Meet the Instructors

The instructors for our courses include current and retired Wesleyan faculty members who live in the Middletown area, alumni/ae,  and local professionals—artists, clergy, curators, scholars, scientists, writers, and other experts—who have no formal affiliation with Wesleyan but are pleased to share their knowledge, experience, and perspectives with our students.

  • Andrea Aron

    Andrea Aron is a jewelry artist and educator who received her BA in Art Education from the College of New Jersey and her MA in Art Education from Rhode Island School of Design. She teaches adult and teen jewelry classes at Wesleyan Potters, as well as specialty workshops, most recently in cloisonne. She exhibits her work, including at a recent featured artist show at CT River Artisans Cooperative. She was named a Connecticut Arts Hero in 2019 by the Connecticut Office of the Arts.

  • Stephen Bank

    stephenbank88@gmail.com

    Stephen Bank, psychotherapist, former Adjunct Professor of Psychology, co –author The Sibling Bond, author Hamlet-The Sequel. The course Psychological Perspectives on Hamlet expresses Steve’s life-long interest in using psychology to help people understand their lives and their relationships.

  • Chad Floyd

    floyd@centerbrook.com

    Chad Floyd's projects around the country in academia, the arts, and civic architecture include the Palmer Events Center in Austin, Texas; Liberty Memorial in Virginia that honors those who lost their lives on 9/11; Maud Gatewood Hall at the University of North Carolina; an expansion and renovation of the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts; Krieble Gallery at the Florence Griswold Museum; Almetris Duren Hall at the University of Texas at Austin; new studio arts and athletics buildings at Colgate University; a master plan and two new academic buildings for St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas; a master plan and expansion of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center; a new academic and dining building for the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College; renovation of the Garde Arts Center in Connecticut; and new and renovated science buildings along with the new Floren Varsity Field House at Dartmouth College.

  • Richard Friswell

    rfriswell@wesleyan.edu

    Richard Friswell is a cultural historian who lectures widely on topics related to Modernism and the modern era in world history.  Underpinning his cultural-historical approach to art history is the notion that the art, literature, and social history of nations are interrelated.  His recent publications include Balancing Act: Postcards from the Edge of Risk and Reward (2017) and Hudson River Chronicles: In Search of the Splendid & Sublime on America's 'First' River (2019).  His historical novel, Merchants of Deceit: American Fortune & the China Trade (Fall 2021) deals with the experiences of the Middletown merchant Samuel Russell in Canton, China.

  • Shawn Hansen

    Shawn Hansen is a ceramic artist and educator based in central Connecticut. He received his BA in Studio Art from Hartwick College and attended post-baccalaureate studies at University of Hartford. He has completed artist’s residencies at The Hambridge Center and at Wesleyan Potters. He teaches adult and youth classes at Wesleyan Potters, and at other studios in Connecticut. Shawn’s unique work explores the connections between society, food, and gathering through the fantastical world of his imaginary friend, Charlie Reckles.

  • Erik Hesselberg

    erikhesselberg@comcast.net

    Erik Hesselberg has been writing about the Connecticut River for 20 years, first as an environmental reporter for the Middletown Press, and after as executive editor of Shore Line Newspapers in Guilford, where he oversaw 20 weekly newspapers from Old Lyme to Stratford, CT. He was president of the Middlesex County Historical Society and developed the award-winning exhibit “A Vanished Port,” on the Connecticut River’s ties to the slave economy of the Caribbean islands. His writings have appeared in Wesleyan Magazine, the Hartford Courant, Estuary Magazine, and on his blog, Voicesontheriver.com. He lives in Haddam, CT.

  • Rhea Higgins

    rhiggins@wesleyan.edu

    Rhea Padis Higgins taught for many years in the art history department in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Hartford. She holds a BA from Smith College and an MAT from Harvard. From 1986 to 2002 she also taught at Wesleyan in Graduate Liberal Studies. Her particular area of expertise is 19th-century European painting, with an emphasis on post-Impressionist artists, but her knowledge of art ranges from classical antiquity to the present.

  • Kimberly Behre Kenna

    kimkenna@yahoo.com

    After years of teaching fifth grade, Kimberly returned to school for her MA in creative writing from Wilkes University. Each of her books features a brave girl protagonist whose love of nature helps her find her voice and stand up for her beliefs. Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade was short-listed for the Green Earth Book Award and was a National Indies Excellence finalist. Jett Jamison and the Secret Storm received the Nautilus Book Award and the Eric Hoffer Award. Born, raised, and still living on the Connecticut shoreline, Kimberly is always inspired by the power of play, thoughtful questions, and a lifelong belief in nature’s ability to heal.

  • Richard Little

    rdlittle2000@aol.com

    Richard Little has led "Fantastic Landscapes Tours" for almost 4 decades, inspired by the eruption  of Mt. St. Helens.  While he no longer provides "distance" tours, Professor Little still leads local excursions. His books and videos have been used by thousands and are on the Massachusetts State Geology reading list.

  • Vicky McCarthy

    vmccarthy@northeastwoodsales.com

    Vicky McCarthy is a Connecticut licensed arborist who works full time at SavATree in the Ridgefield territory. She is also a beekeeper and master gardener. As a UConn horticultural professional she taught at Middlesex Extension in Haddam, sharing garden education including The Enclosed Garden with an accompanying trip to the Cloisters and other edutainment classes. Vicky is an arboriculture and gardening contributor on the Lisa Wexler Show on WICC. When she is not working you can find her in her garden.

  • Tom F. Olson

    tfolson@comcast.net

    Thomas F. Olson, Deputy, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Groton, Connecticut, is a native of Libertyville, Illinois, and a 1973 graduate of Bradley University. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Design from Bradley, a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Masters in Business Administration Degree from Marymount University.

  • Natalie Pittman

    Natalie Pittman is a ceramic artist and educator who also serves as the Studio Manager at Wesleyan Potters. She earned her BA in Fine Arts/Ceramics from The University of Hartford. She has been affiliated with Wesleyan Potters since 2015, where she teaches adult pottery classes and continues in her own work to explore the layering of designs and patterns in the creation of functional forms. Natalie’s most recent show, “Nice Ash!,” featured examples of her wood-fired work.

  • Laura Pirie

    laura@pirieassociates.com

    Laura Pirie, AIA, who for over 28 years has designed and implemented thoughtful and integrated built environments, is the principal of Pirie Associates Architects. Her work across the country includes extensive, award-winning experience with museum, performing art, institutional, commercial/retail, and residential structures, as well as community visioning and urban design.

  • Karl Stocker

    stockerk@easternct.edu

    Karl Stocker has been teaching Philosophy at Eastern Connecticut State University for 20 years, and is currently serving as the director of the Philosophy program at Eastern. Karl was instrumental in the development of a Philosophy major at Eastern, and has overseen the growth of the philosophy program there to an enrollment rate that is the highest in the state. Emphasizing the social and intellectual benefits of studying Philosophy, he was recently awarded Eastern’s Excellence Award for Outstanding Teaching. His teaching and research interests are broad but include critical analysis, ethics, justice, political philosophy, and the philosophy of mind. Recently, Karl has launched an initiative both at Eastern and at nearby elementary schools to practice Philosophy with children.

  • Robert S. Wolff

    Dr. Robert S. Wolff joined the faculty of the Department of History at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in 1997, and served as its Chair between 2003 and 2006. From 2007 until 2012, he served as Assistant to the Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. In 2014-2015, he served as Acting Chair of the Department of Theatre at CCSU. His research includes the history of American education, African enslavement in the Americas, and the popular memory of slavery & abolition.