Noticed the new faces on the Board of Trustees’ bulletin board? At our 2016 Annual Meeting, the congregation elected four members of the church to fill the seats of outgoing trustees. Let’s get to know them!
Heather Edwards has been a UUCWC member since 2007 and has served the church in a variety of areas. She also comes to the board from the Right Relations Committee, where she was co-chair with Scott Umlauf. She is also a Wellspring facilitator and has been a participant in the racial justice initiative. Previously, Heather helped to plan and facilitate the Living the Welcoming Congregation program, and shared the John Young/Rudy Turner award with Kathy Frey and Loren McAlister for her work on the program.
By day, Heather works as a behavior specialist with the autism program in the Montgomery Township School District. Heather, who is a co-founder of Lambertville Animal Welfare (a local cat rescue group) and who sits on its board, lives in Lambertville with her menagerie of pugs and cats.
Fun fact: Heather was born in Ipswich, England, and moved to the US with her parents at the age of 2.
Frank Holstein is one of two members who rejoins the board this year. Frank has been active during his 14-year tenure at UUCWC, having served as vice president of the board and chair of Worship Associates. He has been in the choir, and currently he volunteers for the Food Ministry and greets you at the door on Sunday morning.
Professionally, Frank was a lawyer. He spent more than 20 years in private practice, in such areas as real estate, construction litigation and contracting, zoning and land use, personal injury, and in corporate governance. He also applied his skills in public service, serving as a New Jersey deputy attorney general prosecuting public officials charged with corruption and investigating financial crimes. Frank also served as executive director of the state Commission of Investigations, holding public hearings on waste and inefficiency in major state agencies and programs, and has appeared before several Congressional committees on Medicaid reforms.
Fun fact: Frank really enjoys his Zumba class at the gym.
Pete Rafle joined UUCWC with his wife, Connie, in 1991. He was active in UUCWC’s last capital campaign, which funded the construction of UUCWC’s sanctuary, and served on the Building Committee at the time the sanctuary was completed in 1995. Pete is also returning to the board, having served on it two decades ago. More recently, he served on the Committee on Ministry (now the Right Relations Committee) and is currently a Worship Associate. Pete actively participates in the ROMEOs, Chalice Circles, and the church’s racial justice initiative.
Pete served as an aviator in the Navy with two deployments during the Vietnam conflict. He later worked as a pilot, navigator, and flight engineer for Pan Am and TWA. He retired in 2007 as senior vice president of Monitor Products, the U.S. division of Tokyo Boeki, Ltd. He has been a flight instructor at Princeton Airport for more than 20 years.
Fun fact: Pete builds and restores wooden boats and canoes.
Pam Shadzik has been a member of this beloved community since 1991. During that time, Pam has served in numerous leadership roles, including Social Action chair, Religious Education teacher, SAGE (Survey and Assessment Group) member, the Committee on Ministry, instigator of the Newtown Neighborhood group, and president of the Board of Trustees. Pam credits this amazing community with inspiring her to identify her talents and with nurturing her as she developed them. Pam’s husband, Farzad, is also an active member of the church. Their children, Peter and Aryana, thrived in UUCWC’s Religious Education program.
Outside UUCWC, Pam is vice president of Talent Management at Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health.
Fun fact: Pam has considered herself an avid road cyclist for 15 years.
– Michael Dalzell, Secretary, Board of Trustees