Meet Some of our Newest Members

Jane Bates

A native of California, Jane Bates came to Baltimore in 1986 to teach art education at Towson University. Jane became a member of TUUC after the memorial service for her husband, Richard, was held here last June. Retiring as Director of Art Education in 2006 after 43 years of training art teachers, Jane became the artist once more. In September, Gallery Unicorn will present her mixed media collages, which she describes as “paper quilts”. Jane has two grown sons, both living in Baltimore City, and looks forward to the birth of her fourth grandchild soon.

Bobbi Miyaski

Bobbi Miyaski is a native Marylander. She grew up in Howard County and moved to Baltimore City in the early 70’s. She now lives in the County and has been Science Coordinator at the Bryn Mawr Lower School for 17 years. She learned of TUUC through fellow teacher Sandi Strouss, herself a new member in 2007. Bobbi became a widow three years ago, after thirty-three years of marriage. She has three children: one daughter lives in Baltimore, another in Greenwich, CT; and her son, who recently presented her with a grandchild and lives with his young family in Tokyo. So, if she tells you her grandson lives halfway around the world, she’s not exaggerating! Bobbi enjoys gardening, swing and ballroom dancing, and tennis.

Derek Perner

Derek Perner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in a suburb of that city. After graduating from the University of Minnesota and living for a short time in Iowa, he moved to Maryland to take one great job, and then ended up with a job that was even better. In his spare time, Derek finds himself outdoors doing a variety of activities, including hiking, biking, running and downhill skiing. His passion for the outdoors comes from his father. He has a love for classical music, which comes from his mother. Over the past several years, he has travelled to Colombia, and hopes to visit Sweden one day, as his family originated from there. Derek feels that he is a very caring person, and is not at all mean-spirited. When asked why he came to TUUC, Derek responded, "to find like-minded people . . . to explore my spirituality . . . and to use my abilities for the benefits of others."