About the Orange County Literacy Council

The Orange County Literacy Council (OCLC) is a community-based non-profit agency that serves adult learners. Founded in 1984, the OCLC provides services and programs designed to support and mentor adults in achieving their educational, employment, and/or personal development goals.

Our Beginnings

“We can do no great things - only small things with great love”
– Mother Theresa

The Orange County Literacy Council was started in 1984, by Susan Attermeier and Mike Meyer. Susan, a member of the physical therapy faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Mike a doctoral student in philosophy, had enrolled in a tutor training workshop after seeing flyers on a telephone pole on Franklin Street. The workshop was taught by Mary Talbert, a tiny, formidable person who had spent her adult life promoting adult literacy. As a young woman, Mary taught Chinese immigrants in California with Dr. Frank Laubach, "the leading pioneer of the contemporary adult literacy movement."

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