Board and Officers
- Overview
- 2026-27 Board of Trustees and Officers
- 2025-26 Board of Trustees
- 2024-25 Board of Trustees
- 2023-24 Board of Trustees
- 2022-23 Board of Trustees
- 2021-22 Board of Trustees
- 2020-21 Board of Trustees
- 2019-20 Board of Trustees
- 2018-19 Board of Trustees
- 2017-18 Board of Trustees
- 2016-17 Board of Trustees
- 2015-16 Board of Trustees
- 2014-15 Board of Trustees
- 2013-14 Board of Trustees
- 2012-13 Board of Trustees
- 2011-12 Board of Trustees
- Presidents and Chairs Since 1951
- Gathering of Past Presidents
Overview of Board of Trustees
Under our church bylaws, a nine-member Board of Trustees is the governing body of the church. New board members are elected at the Annual Congregational Meeting in April, May or June each year and serve three-year terms. The minister is a non-voting ex officio member of the board.
As noted on the Church Governance page, a reorganization of the church’s organizational structure assigns to the board the primary responsibilities for making policies, effectuating the church’s vision and mission as articulated by the members, providing resources, and evaluating programs, while responsibility for supervising staff members and volunteers in the work of the church’s ministries is assigned to the minister as chief executive officer.
The board’s regular meetings are held at church at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. All board and board committee meetings are open to all friends and members, except that the board may close portions of its meetings under its policy on executive sessions, and the Committee on Ministry is authorized to close portions of its meetings when sensitive personal matters are discussed.
The bylaws provide that the board selects church officers – President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer. The President-Elect then becomes the President the following year.
The board has designated the President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer to constitute the Executive Committee, which may exercise the board’s authority to the extent provided by board resolution. The current President chairs the Executive Committee. The Minister also participates ex officio in the Executive Committee’s deliberations.
We welcome the participation of our members in the ministry of our church through any of our committees, teams and ministries, and as board members. Members interested in participating should contact the Minister or Church Administrator (see Contact page).
2026-27 Board of Trustees Members and Officers
The terms of the members of the 2026-2027 Board of Trustees officially began on July 1, 2026.Shannon
Members and Term Expiration Dates
| Terms Expiring 6/30/27 | Terms Expiring 6/30/28 | Terms Expiring 6/30/29 |
| Ryan Carter Diane Suhler Kim Wade |
Jeremy Duke |
Jerry Brenner |
Officers for 2026-27
President: Jeremy Duke
President-Elect: To be elected by board
Secretary: To be elected by board
Treasurer: To be elected by board
Board Members and Email Addresses
Jeremy Duke
Jeremy Duke will serve as 2026-27 President. He was selected by the board in June 2025 to complete the term of Luke Daily, who resigned upon moving away from Columbia. He was elected by the congregation in May 2026 to an additional two-year term on the board to fill another vacancy. Jeremy and his wife Kyna Byerly joined UUCC in May 2001. They raised their three now-adult children at UUCC and have appreciated the support of the church members, RE and youth programs, staff, and many friends throughout the years. Jeremy has been on the board twice previously. In addition he has been actively involved in small group ministry through covenant groups and Chalice Circles, taught RE and OWL, and traveled twice to Honduras with the church group. Professionally, Jeremy is the owner of IMF Counseling in Columbia where he has worked as a therapist for the past twenty years.
Kim Wade
Kim Wade, who is in her third year on the board, served as 2025-26 President. She joined UUCC in 2017. She is a hiker, writer and portrait photographer whose pictures have been spotlighted on Oprah and Entertainment Tonight. She received a bachelors in American Civilization from Brown University and a masters in Environmental Education from the University of Michigan. An eighth generation Missourian and a trained Climate Reality Leader, Kim has organized national environmental conferences and led Missouri’s first statewide Office of Environmental Education while working for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Kim now writes on the essential and everyday joys of noticing, community-building, and finding meaning in the midst of precarity. She and her husband, David, have two adult children, Elliot and Atlas. Their family is rewilding 10 acres south of Columbia. Kim loves road trips, fantasy fiction, campfires, kayaking and seafood (the rawer the better). She walks whenever and wherever she can.
