Board of Trustees Profiles
President
Marylin takes her responsibilities as Board President to heart. “Doing what I can to make the world a better place includes doing what I can to bring the worldview of UUism to more people,” she says. Marylin’s spiritual journey started with Protestantism, “but I became disenchanted with that religion as a teenager,” she explains. “My husband was raised Unitarian Universalist [UU], so I checked out the local UU church when I hunted for a wedding venue. I joined UUCDC many years later to find a spiritual home in which to raise my children.” Marylin adds that her relationships at our church have become “an incredibly important part of my life. This is where I have grown into a better person. I feel valued here.”
Vice President
Abby is unique among our church’s congregation. “I grew up in UUCDC. I was dedicated here as a toddler and attended Religious Education (RE) programs all the way through high school,” she says. A graduate of Clemson University, she spent her formative years in Malvern. “The reasons I maintained my connection to UUCDC were that the community fostered my spiritual growth as a kid and teenager and helped me form deep friendships.” As Vice President, Abby works to support the Board’s vision for our church’s future and advises on operational logistics, but “my main ambition is to meet and help grow the younger generation of our congregation. The work we do here is vitally important. Our values are shared by many young people like me. We carry a heavy load on our shoulders given climate change, the state of politics, and blatant social injustice. If we nurture children and youth within our community, imagine the impact on the world we’ll have.”
Board Secretary
Craig is a man of many talents. In addition to helping guide UUCDC as an at-large member of the Board, he is co-founder of the Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC, Black Lives Matter at the time), co-editor for the church weekly e-newsletter, Connections, and chorus member. “As an amateur baker, I also look forward to the church’s annual Chili, Chocolate, Homebrew Challenge (CCHC).” Though Craig graduated Queens College, CUNY with a theater degree, he soon learned he needed to “actually earn a living.” Thus, he had jobs with a variety of nonprofits and fundraising organizations and ended his career helping corporations with their computer systems. He notes: “I’ve also worked on a few low-budget films and somewhere out there in the ether you might hear me doing a voiceover for an MTV commercial in Russian.” UUCDC was not the first stop on Craig’s spiritual journey. “I was raised as a liberal Protestant, but I wandered away from that path because I wanted a faith community that was more open,” he explains. “I and my wife, Donna, loved what we found in Unitarian Universalism (UU).” When the couple moved to Delaware County in 2004, they chose UUCDC to be their spiritual home. Craig concludes: “It’s a place of friendship and fellowship where our children, Chelsea and Kayla, could learn and grow through the religious education program.”
Board Treasurer
At Large
Kelli came to Unitarian Universalism (UU) by accident. “I was raised Catholic but couldn’t reconcile what my heart told me with many of that faith’s stances. In 1998, I happened to see a UU church flier in the student union of West Chester University, where I earned my master’s in social work. The first service I attended brought my heart joy because I found the spiritual home I was missing.” Now in her own counseling practice, the married mother of two is co-founder of the annual CCHB, takes part in ARC, and is an at-large member of the Board. “I accepted the nomination for that because I care deeply about our church. During this transition time from our former settled minister to a new one, I needed to say ‘yes’ to helping it grow as a spiritual sanctuary, a place that supports congregants in living our values and creating a true beloved community here in the church and the surrounding area.” Despite challenges, “the lessons of the last few years have left me focused on finding moments of awe in the mundane and remembering to accept chances for joy.”
At Large
Jane is a puzzle lover. “All kinds—word, number, jigsaw, logic,” says the Media resident. She also puts her intellect to work as an at-large member of the UUCDC Board. “Having served in many roles at the church over the past two decades, I’m motivated to give back to the congregation that has so enriched my life,” she explains. The former Presbyterian first sought out our church “for my kids but found my own spiritual home in the process.” Motivated by helping others, Jane began her career in hospital administration. While raising her now-grown sons, Kevin and Jeff, she worked in township government, intellectual property, public relations, and arboretum development, and volunteered and fundraised for her kids’ schools. Before retiring in 2020, Jane returned to her caring roots as a geriatric care manager and “daughter-for-hire” for 10 years. Today, she volunteers with the Sunday services Hospitality Team, the Providence Animal Center, and Meals on Wheels. “My front porch is my happy place because my yard is mostly gardens, I have great neighbors and friends nearby, and I can walk to pretty much everything I need, as well as restaurants, music, parades, and community events,” she concludes. “And it’s only 1.5 miles to UUCDC.”
At Large
John gets some of his spiritual inspiration from his love of science fiction like Star Wars. “I see connections between the idea of ‘the Force’ and UU values such as the interconnected web of life.” As social justice coordinator on the Executive Team, he serves as liaison among the advocacy teams at UUCDC. “Growing up in the 1970s, I developed a strong sense of fairness due to my Catholic Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes.” As a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware and an adjunct instructor at three area universities, where he teaches history and the humanities, John developed a deep understanding of how inequality is embedded in social, legal, financial, and political institutions. “Participating in the Anti-Racism Coalition [ARC] and helping coordinate the church’s social justice groups allows me to do something more than just ‘being aware.’” He and his wife have one child in college and the other beginning high school. “During the pandemic, we adopted a cat, Emma,” he adds. Besides watching and reading science fiction and fantasy, John walks and takes photos of what he sees. “But I most enjoy reading history, science for non-scientists, other types of non-fiction, and graphic novels.”
At Large