Each spring and fall term, OLLI offers an 8-week SAGE lecture series featuring a diverse and engaging set of speakers who explore contemporary issues and evolving cultural activities.
SAGE Lecture Series: Spring 2026
DATES: March 17 – May 5
TIME: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
LOCATION:
- In person: USM Portland Campus, Wishcamper Room 133.
- Online: Via Zoom. A link will be emailed to registered attendees the Monday before each lecture.
COST:
- $15 per lecture. Register for individual lectures via our online registration system or cash-only payments at the door. Membership not required.
- OLLI members can pre-register for the entire series for just $60 (eight lectures for the price of five!).
Registration now open!
Dr. Nirav Shah
The State of Public Health in Maine
We kick off our program series with Dr. Nirav Shah, former head of Maine’s CDC and the Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–the agency’s second in command. Dr. Shah will discuss the state of public health, including pandemic preparedness, in the U.S., globally, and in Maine, and what you can do to stay safe.
Joanne Bollinger
WISE Zambia: A Maine-born Education Nonprofit Making an Outsized Impact in Rural Zambia
SAGE welcomes Joanne Bollinger, Board Co-Chair at WISE (Women’s Initiatives that Strengthen and Empower) Zambia, a Maine non-profit with the mission of moving vulnerable women and children in Zambia toward self-sustaining lives. Joanne delights us with her story of an 80-year-old woman who travels in a campervan around the U.S. and Canada sharing the story and mission of WISE.
Cheryl White
Letters of Laughter and Loss
Maine author Cheryl White shares her journey through memories of a couple’s life together after her husband’s sudden death following 46 years of marriage. Letters of Laughter and Loss explores finding a future in spite of the grief one experiences from a loss. Cheryl leads us through a story of life’s infinite biography with OLLI’s Joan Chadbourne as interviewer. A story that touches one’s soul.
Additional upcoming lectures
April 7 – Building Trust Across Continents: What We Learn From the Peace Corps (Jody Olson, Former Director, Peace Corps)
April 14 – Protecting the Environmental Health of Casco Bay (Will Everitt, Executive Director, Friends of Casco Bay)
April 21 – Why Has Portland Become so Successful with Its Minor League Sports Teams? (Travis Lazarczyk, sportswriter and columnist)
April 28 – Finding Your Creative Life Through Words (Jule Selbo, novelist, playwright, professional screenwriter)
May 5 – Building a Maine Economy That Works for Everyone (Betsy Biemann, Chief Executive Officer, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.)
SAGE+ Presents:
Reimagining Shakespeare After 400 Years
Katelyn Manfre
Thursday, April 23, 6 p.m.; Wishcamper Center room 133
Free & open to the public.
Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday! What inspires contemporary theatrical companies to perform Shakespeare’s plays? Why do we still find them fascinating? Delve behind the scenes of the creative process and explore Shakespeare through a contemporary lens with Katelyn Manfre, board member of Portland’s Fenix Theatre Company which has been producing free Shakespeare in the Park for 18 summers. This summer Fenix will perform Henry IV, Part One. Portland’s Fenix Theatre Company presents this special lecture with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. To register, call the OLLI office at (207) 780-4406. Seats are limited.
Thank you to the Program Planning Committee that planned our Spring 2026 season!
Home page photo by Stephan Hinni on Unsplash.