Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees of Unity Church-Unitarian represents the congregation in shaping the vision and long-term goals of the church. We ensure the church is externally effective and internally efficient, and we create policy and direction for the Executive Team and church staff.

For matters concerning church policy, long-term vision, and goals, contact the board by email to board@unityunitarian.org. We want to hear from you! For concerns or ideas on matters related to church programming, contact the Executive Team.

The Board of Trustees meets in the Anderson Library each month. Currently, the Board meets monthly on the second Saturday, from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., for the full calendar year. Minutes of each board meeting are posted below.

The annual congregational meeting is held in November.

Meet the Trustees

Alex Askew is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist, having grown up attending the Ames, Iowa, congregation. After coming to Minnesota for college, he served three AmeriCorps terms with several local nonprofits. Called to address the opportunity gap in our community, Alex has since found a profession in nonprofit fundraising, currently with The Bakken Museum in Minneapolis. If not working, he can probably be found in a hammock, reading a book that took weeks to get from the library. Alex is grateful to call the Twin Cities home and have Unity Church as a place for reflection, action, and connection.

Debbie Cushman has been a member at Unity Church since 2013. Her career in human resources and administration has included the public sector, for profit and nonprofit organizations. She is also a musician, playing in several folk and country collaborations as well as solo. Debbie is grateful for having found the warm connections of community and a spiritual home at Unity. She lives in St. Paul with her family — Scott, Lila, and three pets who often show up on Zoom calls. She spends as much time as she can kayaking the Minneapolis lakes.

Clover Earl and her husband Tom became members at Unity in January, 2016, three months after crossing the church’s threshold. They both found something here that neither knew they were looking for. Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Clover headed to the west coast for twenty-five years and returned home in the spring of 2015. Family, friends, and community beats weather any day of the week! She is passionate about working with like-minded people who share her commitment to co-creating beloved community. She finds joy in biking, learning, hosting dinner parties with Tom, mother nature, photography and travel. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve this community as a member of the Board.

Kevin Ely has been attending Unity Church since 2008. Over those many years he has been involved with Interweave, Rainbow Chalice Alliance, the Bookstall, and the wonderful Pie Day baking group. Originally, Kevin was very impressed and drawn to Unity’s social outreach mission, and the church’s willingness to work with community members to make our shared community a better place. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys reading poetry, nonfiction history, gardening in the yard, hiking, cross country skiing, and spending time keeping the cats out of trouble.

Kevin Harris has been attending Unity Church for over 25 years. He is a retired engineer who raised a family of three in St. Paul with his wife Kate. The youngest, Samuel, attends St. Olaf where he is majoring in piano performance. His daughter, Kendra, is in her final year of OB-GYN residency at Mayo. His oldest, Ryan, is a retired NFL player, sportscaster, and radio commentator for Notre Dame football. Kevin loves science fiction, football, astronomy, woodworking, and teaching his three grandchildren William, Betty, and Benjamin about the power of curiosity and the wonders of science.

Mary Hernández is a proud St. Paul resident and West-Sider. She and her husband, Layo, found Unity Church in 2008 when they were searching for a liberal faith community in which to raise their children, Marco, Luis, and Rocio. From the beginning, their family has felt at home here. In Mary's professional life, she is a Public Health Nurse, working primarily in maternal-child health. During the COVID-19 pandemic she has been very involved with the community vaccination efforts. Mary is grateful and humbled for the opportunity to serve on the Unity Church Board of Trustees.

Jess Landgraf's move to St. Paul from rural Iowa/Oregon in fall 2015 was a shock moderated by following her wife to Unity Church the next winter. Now, with their collie dog, backyard hens, and neighborhood community built through gardening and daily walks about, Jess feel more at home here.

Louise Livesay-Al has been a member of Unity Church for over 20 years, raising her children, Sam and Lily, here; previously serving on the Board; and being involved in many aspect of Unity Church around children, singing, women, giving, hospitality, and programming. She has also been a Compensation Consultant for the UUA, helping churches in ministerial transition put together thoughtful compensation packages that will attract the candidates that they are seeking. Professionally, Louise is a compassionate problem-solver as a collaborative family law attorney and lives in Vadnais Heights with her husband, Marc Al, and family. Unity has been a critical part of Louise navigating life transitions and milestones.

Jennifer Tong originally came to Unity Church eight years ago seeking a religious education program for her oldest son, and found a community for herself as well. First volunteering to teach in R.E., she gradually increased her engagement with the church, with a special interest in racial justice issues. She participated in the project to update the R.E. curriculum, and later joined the Anti-Racism Leadership Team. She is a member of several local volunteer groups, and recently completed a year as a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey Institute. Jennifer works as a project manager in a finance group at Cargill, and lives in St. Paul with her husband, Tu, and sons, Julian and Harlow.

Documents

Please email unity@unityunitarian.org if you are looking for a document not listed here.

Governing Documents
Values, Mission, and Ends
Governing Policies (November 2018)
Policy J Vendor Audit
Bylaws (November 2018)
Organizational Structure Chart
Complaint Procedure
Gift Acceptance Policy 2020

Annual Survey Documents
Analysis of Ends Responses from 2021 Ministerial Search Team Survey

2020 Congregational Survey Results
2019 Congregational Survey Results
2018 Congregational Survey Results
2017 Congregational Survey Results
2017 Congregational Survey Board Summary
2016 Congregational Survey Results
2015 Congregational Survey Results

Spiritual Maturity Survey Results Executive Summary

Annual Meeting Documents
2021 Annual Report
2021 Annual Meeting Information Packet
2020 Annual Report
2020 Annual Meeting Information Packet
2019 Annual Report
2019 Annual Meeting Information Packet
2018 Annual Report
2018 Annual Meeting Information Packet
2017 Annual Report
2017 Annual Meeting Information Packet
2016 Annual Report
2016 Annual Meeting Information Packet