Instructors

Are you interested in contributing your time and expertise by teaching a Samford After Sundown course? Is there a new topic that you believe there is high demand for and that Samford After Sundown is not currently offering? If so, please submit a Samford After Sundown Course Proposal Form.

Expert instructors are the heart of Samford After Sundown. Current faculty includes:

• Deanna Andrepont, B.S., owner of Andrepont Artwork; published photographer; experienced nature photographer; IT professional.
• George Atchley, B.S., planetarium director for Samford University 8½  years and lifelong stargazing enthusiast.
• Stuart Benjamin, Ch.F.C.; B.A. in Risk Management from University of Georgia; specializes in investments, retirement and estate planning with over thirty four years in financial planning practice; longtime instructor (almost twenty years)  at Samford After Sundown in retirement planning classes.
• Dj Boyd, longtime photographer and model
• Ken Boyd, B.S., M.B.A., award-winning publisher, photographer and writer
• Daniel Brooks, M.A., Samford University; long-time instructor at Samford in numerous antiques courses
• Roger Cole, M.M., M.Div., resident of Latin America for 22 years; experienced translator; Spanish language and culture teacher
• Larry Davenport, Ph.D., is a long-time biology professor at Samford.  In 2007, he was honored as the Alabama Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.  Davenport’s 2010 book, Nature Journal, was a finalist for the Philip D. Reed Memorial Award for Outstanding Writing on the Southern Environment.  His areas of scientific expertise include natural history (especially botany), plant taxonomy and wetlands, and he is the acknowledged authority on Alabama’s rare wildflower, the Cahaba Lily.
• Caroline Davis, B.A., longtime professional photographer; commercial studio business owner; worked in New York as an assistant photographer for worldfamous advertising and magazine photographers; underwater baptism photographer; recipient of two National Endowment of the Arts funded by Alabama state grants
• Bob Farley, B. of Journalism, former Birmingham Post-Herald Director of Photography; freelance photojournalist and documentary style portrait photographer; outdoor sports and nature enthusiast; currently photographing Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve for a book on its history.
• Donna K. Fitch, B.A., M.L.S.,16 years of web design experience.
• W. Mike Howell, B.S., M.S., Ph.D, 38 years of college teaching at Samford University and 2 years at Cornell University; specialties include: field and environmental studies on fishes, spiders and butterflies. Author of 2 books and 50 + peer-reviewed scientific papers.
• Cathy Teal Johnson, B.A., Ed.S., M.H.S., 30 years experience teaching high school Spanish; previous Spanish instructor at Auburn University and UAB; extensive travel and study abroad.
• Margaret King, M.A., experienced French and Italian language instructor
• Steve Logan, B.F.A., J.D., experienced graphic designer and calligrapher, former book and magazine publishing executive with Southern Progress Corporation.
• Callie Mauldin, B.A., has studied and performed improv over the course of the last ten years.  Most recently, she did an Intensive Improv Summer Workshop with The Second City Training Center in Chicago.  She has been a performing member of multiple improv groups in New York City,  Brooklyn and Birmingham, AL. She performs regularly with Birmingham's own Extemporaneous Theatre Company.
• Karen McDowell, D.D., M.M., B.S., B.M., featured in Portico magazine; classical and celtic violinist; certified Level 1 and Level 2 Yoga instructor; enthusiastic educator with more than 15 years of teaching experience
• Meg McKinney, B.A., M.A., longtime professional photographer; most recently staff photographer with Southern Living; prior experience with daily newspapers and corporate clients; specializes in on-location photography for travel, features and home interiors
• Mary McCullough,  associate professor of French and the director of the French program at Samford. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2001. She has been teaching French at the college level since 1992, and at Samford since 2001. She has also taught English at the University of Paris X and at the University of Tunis. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes, baking dog treats for her foster basset hounds, and knitting.
• Ellen McLaughlin, Ph.D., recently retired after 40 years of full-time teaching in the biology department at Samford; graduate of The State University of New York, The University of North Carolina and Emory University
• Suzanne Montgomery, B.A., Director & Instructor, Samford After Sundown.  Suzanne is a Birmingham native who completed her bachelor's degree at Birmingham-Southern College in 1986, and graduate work here at Samford. She brings a wealth of professional experiences, including teaching art, managing grants and programs at both MIT and Harvard but her real passion is art - creating unique hand built pottery and jewelry in her home studio.
• Mike Neilson, Ph.D., Photography Program Coordinator & Instructor, professor emeritus of geology, University of Alabama at Birmingham; award-winning digital photographer, web designer; founder of Mike Neilson Images
• Michael L. Nelson, experienced photographer; professional event consultant; owner of Michael L. Nelson Photography specializing in on-location event photography, corporate photography, weddings, and senior portraits.
• Douglas O'Neil, Jr., B.A., professional actor, improviser, and director with more than a decade of performance experience. Douglas is the founder and Chairman of Extemporaneous Theatre Company, Birmingham's premiere improvisational theatre company, and finalist for Birmingham's Best Theatre Troupe in both 2009 and 2010. He also proudly serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Theatre Downtown.
• Joe Primm, M.B.A., counseled thousands of clients at UAB Small Business Development Center; selected by the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce as its 2005 Small Business Advocate of the Year
• Allison Rhea, BFA, M. Ed, explored mixed-media techniques during her residency in Greensboro Alabama last summer. She has recently shown her work in Lite Box Gallery, 2nd Row Studio, and at Art Walk 2011. 
• Kim Riegel, M.A., owner of Kim Riegel Photography; published photographer; experienced photography exhibitor
• Michelle Reynolds, Board member and project manager of native plant restoration and rain garden projects at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve. Michelle gardens for wildlife as well as for beauty in her own yard. By documenting and sharing her nature discoveries to local garden clubs, native plant groups, Audubon Mountain Workshop, and on her blog Digging in the Dirt on Alabama Gardener's website, she hopes to spread the word that anyone can be a backyard ecologist.
• Fred Rogan, B.A., M.A., 30+ years in Human Resources, 10 years teaching HR and supervision classes. Electric guitar and pedal steel guitar enthusiast.
• Carolyn Sherer, M.S., award-winning photographer; exhibited internationally; over 20 years of teaching experience
•  Scott Thompson- B.A. Samford University 1998, MFA Academy of Art 2011.  Art instructor for many years at Samford After Sundown. Interest include western art, southwest art and landscapes.