Advisory Council

Cindy Anson worked at Boise State University for nearly 30 years before retiring in December 2016. She was hired to oversee the development of the first campus-wide academic advising center.

Her career focus shifted after she began working on business process improvement teams to prepare for a new campus information system. This led to a position in the Provost’s office managing projects and facilitating meetings. More importantly, it led to meeting her husband, Rob Anson, a professor of information technology. She remained in the Provost’s office, where she added a variety of assignments to her portfolio.

Her best retirement gift was a membership in the Osher Institute. In addition to taking Osher classes, Cindy and Rob enjoy traveling independently and with tour groups. At home, you will most likely find her with her nose in a mystery novel or hunting up new recipes for Rob to prepare.

Bae Emilson has been a longtime and active member of the Osher Institute at Boise State and has served on multiple committees. An upstate New York native, she also has resided in Illinois, Indiana, California, Oregon, and Washington, DC. She received a BA in Psychology from SUNY Buffalo and an MA in Organization Development from Loyola University. Bae enjoys volunteering around the Boise community at places such as St. Luke’s, the Morrison Center, and Opera Idaho.

Tom grew up in Indiana and Illinois. He earned a BA in geography and history from Valparaiso University and a MA and PhD in geography from the University of Minnesota. He worked at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul for a decade and at the National Science Foundation in the Washington DC area for 30 years. While at NSF, Tom helped manage competitions seeking funding for basic research in geography, human-environmental interaction, and other interdisciplinary topics. He was co-author of widely used world geography secondary-school textbook, and he was active in a number of professional organizations, including service as the President of the American Association of Geographers.

Following his retirement from NSF, Tom and his wife, Kathryn, moved to Meridian in 2019. Since becoming an active member of the Osher Institute, Tom has renewed his interests in creative writing, reading mysteries and other literary genres, and learning more about Idaho and a diverse set of other topics. In addition to becoming a member of the Osher Advisory Council in July 2023, Tom chairs the Curriculum Track Three Committee, which strives to identify exciting presenters and programs related to the environment and natural sciences.

Michael was a professor in the College of Business and Economics at Boise State University, where he taught courses on legal and ethical issues in business for 30 years. Professor Bixby retired in 2012, but he continued to teach one, seven-week MBA law class online for the next six years as a Professor Emeritus. During his career, Michael won several teaching awards and wrote two textbooks and many academic articles. He also was selected to teach four times in the Boise State/USAC Studies Abroad program, spending one semester each in Spain (Basque Country), Chile, Italy, and China.

Michael grew up in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan for both undergrad and law school. While at U of M, he met Sharon, who was from Idaho and a student in music. After graduating from law school in 1968, Michael and Sharon were married and joined the Peace Corps, serving two years as volunteers in Jamaica. Returning to the U.S., Michael practiced law in Michigan for 11 years, both as a legal services attorney and program director, and in private practice. He and Sharon came to Idaho most summer vacations to hike and camp in the Sawtooths and visit her family. When he was offered the faculty position at Boise State in 1981, they packed up their two young sons and headed to Boise, where they’ve spent the past 40 years.

Now fully retired, Michael enjoys hiking, golf, reading, music, travel (when possible), and spending time with his family—being a grandpa is really fun! He and Sharon are also very involved with the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights and serve as docents at the Anne Frank Memorial. Michael has enjoyed the Osher Institute from near the beginning, when it was the Renaissance Institute, both as an attendee and a presenter.

Chuck Folkner received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Mexico and his Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wyoming. He worked at the Hanford Nuclear Site managing nuclear waste and as a civilian Nuclear Engineer at the U.S. Navy’s Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. At the Shipyard, Chuck was assigned to automate the process of managing radiation dosimeters, despite being unqualified for the job. He continued to take on computer-related work, spending less time at his nuclear engineering desk, and after several years he was transferred to the computing department. In 1997, he was offered a job at the then-relatively-small Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle. With the exception of a brief stint at a dot com internet startup, he spent the rest of his working career at Starbucks in coffee business computing.

In 2012, he retired and joined his brother, sister, and mom in decidedly sunnier Boise, where he travels, walks the dog, and completes the occasional home project. Chuck has taught for the Osher Institute on more than one occasion, leading members through topics including the history of coffee, Mars, autonomous vehicles, and Thomas Friedman’s book, Thank You for Being Late.

Bob served in public schools for 23 years as an elementary teacher in Boise at Central and Longfellow Schools, and later as Superintendent in Glenns Ferry and Emmett. He also served three years as a Superintendent/Principal on Sauvies Island outside of Portland, Oregon. He earned his BA and MA in Elementary Education at Idaho State and Boise State respectively and Ed. Specialist and EdD from the University of Idaho. He also received both his Principal and Superintendent’s Certification at the University of Oregon.

Bob had a second career in Catholic education serving as Superintendent for the Diocese of Boise, and as a Catholic School principal in Vancouver, Washington at Our Lady of Lourdes. He completed his working career for the Diocese of Boise serving as Director of Human Resources where he also oversaw Child, Youth and Adult Protection services. He retired in 2015 after a total of 45 years serving both public and Catholic education.

