William Fennie, Dean
William was elected Dean at a trustees meeting in June 2022, following the retirement of Alfred Haferkamp, H.W., M.
William began his Prosperos studies in 1973, taking classes in Scranton, Pennsylvania, from Thane, Ben Gilberti, and Miriam Pope. He attended his first Prosperos Assembly in 1974, at Pipestem, West Virginia, where he first made the acquaintance of Tom Potter and Ken Wauchope, students he would work with to edit The Prosperos Newsletter after moving to Southern California later that year. He worked with the Newsletter for about three years in addition to participating in study groups in the Santa Monica area. He was active in the Dynamics Arts Lab and studied voice with Marion Bell.
William Fennie teaching at The Prosperos Assembly in Ojai, California
In 1978 he moved to Denver, Colorado, where he worked with numerous students in tandem with Anne Bollman, Ben Gilberti, David Weinman, and Pat Hartman (Zoë Robinson). William began his internship in Colorado, under the guidance of Zoë Robinson, including team-teaching, workshops, public events, visits by Thane, and individual counseling.
In 1985, William was invited to move to the Prosperos Curacy on Hawai'i Island to support Thane as the Curacy secretary. He continued his internship there with guidance from Jim Renza and Thane. In addition to secretarial support (correspondence, lesson development, etc.), responsibilities included coordinating public events, individual counseling, and monitoring class recordings to make notes about anomalies or inconsistencies. He worked mostly with Konala Bradley, Richard Burns, and Paul Tanswell, as well as members of the Prosperos community from Hawai'i island, O'ahu, and elsewhere.
After Thane's passing in 1989, William stayed on in Kona. He left the islands in January 2000 to complete a degree in French language and literature at the University of Maryland, which included one year of academic study in Nice, France.
William developed a seminar based on the Metonymy Translation method used by Thane in the last years of his life and debuted the class in a retreat environment on O’ahu over several days in 2019. A long-time member of the Board of Trustees, his intention as Dean involves helping to tap the diverse talents of Prosperos students to carry Thane's instruction into the 21st century.
William lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his life partner, Alana Sofia Fennie.
Al Haferkamp, Dean Emeritus
Al was elected Dean at the trustees' Annual Meeting in September 2009 and retired at the end of 2021
Al Haferkamp with Prosperos Vice President HughJohn Malanaphy at the first presentation of Metonymy Translation class, in Ka’a’awa, Hawaii
Al Haferkamp met The Prosperos in the early 1970s, joining the Mt. Shasta group then organized by Liz Andrews. He studied there for 2 years, attaining High Watch in 1973, and moved to San Francisco in 1974. There he worked with Alexandria Petersen, Perry Dickey and others to present workshops and classes and continue his mentorship training, receiving his ordination in 1976.
In 1978 Al moved to Southern California where he has worked in the entertainment industry and continued his counseling and teaching.
He was elected President of The Prosperos in 2005 and served in that position for three years.
The trustees, and innumerable students, are deeply grateful for Al’s unique ability to connect, to guide, and to provide insight in so many areas. He continues to teach, to provide guidance to emerging instructors, to counsel, and has agreed to take on special projects as time allows.