Joe Blaszczak
Member / Event Captain

Joe moved to beautiful Kirkland, Washington from Tucson, Arizona in 2006.  He is the owner of PCM Business Solutions, Inc. which produces Muriel's Scottish Gaelic Levels 1-4 and retails them through GaelicBooks.US.  For his day job, he works in the information technology and project management fields and considers himself a bit of a computer geek.  When not behind his desk Joe can be found out in the garden on bright, sunny days or doing odd jobs around the house.  Joe and his partner Geoff have a large 85-pound lap dog named Roscoe who tries desperately to eat them out of house and home.

Nina Chambers
Member / Event Captain

An enthusiastic Gaidhlig learner, she is excited to be joining EdComm.

Nina Chambers, currently a middle school librarian in Seattle Schools, has worked in Cataloging at both University of New Mexico & UW libraries, and taught French, Spanish, & World Languages exploratory at N. Whidbey Jr. High.  Inspired by Hawaiian language & cultural tradition-bearers, she took advantage of the opportunity to explore her own cultural roots through Slighe nan Gaidheal.  She is a graduate of SnG's Zero to Gaelic program, participated in Féis Shiàtail 2006 & 2008 & is an ongoing Gaidhlig student of Rich Hill.

Judith Cummings
Member / Event Captain

Also guest presenter!

Judith Peacock Cummings was born near Glasgow, Scotland. She took up the violin at the age of 7 and the clàrsach (Scottish harp) when she was 15. In 1984 she joined The Whistlebinkies and has made several recordings with the group, appeared on national and foreign radio and television, and toured Sweden, France, Germany, Iceland, China, Ireland and the U.S.A.

Judith is a fluent speaker of the Scottish Gaelic language and has a special interest in Gaelic music and the old traditional songs. She has won numerous prizes at local and national Gaelic music festivals for both clàrsach and traditional singing, including the gold medal for traditional singing at the Royal National Mòd in Scotland in 2000. She is one of only a handful of musicians who teach the clàrsach through the medium of Gaelic.

Gary Ingle
Member

Also serves on informal translation panel.

Gary has had a lifelong interest in music, language, science, and the science of language. As a child he sang soprano in a church choir, and was fascinated by the multilingual instructions on dressmaking patterns as his mother sewed clothing for a large family back on the farm in Kansas. He began to study Spanish in school at age 12, moved on to French the following year, and never lost this obsession with other tongues even while working on a pair of mathematics degrees and following a dual career in medical electronics and college teaching.

Gary's interest in Gaelic started with a copy of Maclaren's Gaelic Self Taught that he ran across in the early '70s. He joined the internet forum GAELIC-L in 1991. In 1997 he obtained his Mòd Naiseanta fluency card while singing at the Inverness Mòd with the quartet "Co-shruthadh." Gary was active behind the scenes with Slighe nan Gaidheal, the Educaton Committee, and Seirm from their inception, and regularly writes for Am Bradan Fiosa.

Nancy Neveln
Secretary

Also the provider of yummy morning snacks at Zero to Gaelic intensive days!

need bio for Nancy

Ted Neveln
Publicity / Event Captain

Also creator of the Z2G Table of Correspondences!

Ted's interest in the Gaelic language began with the Book of Kells and Celtic art. Next he discovered the music, and finally, the beauties of the Gaelic language. He wants to become bilingual, but finds studying the language with SnG to be fun in its own right.

He has no Scottish ancestry but believes that Celtic culture merits study and appreciation by all people.

He has a Master's Degree in Library Science, and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a split minor in Oriental Studies and English. He edits and indexes books and online software manuals.

Geoff Sammons
Member

Also guest presenter

Geoff started learning Scottish Gaelic in 1993 with Muriel Fisher in Tucson, Arizona. After taking private lessons, he took seven semesters of Gaelic with Muriel at the University of Arizona. Following that, he helped provide tutoring to Muriel’s students and taught some of her classes when she was called to locations worldwide to teach Gaelic. Currently, Geoff works with Muriel to produce, sell, and distribute her educational materials.

Geoff became involved with Slighe nan Gaidheal after meeting Rich Hill at a Gaelic event in Richmond, Virginia. Rich and Geoff conspired to bring Muriel to Seattle to teach at a Gaelic Camp. After relocating back to his native Pacific Nortwest, Geoff ran  for and was elected to Slighe nan Gaidheal’s Board of Directors.

Geoff has served on the Féis Committee’s in 2006 and 2008, the 10th Anniversary Celebration Committee, and taught at three Gaelic Intensive Days. Geoff is currently the Treasurer for Slighe nan Gaidheal and recently began playing Camanachd with the Washington Camanachd Club.

Chas H.W. Talbot
Chair

Chas' lifelong interest in things Scottish took a Gaelic turn in 1997, when he joined Slighe nan Gaidhieal.

He is a graduate of Whitman College and of Harvard Law School. In addition to active participation in Slighe nan Gaidheal, he is Chairman of the Finance Committee and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rainier Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation. He also serves on the Board of Seattle Council on Airport Affairs. An ardent gardener, he is building a collection of heather and heath.

He is a past president of the Cascade Cactus & Succulent Society.