In 2019, when the Chesapeake Forum (then the Academy for Lifelong Learning) left its home base of 15 years, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, to chart a new future, it was reasonable for the leadership team at the time to worry about its prospects.
While for many years, the ALL has proven to be successful in many ways, including the number of courses offered and robust student enrollment, the volunteer organization had to rebrand itself, find convenient meeting space, and then navigate the unprecedented changes that the COVID pandemic caused in 2020.
But as Chesapeake Forum’s long-serving treasurer, James Adams, and newly elected board president, Claudia Dziobek, note in their Spy interview from a few weeks ago, the lifetime learning organization’s future has never looked brighter. Starting with the selection of Lynn Randle as CF’s first executive director and then adding that enrollment has returned to pre-COVID levels, a permanent classroom is now operational with a special partnership with the YMCA, and the challenge for the board is managing this growth.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Chesapeake Forum and program please go here.
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