Ryan Carter
Ryan Carter is in his third year on the board and has been a member of UUCC along with his wife Kit since October 2022. He served as 2024-25 Secretary. Almost immediately after joining the church, he was asked to take part as the youngest member on George Grimm-Howell’s internship team. Before joining UUCC Ryan’s only religious leaning was a membership card with The Satanic Temple to show his support for bodily autonomy and separation of church and state. Ryan enjoys acting every summer at the Maplewood Barn Community Theater and hosts a book club podcast called “Functionally Literate.”
Shannon Mulvania-Beck
Shannon is in her second year on the board and served as 2025-26 Secretary. She started attending UUCC shortly after moving to Columbia in 2015 and became a member in 2019. She served as co-chair of the Stewardship Committee in 2020 and occasionally volunteers with UUCC’s RE program. Outside of UUCC, Shannon works as a research news strategist at Mizzou and is currently in the home stretch of dual master’s degree programs for counseling (at Stephens College) and dance and movement therapy (a low-residency program at Antioch University). Creativity and artistic expression have always been a core value for Shannon, and she is looking forward to incorporating that value more intricately in her work. Her prior volunteer board experience includes being a board member and serving as board president for the Phelps County Humane Society and being a board member of Missouri Patriot Paws, an organization that provides trained psychiatric service dogs to veterans with PTSD.
Jeff White
Jeff is in his second year on the board and served as 2025-26 Treasurer. He joined UUCC in May 2023. He has served on numerous committees and work groups including Planned Giving, the Facilities Team and the Ushers Team. Jeff grew up in Southern Illinois and spent time as a teenager and young adult in Kansas City, Mo. and has lived in Columbia on two occasions. His career spanned numerous senior positions in finance and operations and he and his family relocated frequently for his employment. Since his formal retirement in 2023, Jeff has enjoyed traveling and bicycle riding on the Columbia area trail system.
Jerry Brenner
Jerry (he/him) joined UUCC in September 2024, after visiting frequently during the previous year. He has been active on the potluck team and in supporting the Honduras Team, a participant in Chalice Circle, and occasionally active with the Grounds Team and Art GroUUp. He and fellow UUCC member Christine are engaged to be married in May 2026. Jerry has worked for Columbia College since 2003 as a chemistry and physics instructor and as director of the college’s academic help center. His hobbies include hiking, biking, and creating homemade jigsaw puzzles.
Mark Price
Mark (he/him) joined UUCC in February 2025. Currently he is active on the Care Team and the Finding Our Way Forward Team. Mark has worked as a professor at Columbia College since 2001. He is currently the Althea W. and John A. Schiffman Endowed Chair in Ethics, Religious Studies and Philosophy. For fun, Mark plays guitar and sings in the original Americana/alt-country/rock band Hurtsickle Fade.
Vulture Young
Vulture (he/him) joined UUCC in 2023. He has participated in Chalice Circles, Kaleidoscope, Mindfulness Meditation, and Art GroUUp. This would be his first opportunity to serve on the board. A Columbia resident since 1998, Vulture enjoys a variety of creative pursuits and is currently focused on making small pieces of visual art as a hobby business, as well as reading and writing poetry. Professionally he works in customer support, which he views as an opportunity to make the world a little less worse for each person he interacts with.
Diane Suhler
Diane Suhler has joined the board for the first time. She joined UUCC in 2013 along with her husband Gregg. Diane grew up in Colorado and attended schools on the East Coast. She and her family moved to Columbia in 1988. Diane’s professional career was in academia – she was a professor of finance and economics at Columbia College for 25 years and retired in 2021. During her time at UUCC, Diane has participated in numerous groups including the Social Action Committee, Care Team, Finance Committee, Forum, Chalice Circle, and Milestones Circle. One of her ongoing and favorite activities at UUCC is organizing the church’s monthly Loaves and Fishes meal.
