the German Institute for Adult Education (DIE), Bonn, Germany. Sandra is a certified mediator and a board member of the Students and Emerging Professionals Group (STEP) of the American Society on Aging.

Student Staff

Stephen Frianeza, class of 2016, is from Cerritos, CA, and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Alexander Lee, class of 2015, is from Valencia, California, and is majoring in Microbial Biology and Economics.

BriAnne Lynn, class of 2015, is from Colorado Springs, CO, and is majoring in Psychology and Political Science.

Alexis Nya, class of 2014, is from Douala, Cameroon, and is majoring in Statistics and minoring in Computer Science.

Christindaravy "Tina" Savong, class of 2013, is from Long Beach, CA, and is majoring Geography (Economy, Society, Culture.)

Julie Xiao

Wei Zhuo, Class of 2014, is from Guangzhou, China, and is majoring Bioengineering.