Barbara Hanson

Barbara Hanson (Letters) - Barbara of Melbourne, Florida, holds a B.A. in English from Trinity College in Burlington, Vermont, an M.A. in English from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and an M.S. in Gerontology from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. She taught High School Literature and Creative Writing in Connecticut for ten years, serving as Chair of the English Department for two of those years. She initiated and mentored the school’s first literary magazine and also taught Creative Writing for an Adult Education Program. Her second career was spent working with elders at an Area Agency on Aging in Vermont. She moved from Case Worker, to Public Relations Director, to Director of Community Development. Barbara was the Interim Executive Director when she retired after thirty years with the agency. During this time, she wrote over 4500 weekly columns centering on aging issues, resources and opportunities for two daily newspapers in Vermont and taught Gerontology classes at Vermont Community College. Barbara and a colleague owned a company, Elder Concepts, which provided seminars and consultation to businesses and community groups. Additionally, Barbara co-authored a book about the very early history of the state of Vermont titled Vermont, Wilderness to Statehood, 1748 -1791. It was published by Academy Books in 1989. Since retiring, she has been writing poetry and creating watercolor and oil paintings. Her poetry has been published in the Pen Woman Magazine, and on the blog, and in several Brevard County anthologies including Driftwood, Perseverance, Friends, Change and Florida. She has a poem in the 2020 Mountain Troubadour, a publication of the Poetry Society of Vermont and won first prize for her poem, After, in the 2019 Brevard Poetry Contest. Barbara resides in Melbourne with her husband, and is a member of Space Coast Writers’ Guild, Scribblers of Brevard, Florida Writers Association, National League of American Pen Women and the Poetry Society of Vermont. She enjoys writing, painting, reading and travel.

Back to member list