Advisory Council

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.

Linda Butler grew up in Denver, Colorado, and earned a BA in Journalism from the University of Northern Colorado and an MA in Communications from the University of Colorado at Denver. She began her career in radio broadcasting and then worked at a public relations agency before jumping into corporate communications roles at Coors Brewing Co., Levi Strauss & Co., and Chevron Corp. Working at large, global companies gave her opportunities to travel extensively and engage with people from many different countries and cultures.

After living in eight states (AK, CA, CO, MN, MT, TX, UT, WY) and two countries (England, Singapore), Linda joined her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter in Boise upon her retirement in August 2017. She immediately became a member of the Osher Institute and attended her first lecture: a field trip to see some of the Oregon Trail spots. Engrossed in looking at the scenery, Linda managed to step in a gopher hole and sprain her ankle – a memorable start to her participation in Osher activities. She now volunteers on the Track Five Curriculum Committee, Marketing Committee, and Catalog Proofreading Committee. Linda volunteers with the Contra Costa County Genealogical Society and the Idaho/Boise chapter of the Daughters of the British Empire (a national philanthropic organization). She enjoys traveling, walking the Greenbelt, reading, researching her ancestors, attending plays, and visiting with her family, who now live in Indianapolis.

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.

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.

Rick Ogle is a retired, 14-year member of the Osher Institute. He has served on two of the Curriculum Committees, one as chair, and he is currently on the Volunteer Committee and the Faculty Grant Committee, the latter of which he chairs. He was also on the Osher Advisory Council for five years, serving two terms as chair.

Rick owned and managed Office Environment Company, the largest Steelcase dealer in Idaho for 18 years, and he served on the national Steelcase Dealer Council for three years. Before owning his own business, he worked in finance and marketing at Ore-Ida foods in Boise, a division of the H. J. Heinz Company, a Fortune 500 food company. He was a Trustee for The College of Idaho in Caldwell for 14 years and has been a member of several Boise service groups. He is looking forward to again serving on the Osher Advisory Council with the many highly qualified existing Council members. Rick’s interests are in cycling, weight training, golfing, and most of all, reading history and historical novels.

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.

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.

Deb Silva grew up in a small farming town near the Oregon border, attended college in Sacramento, and secured a degree in Communications. During college, she had internships at the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Women’s Clinic doing birth control counseling. Deb subsequently began a 37-year career in the insurance industry handling casualty claims involving high-profile and complex injury cases that would take her from California to Georgia and later to Idaho in 2006. One of these cases was profiled on Dateline called “Crossing the Line.” In December 2021, a transition to a new career began in consulting as an Insurance Analyst for litigated bad faith cases. In the fall of 2022, Deb joined the Osher Institute and is an avid member, serving on the Track Four Committee while also enjoying all the history, government, and current affairs classes available, SIGs such as the (Mostly) Foreign Films at The Flicks, events such as Fun Fridays at Osher: Popcorn and a Documentary, and making new friendships.

When not attending an Osher class, Deb can be found on her bike or out for a run.  She met her husband, Felix Silva, in April of 2016 while co-leading a club bike ride, and their first date was the day after she ran Robie Creek, where Felix just happened to be a volunteer. They married in December of 2017 and have two Westies, Marcos Seamus and Oliver (Ollie) Patrick.  When not at home, Deb and Felix can be found traveling around Europe or the U.S., enjoying wine in Walla Walla, or visiting family in Montana and Oregon.

Steve Villachica joined the Osher Institute in the summer of 2022 and became an active volunteer. He enjoys working with the members of the Osher Volunteer Committee and looks forward to chairing the committee starting this month. Steve says, “Our Curriculum Committees and the Osher staff do such a great job finding and bringing such a wide range of great presenters to us. And they do it again and again!” It’s hard for him to choose a favorite Osher class; a few that are high on his list include the recent “442nd Regimental Combat Team” and “Censorship and Book Banning in Idaho” lectures.

When he’s not busy at Osher, Steve works with graduates and graduate students in Boise State’s Organizational and Workplace Learning Program as part of the Process Management Lab (PML) that he co-founded with Rob Anson. The PML works with nonprofit and other community-serving organizations to help them improve their internal processes so they can grow their internal capacities to better meet their missions and serve their communities. In his spare time, Steve also enjoys cooking.