Lectures For Lifelong Learners!

A lifelong film lover, Dan Hudak has worked extensively as a film critic in print, radio and television. He has provided film reviews and commentary for WPLG-TV (ABC) Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, ABCNews.com, the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, CNN.com, indieWIRE.com, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Newsday, Orlando Sentinel, San Francisco Examiner and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

He is the owner of Hudak On Hollywood, Inc., an agency that provides lectures throughout the United States. He is the former chairman of the Florida Film Critics Circle and a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association. He studied Film History and Criticism at Bard College and the University of Miami, where he received his M.A. in Film Studies. To give Dan a piece of your mind, e-mail him at dan@primetimepresenters.com.

Since first watching Gone with the Wind and West Side Story on the big screen at a young age, Sharon Harris has loved Classic Hollywood. In October 2016, she brought that passion to the Jersey Shore and introduced her “Hooray for Hollywood,” adult enrichment program for Stockton University’s Friends of Encore Learning at Stockton (FELS). Coursework began with Thomas Edison’s 1890s invention of the motion picture and the class just completed Season 10.

Sharon took years of research to launch her Hollywood history lecture series throughout South Florida and southern New Jersey in 2018. An expanding roster of topics includes Music of the 1960s and in-depth looks at beloved films Gone with the Wind, The Godfather and Casablanca. Additional programs profile the early studio moguls, Jewish Vaudeville in film, Hollywood and the 1930s Nazi threat, the film industry before, during and after WWII, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), Film Noir and many more.

Raised in suburban Philadelphia, Sharon worked in public relations for the arcade and vending industries from the 1980s through the mid-1990s. She became a freelance U.S and international business and consumer journalist in 1993. In her leisure time, Sharon enjoys watching old movies, lecturing to summer audiences at the Jersey Shore, listening to Classic Rock music from her childhood and attending live concerts and theater.

Jeremy Hurewitz started his career overseas as a freelance journalist for a decade based out of Prague and Shanghai. During that time, he also built and ran the international newspaper association Project Syndicate. After returning to his native New York, Jeremy joined the world of corporate security. An influential but little-known industry, Jeremy works with intelligence officers and other former government officials across a range of services including kidnap-for-ransom consulting, background investigations, executive protection, and many other sensitive assignments. Jeremy is the author of Sell Like a Spy, which helps salespeople and executives to bring spy tradecraft into their salesmanship and communications. Jeremy writes regularly on foreign policy for a wide range of publications and is a policy advisor on National Security for the Joseph Rainey Center. He is a Strategic Advisor to the corporate intelligence firm Interfor International and head of Interfor Academy.

A long-term devotee of Jewish humor, Al Kustanowitz, MBA, has been collecting and sharing it even before there was an internet. In 2009, after a 36-year career at IBM managing new technology projects, he founded Jewish Humor Central (jewishhumorcentral.com). Through the blog he brings a daily dose of fun and positive energy to readers (and subscribing is free!). He has published 12 books on humor based on his more than 5,000 blog postings, each of which includes a video clip and commentary.

He has presented more than 100 programs in South Florida and the Northeast on topics that include the great comedians and entertainers of the 20th century, funniest moments in film and television, flash mobs around the world, and composers and lyricists of the Great American Songbook.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the City University of New York and taught computer science courses at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs.

In 2009, a cancer diagnosis revealing a genetic defect, together with a lifelong fascination with the history of medicine, propelled Jane Rubin to put pen to paper.

Her research into New York City’s history, restrictive reproductive laws, and period medicine led to her award-winning historical series. The timeline opens with In the Hands of Women (5/23 Level Best Books) and its prequel, Threadbare (5/24 Level Best Books), both acclaimed by historical fiction fans.Over There (6/25 Level Best Books), the third installment, moves to 1917 as medically trained members of the Isaacson family travel to France during World War I, shortlisted by the Historical Novel Society’s 2024 First Chapters Competition and a Finalist for the Chanticleer Hemingway Award for Twentieth Century Wartime Fiction. Mayhem in the Mountains (6/26 Level Best Books), the fourth book in the series, follows the survivors to the Catskills in the summer of 1924, when bootleggers, gangsters, and the KKK disrupt the peaceful ambiance of the region.

Ms. Rubin, a University of Michigan (BS, MS) and Washington University (MBA) graduate, lives in Northern New Jersey with her husband, David, an attorney. Together, they have five adult children and seven grandchildren.

James Calaski is an accomplished historian, speaker, and law enforcement veteran with nearly 30 years of active investigative experience. As the founder of Hunting History (established in 2019), he regularly delivers engaging, evidence-driven lectures across active adult and senior living communities, public libraries, historical societies, civic organizations, and continuing adult education programs. His presentations seamlessly blend rigorous academic research with a seasoned detective’s eye for detail. His historical expertise has frequently expanded to the screen, where he has served as a researcher and on-screen expert for historical films, including PBS’s The American Experience, The American Fuhrer, and an upcoming documentary examining Nazi camps in America titled Keeping up with the Siegfrieds.

James holds a Master of Arts in History from William Paterson University, specializing in military history, 20th-century espionage, domestic spy networks, and high-profile criminal cold cases. He currently leverages his extensive field background as a Detective Sergeant and Supervisor of a municipal Detective Bureau in Bergen County, New Jersey, to bring an unmatched forensic perspective to historical analysis. He is currently channeling this unique lifetime of investigative research into his debut book.

In addition to his deep historical catalog, James serves as an educator and public speaker, delivering vital, real-world instruction on contemporary cyber-crimes, fraud prevention, and the practical implications of the modern Artificial Intelligence revolution. Known for his clear, conversational approach, he bridges the gap between complex investigative tactics and public awareness, equipping audiences to navigate digital landscapes safely and confidently.