Bob celebrated 50 years of marriage with his wife, Toni, in June 2023 in Costa Rica accompanied with their three adult children and their spouses and three grandsons. He is also involved as an Ambassador for Braver Angels, an organization dedicated to civility in political discourse. Bob enjoys Osher’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs), including Personal Writing and Make Your Family Tree Better, and he also serves as a facilitator for the (Mostly) Foreign Films at The Flicks SIG each month.

Dennis Hall moved to Boise from Billings, Montana, in October 2016. Shortly after moving, Dennis and his wife, Robyn Butler-Hall, were introduced to the Osher Institute by their new neighbors. They joined Osher in spring of 2017 and say that it’s one of the many things they love about Boise. Dennis has two sons and daughters-in-law and four grandchildren, half each in Seattle and Boise.

Prior to his retirement, Dennis was an investment advisor for over 25 years. Most of his previous volunteer activity has concerned youth, education, and public radio, and he has since become involved with Boise State Public Radio and the Armenians of Idaho.

Rod McLean split his 43-year career between two highly respected, century-old furniture companies in New York. He was named President of the Harden Furniture Company in 1989 and, in 1995, he joined Stickley Furniture where he founded and became President of Stickley Fine Upholstery.

After retiring in 2014, Rod and his wife, Darryl, moved to Boise to be near their grandkids. Three of their four sons settled in the Northwest, and their frequent visits to family in Boise made them realize it would be the perfect place for their retirement adventure. Rod is an active volunteer at St. Luke’s Pediatrics and the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline.

Sharon Moses pursued her professional career in and around Washington, DC. She logged many miles walking the halls of federal government agencies, selling and conducting management training programs for Xerox Learning Systems. After completing her MBA she moved into financial services, first for U.S. Leasing and then with AT&T Capital. There she continued to work with federal agencies, providing financing for large computer and telecommunications purchases. At AT&T Capital she managed a group dedicated to federal marketing, contracting, and billing.

The sale of the company in 1996 afforded Sharon and her family the opportunity to leave the urban east for a more relaxed lifestyle in Boise. Here she quickly took up tennis and enjoyed a life of leisure before eventually returning to work in the mortgage and commercial lending field, finally retiring from U.S. Bank. Sharon is frequently found on the tennis courts, but also likes to hike, play bridge, attend cultural performances, and read a good book.

Rainey Pieters retired in 2010 after working for 36 years in the Boise School District. She was first hired as a math teacher at Boise High School, moved to Timberline High upon its opening for two years, and then moved to the district office where she served as the mathematics supervisor for 10 years.

Rainey is a volunteer at a local pantry and is a CapEd Credit Union board member where she first served on the supervisory committee and later as the treasurer. She is an avid Osher Institute member and credits Osher with providing a variety of classes, top-notch instructors, and curious classmates—an ideal addition to retirement.

Chuck Robertson is a native Idahoan who earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Idaho and a Doctor of Medicine from the Washington University in St. Louis. After fellowships in vascular radiology and teaching radiology, he and his wife, Dianne, moved to Boise where he served as Director of Radiology at St. Luke’s in Boise. Chuck became interested in the detection of breast cancer and specialized in breast imaging (mammography, ultrasound, biopsies, etc.). He spent a sabbatical year teaching breast imaging as a Harvard University faculty member at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and he also spent two afternoons a week as a volunteer premedical advisor at Boise State University.

While at Boise State, he realized that many people in Idaho didn’t appreciate the university’s faculty. He became involved with a group of friends and faculty to create the Renaissance Institute, an effort to acquaint “town and gown” through informal lectures. This group grew to become the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University that we know today.

Since moving to Boise in 1980, Diane has served as a member and/or officer on the founding boards of the City Club of Boise, The Cabin, Idaho Nonprofit Center, Julia Davis Park Second Century Committee, Boise Front Coalition, Boise Neighborhood Alliance, Idaho Photographic Workshop, The Fund for Idaho, Boise at Home, Boise Working Together, Idaho Advocates for Community Transportation, and Friends of Military Reserve. When the Renaissance Institute came into being, she jumped into it with Joyce Harvey-Morgan and soon was helping former Director Ellie McKinnon find speakers and locations for classes. Diane has taken Osher classes for years and has taught a few, and she serves on the Osher Curriculum Track Four Committee. She also is part of the City Club after-hours program committee. Her current focus is launching the NeighborWorks Boise HomeShare Hub. She served on the Boise City Arts Commission (three terms, 1980s and 90s) and the Boise Planning and Zoning Commission (1994-98), when they wrote and enacted the first Boise City Public Arts Plan.

Professionally, Diane has been a legal secretary and court clerk; magazine editor (Idaho Wildlife); and freelance writer, editor, and photographer. Her “society column without the crinoline” ran weekly in the Idaho Statesman from 1998-2010. She has created and shown photographic art since 1978.

Diane was born and raised in Denver, CO, graduated with a BA in Communications from Stanford University, and left the Bay Area in 1972 for Twin Falls, ID. It was a culture shock, but she learned that people are pretty much the same everywhere, and most of them are good.