About Lynne Berrett
Fact: My top character strength is curiosity.
This quality has led me down many unexpected paths to the present moment.
Fact: I never graduated from high school. However, I earned an MA in English and completed coursework for a Ph.D. in Humanities at Syracuse University in my twenties.
Fact: In my forties, I earned a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work (MSW) from New York University, and a postgraduate certificate in Gestalt therapy.
Fact: In my mid-sixties, I trained as a coach with MentorCoach. I was on the leadership team of the MentorCoach Alliance for Positive Psychology for nine years, interviewing many researchers in that new field.
Fact: I have always cultivated variety. While teaching and counseling in higher education, I also had a private psychotherapy practice for adults and couples. I retired from psychotherapy practice in my mid-seventies, but continue actively coaching with a focus on wellbeing.
Fact: I discovered virtual worlds in my early seventies.
In 2013, I founded a wellbeing program known as “Whole Brain Health” in the virtual world of Second Life. My programs there and in other worlds are virtual arms of the Ageless Mind Project.
Fact: In 2015, Josh and I co-founded the 501(c )3 non-profit, “Ageless Mind Project.” The goal of the Ageless Mind Project was to collaborate and explore the links between our two disciplines. We had begun working together eight years before, founding the website “Music and Happiness.” There, we combined Josh’s knowledge of music with my understanding and experience with positive psychology. We offered many workshops and presentations under the “Music As Brain Food” title.
Fact: In 2021, I was honored to receive the “Thinkerer Award” at the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference in Second Life for leadership in virtual education.
I have served on the boards of both Non-profit Commons and the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium for many years in Second Life.
Fact: All of these experiences have allowed me to keep an open, flexible, and curious mind. At this time of my life, I am happy to say that I am still ready to follow new paths. I’m particularly interested in finding new ways to connect online worlds with physical reality. I am ready for my next adventure and hope you’ll join me.
About Joshua Berrett
Fact: I am an immigrant. I landed in the United States from my birthplace, Cape Town South Africa, a few months after I graduated from the University of Cape Town.
Fact: I started playing violin when I was about 8. I found my first teacher on my own. I still play violin in an intergenerational orchestra of accomplished amateurs and professionals.
Fact: In high school, I was on a national radio show in SA. I was a demon speller and fact-checker.
Fact: I have graduate degrees in Musicology: an MA from Columbia University and a PhD from the University of Michigan.
Fact: I began teaching music history and music appreciation classes asynchronously online in the early
1990s. I still teach The Sociology of Music online as Professor Emeritus of Music at Mercy College.
Fact: After I retired from teaching college, I began teaching for Lifetime Learners in Norwalk CT. COVID
moved the in-person classes online to Zoom. I like to use videos for a full-sense experience of music. My topics range from theme songs to Rodgers and Hammerstein to Duke Ellington.
Fact: I have published a number of articles and books on classical and jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong and J.J. Johnson. I am honored to be cited in many other major publications.
Fact: Since 2007 I have been presenting workshops to demonstrate how listening to music mindfully contributes to greater wellbeing. I enjoy developing music programs for the Ageless Mind Project. In our Creative Sparks school, my courses can be found under the title, “Music Is Brain Food.”
Fact: I love teaching about music. I enjoy helping listeners become aware of the craft that creates music we continue to enjoy long after it was written. There is a reason why some music lasts beyond its time.
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