Rev. Molly Housh Gordon
Our minister, the Rev. Dr. Molly Housh Gordon, serves as an ex officio board member, providing her perspective as chief executive officer of the church during board deliberations.
She began her tenure at UUCC in August 2012.
Note: The Minister as an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees also receives messages sent to this address.
2025-26 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2025-26 Board of Trustees.
Members were Kim Wade, President; Ruth Milledge, Past President; Shannon Mulvania-Beck, Secretary; Jeff White, Treasurer; Roger Nettleton; Andrea Baka; Ryan Carter; Sarah Oldfather; and Jeremy Duke. Sarah Oldfather was elected by the board as President-Elect, but she departed the board, and Jeremy Duke was then selected as President Elect.
2024-25 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2024-25 Board of Trustees
Members were Ruth Milledge, President; Iyesatu Kamara-Bush, Past-President; Kim Wade, President-Elect; Ryan Carter, Secretary; Fred Young, Treasurer; Taylor Gill; Luke Daily; Roger Nettleton; and Andrea Baka. Luke Daily resigned in June 2025, and Jeremy Duke was selected by the board to complete Luke’s term.
2023-24 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2023-24 Board of Trustees
Members were Iyesatu Kamara-Bush, President; Melissa Ensign-Bedford, Past-President; Ruth Milledge, President-Elect; Connie Ordway, Secretary; Fred Young, Treasurer; Susan Even; Taylor Gill; Luke Daily; and Roger Nettleton.
2022-23 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2022-23 Board of Trustees.
Members were Melissa Ensign-Bedford, President; Iyesatu Kamara-Bush, President-Elect; Connie Ordway, Secretary; Christine Heath, Treasurer; Timothy Dickerson, Past President; David Leuthold; Susan Even; Taylor Gill; and Fred Young.
2021-22 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2021-22 Board of Trustees
Members were Timothy Dickerson, President; Melissa Ensign-Bedford, President-Elect,; Connie Ordway, Secretary; Ginny Winter, Treasurer; Rebecca Graves, Past President; Jeremy Duke; Kara Braudis; David Leuthold; and Susan Even. Kara Braudis resigned, and Christine Heath was selected to fill her seat.
2020-21 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2020-21 Board of Trustees.
Members were Rebecca Graves, President; Timothy Dickerson, President-Elect; Jan Swaney, Secretary; Jeremy Duke, Treasurer; Mindy McPherson, Past President; Mark Johnson; Ginny Winter; Kara Braudis; and David Leuthold.
2019-20 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2019-20 Board of Trustees.
Members were Mindy McPherson, President; Michela Skelton Birk, President-Elect; Sam Buffaloe, Secretary; Jeremy Duke, Treasurer; Barbara Rupp, Past President; Elaine Martin; Mark Johnson; Gretchen Maune; and Rebecca Graves. Michela Skelton Birk and Elaine Martin resigned, and Rebecca Graves was then selected as President-Elect.
2018-19 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2018-19 Board of Trustees.
Members were Barbara Rupp, President; Mindy McPherson, President-Elect; Sam Buffaloe, Secretary; Patty Daus, Treasurer; Todd Iveson; Mark Johnson; Peter Holmes (partial year until resignation from board); Gretchen Maune; and Elaine Martin.
2017-18 Board of Trustees
Members were Todd Iveson, President; Barbara Rupp, President-Elect; Sam Buffaloe, Secretary; Patty Daus, Treasurer; Mark Johnson; Peter Holmes; Jenny Bossaller; Gretchen Maune; and Mindy McPherson.
2016-17 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2016-17 Board of Trustees.
Members were Jeremy Milarsky, President; Todd Iveson, President-Elect; Steve Scott, Secretary; Patty Daus, Treasurer; Gregg Suhler; Mark Johnson; Janice Smith; Jenny Bossaller; and Peter Holmes.
