Continuing Education Committee

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Overview of the Continuing Education Committee (CEC)

The Continuing Education Committee’s (CEC) mission is to provide educational opportunities to the residents of Riderwood.

The Riderwood Continuing Education Committee facilitates the Seasoned Adults Growing Educationally (SAGE) program that offers a variety of classes to Riderwood residents that are intellectually and personally enriching and varied in content and levels of presentation.

The CEC focuses on three main projects:

• Prince George’s Community College SAGE Program
•  Short Courses
• Special Speaker Programs

At-a-Glance Important Upcoming Dates

Monday, October 26: Riderwood PGCC Spring 2027 Catalog available at Front Desks and Online

Wednesday, October 28: Enrollment & Password Help Session, 9:00 to 11:00 am in the TNC Celebrations room

Monday, November 9: Registration Day, Assistance provided from 9:00 to 11:00 am in the TNC Celebrations Room

Monday, January 25: Start of the Spring 2027 semester

For more information, contact Sydney Siegel, Community Resources Coordinator, or committee co-chairs Nilesh Chokshi or Popsy Kanagaratnam.

Note: Contact information for Sydney Siegel, Community Resources Coordinator can be found on MyErickson or the Riderwood Yellow Pages for staff. Contact information for all members of the committee can be found on MyErickson or the Riderwood Resident Directory.

Prince George’s Community College SAGE Program

We partner with Resident Life and Prince George’s Community College to offer courses in its SAGE program. Each Spring, Summer, and Fall SAGE offers on campus courses. From the PGCC website: “Seasoned Adults Growing Educationally” (SAGE) is a program for senior adults aged 60 and older. The program offers a variety of stimulating courses at locations throughout Prince George’s County and virtually via Zoom. The program makes it easy for seniors to stay active, and it’s affordable. Older adults aged 60 and older who live in Maryland pay a $40 per class registration fee.

Courses are offered each Spring, Summer, and Fall here at Riderwood. Students need to pay $40 per course.

About one month before the start of each semester a new catalog is published online at MyErickson (under Resident Resources) and RiderwoodLife.com (under CEC) and paper copies are available at each neighborhood’s front desk. Registration information is included in the catalog. The Committee also advertises information through community bulletin boards, the Riderwood Reporter and cubby stuffing.

CEC’s Useful Terms and Links for Prince George’s Community College (PGCC):

• PGCC: Prince George’s Community College
• SAGE: Seasoned Adults Growing Educationally; a tuition-free program for seniors 60 and older through PGCC
• CEC: Continuing Education Committee; a Riderwood committee that works with the PGCC SAGE program to offer classes at Riderwood
• Enroll: become a PGCC student
• Register: sign up for a class

Coming soon: Riderwood’s catalog of classes and updated instruction packets.

PGCC SAGE County-Wide Catalog – Spring 2027

New students (who have never taken a PGCC class before) must enroll before Registration Day. Enrolling in PGCC’s SAGE Program. NOTE: If you wish to register online (instead of coming in person on Registration Day) and pay online with a credit card, you must follow the directions for setting up your MyPGCC account. Please do this as far ahead of Registration Day as you can. If you need help, you can attend the Enrollment & Password Help Session (see above for the session date).

Returning students who wish to register online and pay online must update their password every 90 days. Usernames stay the same. Please do this as far ahead of Registration Day as you can. Retrieving Your Username and Updating Your Password – Fall 2026.

Registering for PGCC SAGE Classes – Fall 2026. NOTE: This document is only needed for those students registering online.

YouTube: How to Register for Classes at PGCC – A Step-by-Step Guide

If you have questions before Registration Day, please reach out to: Sydney Siegel Community Resources Coordinator 301-572-8392; Sydney.Siegel@erickson.com Office location: Town Center, across from the mailboxes

Short Courses

Click to go to Short Courses Information

Speaker Programs

The Committee also sponsors presentations on individual topics.

Past programs have included presentations on Formidable: Women, and the Fight for Equality, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World,  The Code Girls, Helping Afghan Refugees Resettle in the US, The 1941 Beginning of the US/UK Code-Breaking Partnership and Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times: How Five Women Codebreakers Made a Difference. Stay tuned to the Riderwood Reporter for information on future programs.

Sign language interpretation is available for these programs.

Previous Speaker Presentations (available on demand)

June 6, 2023: Formidable American Women and the Fight for Equality

June 22, 2022: Resettling Afghan Refugees at Fort McCoy

Sept. 8, 2020: Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Codebreakers of World War II

Sept. 24, 2024: Stolen: Kidnapping and Slavery in Pre-Civil War America

February 25, 2025: “Son of a Slave: A Black Man’s Journey in White America” (video forthcoming)

For additional information, contact Speaker sub-committee chairs, Popsy Kanagaratnam and Nilesh Chokshi.

Committee Members

Committee members for the CEC (Continuing Education Committee) are elected in the fall for a two-year term with the possibility of adding another two-year term before taking a break of at least one year. See the Riderwood Reporter for articles about how to apply to become a member of this committee in early Fall.

Below is a list of 2026 members and the year that each member joined the committee.

• Amy Bloom (2025)
• Nilesh Chokshi (2024) Co-chair
• Dave Farr (2024): RAC representative
• Elly Greene (2024)
• Popsy Kanagaratnam (2024) Co-chair
• Jennie Lane (2025)
• Dianne Lyon (2026)
• Pat Moskof (2025)
• Bob Phillips (2026)
• Judy Scherer (2026)
• Diane Willen (2025)
• Martha Watson (2025)
• Sydney Siegel: Staff

If your question is related to the Committee and its programs, please contact Co-Chairs:
Nilesh Chokshi  or Popsy Kanagaratnam (contact info found on MyErickson or the Riderwood Resident Directory).

For questions regarding PGCC-SAGE classes, please contact: Sydney Siegel, Community Resources Coordinator (contact info found on MyErickson or the Riderwood Yellow Pages for staff).