NCGR-PAA Board

Madalyn Hillis-Dineen,  began her association with NCGR in 1979 as an officer of the Northern New Jersey chapter. In 1986, she expanded her involvement to a national level when she became editor of the NCGR memberletter, a position she held until 1994.

From 1990-1994, Madalyn also served as NCGR's Executive Secretary and, as such, maintained its national headquarters, was involved in conference planning, public relations and created the first NCGR Directory of Professional Services. She comes to her current position after having served as NCGR Clerk. Madalyn has also served on NCGR's Publications and Education Committees. Winner of the 1995 UAC Regulus Award for Community Service, Madalyn was elected to two terms on the AFAN Steering Commitee.

After graduating from Syracuse University with a B.A. in Liberal Arts, Warren Kinsman spent two years in Turkey as a Peace Corps Volunteer, teaching English as a Foreign Language to Turkish junior and senior high school students. The Peace Corps offered him a job upon completion of his volunteer service, and he came to Washington, DC where over the years he worked as a high school teacher, consultant, astrologer and director of an after school enhancement program for inner city youth. In 2004 he retired and in 2005 moved to San José, Costa Rica.

Ron Akanowicz is an astrologer living in Miami, FL. He uses astrology to help clients in times of choice, challenge and change. Ron holds Level II proficiency in NCGR-PAA certification testing. Ron blogs regularly on his website www.miamiastrology.com

Liane Thomas Wade lives on Roosevelt Island, a part of New York City. She has been President of The Uranian Society (which is a Special Interest Group of the NCGR, the National Council of Geocosmic Research) since 2004. . Liane has been studying astrology for over 20 years, specializing in American politics and politicians. She has lectured worldwide to astrologers, using the Uranian system of astrology. She is the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR) and is an Advisor on the NCGR-PAA Board of Directors. Prior to retirement she was Executive Director of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America.

Loretta Lopez is an avid student of astrology for more than 20 years. She holds a BFA in Fine Art from Pratt Institute, and is a published children's book author and illustrator.  She works as a freelance illustrator, designer, writer and astrologer in in El Paso, Texas, and has been an active member of NCGR NY since 2002.

Shirley Soffer is a counseling astrologer with an active practice in New York City, where she is also on the teaching faculty of the NYC Chapter of NCGR. She has written, lectured, and conducted workshops on a variety of astrological topics and is the author of The Astrology Sourcebook: A Guide to the Symbolic Language of the Stars. In her work, Shirley draws from the teachings of Carl G. Jung by integrating psychology, mythology, and dreams with astrology's rich symbolism. To enhance these skills, Shirley participated for five years in the Jung Center's Professional Training Seminars, a series of courses of study geared to those in the helping professions.