2015-16 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2015-16 Board of Trustees.
Members were Jeremy Milarsky, President; Steve Scott, Secretary; Gregg Suhler, Treasurer; George Bunyea, Jr.; Jeanne Murphy (completing the term of Past-President Mary Denson, who resigned to attend college out of state); Jan Swaney; Mark Johnson; Ramzie Siebuhr; and Janice Smith.
Ramzie Siebuhr resigned effective June 30, 2016, and the congregation elected Melissa Ensign-Bedford to complete the remaining two years of her term. Melissa later resigned, and the board selected Jenny Bossaller to fill the seat.
2014-15 Board of Trustees
No group photo was taken of the 2014-15 Board of Trustees.
Members were Mary Denson, President; Jeremy Milarsky, President-Elect; Steve Scott, Secretary; Gregg Suhler, Treasurer; George Bunyea Jr.; Ene-Kaja Chippendale; Todd Iveson; Pack Matthews; and Jan Swaney.
Maria Oropallo started the year as a 2014-15 trustee, but resigned in November 2014 and was succeeded for the remainder of the year by Todd Iveson.
2013-14 Board of Trustees
2012-13 Board of Trustees
2011-12 Board of Trustees
Presidents and Chairs Since 1951
Under the original church bylaws, the church leader was called “Chairman.” In later bylaws, the title was changed to “President.” Presidents and Chairs are listed in reverse chronological order:
2025-2026 – Kim Wade
2024-2025 – Ruth Milledge
2023-2024 – Iyesatu Kamara-Bush
2022-2023 – Melissa Ensign-Bedford
2021-2022 – Timothy Dickerson
2020-2021 – Rebecca Graves
2019-2020 – Mindy McPherson
2018-2019 – Barbara Rupp
2017-2018 – Todd Iveson
2015-2017 – Jeremy Milarsky
2014-2015 – Mary Denson
2013-2014 – Steve Scott
2012-2013 – Maria Oropallo
2011-2012 – Stephanie Dorman
2010-2011 – Gregory Brown
2009-2010 – Kevin Fritsche
2008-2009 – Walter Gassmann
2006-2008 – Stephen Blower
2005-2006 – Larry Dorman
2004-2005 – Leslie Luchene
2003-2004 – Rebecca Graves
2002-2003 – Alan Arnold
2001-2002 – Bob Breitenbach
1999-2001 – Kathleen Knepper
1998-1999 – Jan Weaver
1997-1998 – Kevin Fritsche
1996-1997 – Judy Siebert Pallardy
1995-1996 – Robert Johnson
1994-1995 – Bernice Cudd
1993-1994 – Greg Bergman
1992 – Fran Reynolds
1990-1991 – Pat Tanner
1989 – Gene Weinheimer
1988-1989 – Larry Jones
1987-1988 – Brian DeFacio
1986-1987 – Jan Parenteau
1985-1986 – Brian DeFacio
1984-1985 – Dan Spies
1983-1984 – Marti Kardinal
1981 – Fran Reynolds
1981-1983 – Dana (Sally) Brown
1979-1980 – David Leuthold
1977-1979 – Clotilde Miller
1976-1977 – Carl Kardinal
1975-1976 – Larry Zimmerman
1974-1975 – Richard Thoreson
1973-1974 – DeWitt Barker
1972-1973 – Maudine Wheeler
1971-1972 – James Harrington
1970-1971 – Arthur McArthur
1969-1970 – Morton Kenner
1968-1969 – Donald Creighton
1967-1968 – Robert Morgan
1966-1967 – Roberts Eastman
1965-1966 – John Pederson
1964-1965 – Gene Cox
1963-1964 – Roland Hultsch
1962-1963 – Henry Bent
1961-1962 – Gloria Roden
1960-1961- Ted Keats
1959-1960 – George Parker
1958-1959 – Harvey McCaleb
1957-1958 – John Murdock
1956-1957 – N.S. Patterson
1951-1956 – Philip Stone
Gathering of Past Presidents
