Course Listing - by Instructor

In January 2023, Kala fused her love of the classroom and the kitchen and began offering bread classes. Since then, she has taught over 1,350 people how to bake bread from scratch. She never imagined so many people would love to learn to bake bread, but she is thrilled to continue offering a life-skill that has formed a beautiful community of bakers.

It all began in a camp kitchen. Kala's parents directed a children's camp, and Kala was raised making food for hundreds of people every week. That experience formed her belief that making good food is a way to bless others and bring people together. But baking bread quickly became her favorite part of the kitchen.

She earned her BA and MA in English and was an educator in the classroom for seven years. She chose to stay home with her babies and stepped out of the classroom, but carried her skills with her. For years friends and family suggested Kala open a baking business. After COVID and a lot of time at home baking with her daughter, Kala decided it was worth a try. In 2022, Kala participated in a local farmer's market and took baking orders for the first time. She was blown away by the response and baked over 1,000 loaves for people that year. One day at the market someone suggested she teach classes. That suggestion sparked an idea that became The Bread House.

Robert D. Leier received his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in international development education and his M.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in TESOL, bilingual education and applied linguistics. His undergraduate degree is in Biology and Chemistry.

Dr. Leier has taught undergraduate and graduate courses since 1991 in the areas of technology and media for ESOL, applied linguistics, second language acquisition, methods in ESOL, bicultural and bilingual education, assessment in ESOL, music for ESOL, multicultural and social foundations of education. He has also served as chair or as committee member for over 50 graduate and doctoral degree students, and more than 60 graduate certificate students.

He also has taught ESOL at all proficiency levels form beginners through advanced and for grades 5 through adult in public and private schools. Additionally he has directed and taught in a family literacy program for Central Americans and taught workplace literacy skills to high school and adult students. Dr. Leier has also tutored students in preparation to take the IELTS and TOEFL examinations.

Dr. Leier is proficient in Spanish and has studied several other languages such as Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Armenian, Ilokano and Maya Quiche. He has served as a Peace Corp volunteer in Guatemala, El Salvador and Philippines. He has lived and worked in 8 countries and has served as an U.S. Department of State English Language Fellow in Colombia, Armenia, Republic of Georgia (virtually), and Latvia.

Dr. Carol F. Sawyer is a geomorphologist and an Associate Professor of Geography in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of South Alabama. She received her B.Sc. from Montana State University-Bozeman, M.Sc. from Southwest Texas State University, and her Ph.D. from Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State University).

Dr. Sawyer focuses on landscape-scale and micro-scale regions and how those places react and adjust to change, i.e. climate change, disturbances (animal, natural), and human-induced changes. She focuses specifically on mountain regions and their landforms, including mass wasting (debris flows and avalanches), and changes in the alpine treeline regions of the Western U.S. mountains.

Dr. Sawyer’s most recent research has been in the Olympic Mountains of Western Washington. She enjoys working with undergraduate students in the field or in the lab.

Joyce Scarbrough is the author of eight novels and numerous short stories featured in multiple anthologies. Joyce completed a course in writing from the Institute of Children’s Literature and is the former senior editor for Champagne Books. She is a past president of the Mobile Writers Guild and is currently serving as its secretary and the editor of the MWG series of annual anthologies. She is also a member of the Southern Breeze chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Joyce has lived all her life in Mobile county, she's the mother of three gifted children, and she's been married for over 30 years to a superhero who disguises himself during the day as a high school math teacher and coach.