Member Toby Kusmer takes classes by Zoom from Brookline, Massachusetts. When asked how he came to Osher, Toby responded, “It was the plight of a retiree looking for meaning in his life.”
(Left: Antoinette Winkler-Prins, Right: Toby Kusmer)
A lawyer by trade, Toby retired in 2014 and decided to pursue a long-time interest in film. He took his first Zoom course in screenwriting from Yale University. This was followed by an Osher class at Brandeis University. Later, he taught a film class at Brandeis.
Toby joined Osher at JHU in 2021 after being introduced to the program by fellow JHU Osher member, Les Weinstein. “I feel really comfortable with the people at Hopkins, and the instructors are very receptive to student questions and comments,” he said. “My favorite courses are the film classes. I took a course with Sig Libowtiz on Clint Eastwood as a director, and it was excellent! I also like literature courses with Rob Jacobs and musical and theater courses with Dan Sherman.”
This semester, he’s taking a course on Broadway musicals taught by Sam and Candy Caponegro. “The problem that I’ve had this semester is that too many of my favorite classes are taught at the same time,” he said.
A true film buff, Toby enjoys attending film festivals. Last month he attended the Toronto Film Festival. He’s also attended the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the South by Southwest Film Festival.
Toby is also the proud father of two beautiful daughters and three, but soon to be four grandchildren.
New Osher at JHU member Antoinette Winkler-Prins recently retired as an executive at the National Science Foundation. “I am a scientist, a geographer, PhD, and have been faculty at Michigan State University and worked at Johns Hopkins directing the environmental and GIS programs. Although I am retired from full-time federal executive work, I am continuing work as a scholar and teacher,” she said.
Antoinette joined Osher to take classes and to meet people. “I’m only a few weeks in, but so far, so good,” she said. She prefers Zoom classes because she splits her time between northern Michigan and Washington, D.C.
Antoinette’s interest in geography began at a young age. “As the daughter of a Dutch foreign service diplomat, with parents living in different corners of the world, I spent much of my youth looking out of airplane windows wondering about the patterns below. I was lucky enough to attend British and Canadian schools where geography was taken seriously. The walls in my girlhood room were covered with National Geographic maps,” she said.
Lucky for JHU members, Antoinette will be sharing her knowledge by teaching a class on sustainable food systems during the spring session. In January, she will give a lecture on the past and future of the Amazon region.
Antoinette is an avid traveler and, with her husband, she likes to bicycle tour. “Many years ago, we did a bicycle trip along the Oregon and California coasts and several years later, we bicycled across the U.S.,” she said. “Now we do shorter routes, but we still get out there.”
Welcome to Antoinette as a member and an instructor!