Life-Long Learning Series
Professional Associates

Pauli Murray was an attorney, civil and women’s rights activist, Episcopal priest, poet and life-long friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. She has been described as “the most influential American that you never heard of.” Our Chautauqua speaker Becky Stone gives an in-depth portrayal of Pauli Murray and then takes questions from the audience while still in character.

Step into the world of America’s founding with Brian “Fox” Ellis as he brings John Adams to life in a dynamic historical performance that explores Adams’s role in shaping the Declaration of Independence and securing the nation’s future. Blending storytelling, scholarship, and audience interaction, Ellis invites the audience to lively conversation about liberty, civic responsibility, and the enduring meaning of American democracy. 

Elizabeth Philbrick, CEO of EsoTerra Cidery and Winery, will explore the multicultural history of fruit growing in Southwest Colorado. Indigenous knowledge, Spanish settlement, immigrant traditions, and pioneer orchards shaped a remarkable agricultural landscape. From heritage apple trees tucked among old homesteads to high-altitude vineyards and resilient drylands practices, this region carries the story of place-based ingenuity. Learn how today’s generation can spark a vibrant resurgence in Southwest Colorado’s agriculture. 

Public Lands Professional and Public Historian Eric Leonard will describe Southeast Colorado’s three national historic sites: Amache, Sand Creek Massacre, and the Bent’s Old Fort. Established between 1960 and 2024, these parks tell a cohesive 100-year story of westward expansion, resource extraction, persecution, and displacement. This program will explore how and why they were established, and what each park says about the American moment in which it was preserved.

Before Colorado appeared on maps, it was a vast, largely uncharted landscape known only to its Native inhabitants. Map authority and collector Wesley Brown will trace the remarkable expeditions of Fathers Dominguez and Escalante, Governor Juan Bautista de Anza, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, and Major Stephen Long. These pioneering journeys of the late 1700s and early 1800s transformed the unknown into the earliest printed maps that would become Colorado, revealing the dramatic “before and after” story of exploration and cartography.

Waves surround us; we could not hear Beethoven and the Beatles or watch Ted Lasso without them. Waves also comprise us; at the subatomic level they are, perhaps, all we are. Retired engineer Chuck Carson will discuss their nature, from the ripples on the surface of a puddle and the vibrations of a guitar string to mysterious secrets of the invisible. And, yes, we will do “the wave”.

Former radio broadcaster Bob Griffith will present an entertaining multi-media talk that revisits the myth, music, and amazing cultural contributions of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The Beatles’ popularity among today’s older and younger generations is both enduring and remarkable. Join Bob as he explores the magic that is the Beatles.

Artificial intelligence is entering a new era, moving beyond answering questions to taking action. Join FLC Professor Tomasz Miaskiewicz for a clear, jargon-free introduction to agentic AI. He will begin with the fundamentals, then explain how AI is evolving from chatbots to intelligent agents, with practical examples that reveal what this transformation means for the future of work and everyday life.

Since John Roberts became Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Court has ruled on many important issues. A number of long-standing precedents have been overturned, while others have been upheld. Retired Wyoming Circuit Court Judge Roberta Coates will analyze the legal theories behind these cases and their impacts within the judicial system.

What really happens during open-heart surgery? Retired Registered Nurse and cardiovascular specialist Deborah Baldwin takes you inside the operating room, explaining the people, technology, and procedures behind this remarkable feat of modern medicine. Whether for yourself or a loved one, you’ll gain valuable insight, understanding, and reassurance.

Humanism in medicine prioritizes human values, dignity, and individual preferences in the delivery of health care. Dr. Don Cooke will explore the history of humanism and its relationship with medicine from ancient times through the Renaissance and Enlightenment and into the 21st century. The discussion will include challenges to humanistic principles in the climate of current health care delivery.

This non-technical talk will follow the development of the CT Scanner from its precursors to the first medical scan in 1972 and its introduction to the United States the following year. Michael Silver, who holds a PhD in Physics, will focus on the contributions of British Electrical Engineer and Nobel Laureate Godfrey Hounsfield, a man with neither a background in medicine nor medical research, yet developed the diagnostic technique of X-ray computed tomography.

Ecosystem ecologist Dr. Colin Tucker explores the surprising connection between Colorado’s alpine tundra and the deserts of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Discover how hardy cryptobiotic biocrusts—communities of mosses, lichens, and bacteria—thrive in both harsh environments, stabilizing soils, reducing dust, and playing an important role in ecosystems from desert floors to 13,000-foot mountaintops.