Professional Experience - Highlights & Full CV
Highlights of Experience
Full Curriculum Vitae
Education and Certification
Academic and Professional Awards
Internships and Field Placements
Professional and Related Experience
Consulting Minister, Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist, Carbondale, CO, 2010 - June 2012.
Priorities included Board Development, Leadership Development, Membership, and Adult Faith Development and Worship. Key
accomplishments of our shared ministry:
Leadership and Strategic Planning Consultant, HB Management, Denver, 2007 - June 2012.
Director of Operations, Options Home Care Services, Denver, CO, 2000-2007.
Dramaturg/Assistant Director, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, CO, 1998-2001.
Unitarian Universalist Leadership, Service and Participation
Other Community Service and Participation
Publications and Presentations
Continuing Education
- Professional Theatre Training & Experience: I have a Bachelor & Master of Arts in Theatre Arts - my training and experience focused on working with playwrights and directors as a dramaturg, a role often compared to the "midwife" of the play.
- Experience in Building and Leading Large Business: I was hired to start a new business with a concept of employing family caregivers to continue to care for their loved ones, simply with the addition of training and supervision. Within the first year, we grew to employ over 100 caregivers and serve more than that many clients. Seven years later, I oversaw nearly 1200 employees serving 700 clients, and a budget of $17 million, and we had 7 offices across 3 states. I worked in every facet of business operations, from management to payroll, human resources to accounting, marketing to software development. Options Home Care continues to be a successful business, 5 years after I stepped away from my role as Director of Operations in 2007 to begin seminary.
- Leadership and Strategic Planning: After I began seminary, I worked as a leadership coach and strategic planning consultant for the 8 executives leading the 3 businesses owned by the same individuals who owned Options. I met weekly with these executives individually around leadership and management, and quarterly with the team to develop their mission, vision and strategic plan.
- Denominational and Community Leadership: I have served on our UUMA Chapter Executive Team since 2011, and have regularly led or organized our clergy retreats and programming since then. I regularly help to lead and plan local cross-congregational gatherings, and am deeply invested in relationships with my clergy colleagues and our potential for lateral relationships across our sites of ministry. I was a founding member of the interfaith clergy immigration network for the Front Range and more recently I have been serving on the Alumni Board of my seminary where we are working to develop new strategies for alumni engagement, financial giving, and continuing education.
- Highlights in Congregational Ministry -
- Intensive Study in Fostering Spiritual Depth in Congregational Life - Initiated as a result of a fellowship from the Fund for Theological Education, I have been continuously studying congregations who offer their members tools to foster spiritual depth, most recently in a 5 day on-site learning experience at the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis; this area of study significantly influences my ministry and what I see as the potential of our Unitarian Universalist congregations.
- Young Adult Ministry - My internship in Boulder focused on young adult ministry; before my work there were fewer than 10 individuals under age 30 each Sunday and none in leadership positions; after my internship we regularly saw over 20 young adults present in Worship and young adults fill many church leadership positions and are fully integrated into the life of the church.
- Board and Leadership Development - I served an emerging congregation in Carbondale, CO for two years; the focus of much of this work was on board development and creating the systems and structures to support the healthy mid-size congregation we were dreaming of becoming. I have also led multiple workshops on leadership development and facilitated board retreats for various congregations.
- Story-based Preaching and Creative Worship Leadership: My theatre background serves me well in the creation and staging of creative worship services that move us through a shared transformative experience and integrate the elements of a service into a cohesive whole. I am especially committed to using stories to ground the delivery of our message and have a regular practice of seeking out rich stories for use in preaching.
- For more information on my ideas & vision for congregational life, check out these pages: Core Values, Vision for Congregational Life & my blog, Another Possibility.
- Intensive Study in Fostering Spiritual Depth in Congregational Life - Initiated as a result of a fellowship from the Fund for Theological Education, I have been continuously studying congregations who offer their members tools to foster spiritual depth, most recently in a 5 day on-site learning experience at the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis; this area of study significantly influences my ministry and what I see as the potential of our Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Full Curriculum Vitae
Education and Certification
- Ordination: Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, January 29, 2012
- UUA Preliminary Fellowship: September 24, 2011
- Iliff School of Theology, Master of Divinity, 8/2007 - 6/2011
- University of Colorado, Boulder, Master of Arts, Theatre Arts, 8/1997-5/2000
- University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Arts, 8/1993-5/1997
Academic and Professional Awards
- Student of the Year, Iliff School of Theology, 2011.
- Women’s Alliance Scholarship for students entering ministry with the intent of improving the lives of women, 2009.
- Fund for Theological Education Ministry Fellowship, for outstanding students in the second year of seminary, 2008-2009.
- Employee of the Year, Options Home Care Services, 2002.
- Chancellor’s Fellowship, University of Colorado, Boulder, awarded each year to the five most outstanding entering graduate students to the University, 1997-2000.
Internships and Field Placements
- Chaplain, Clinical Pastoral Education, St Anthony North Hospital, Westminster, CO, 2010
- Ministerial Intern, Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, 2009-2010.
- Unitarian Universalist Campus Minister, PRISM, University of Colorado Boulder, 2009-2010.
- Chaplain Intern, Denver Women's Prison, Colorado Department of Corrections, 2008.
Professional and Related Experience
Consulting Minister, Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist, Carbondale, CO, 2010 - June 2012.
Priorities included Board Development, Leadership Development, Membership, and Adult Faith Development and Worship. Key
accomplishments of our shared ministry:
- Moved the congregation from pulpit-supply relationship with many guest ministers to a relationship with a single minister.
- Implemented a visioning process using an adapted version of Appreciative Inquiry.
- Created a Worship Committee, Pastoral Care Committee, and a Committee on Lifespan Membership, all of which took the day-to-day running of the congregation out of the hands of the Board, and empowered new lay leaders.
- Strengthened the Board’s understanding of its role and sent 2 lay leaders to Russell Lockwood Leadership School.
- Increased worship services to 3-4 times a month. Moved our Worship Space to a local community center. Started Theme-Based Ministry.
- Increased Sunday attendance from an average of 30 adults and 10 children to 50 adults and 15 children in the past year.
- Intentionally reached out to multiple generations, resulting in reducing the average age on a Sunday from 65+ to <50.
- Built and strengthened partnerships with local allies and organizations.
Leadership and Strategic Planning Consultant, HB Management, Denver, 2007 - June 2012.
- Provided coaching for executives and managers on individual as well as team basis.
- Facilitated annual strategic planning process, including a 2 year intense focus on re-defining their mission and vision.
- Facilitated quarterly leadership retreats.
- Facilitated 360 Feedback programs for the organization and work with individuals to create and implement leadership development plans.
- Provided Meyers-Briggs Facilitation and Workshops, and led Emotional Intelligence assessment and training.
Director of Operations, Options Home Care Services, Denver, CO, 2000-2007.
- Hired to start in-home personal care agency and as its founding employee, I imagined and oversaw its growth to serving over 750 Medicaid-eligible elderly and disabled consumers with over 800 active employees throughout New Mexico and Oklahoma.
- Led a diverse group of employees and consumers, and maintained budgetary authority and control for our five district offices and corporate office with annual sales reaching $17 million.
- Created and implemented processes so that the organization could run routinely and systematically to support delivery of in-home personal care for our consumers, while meeting state regulatory requirements, as well as regular audits by multiple state agencies with oversight authority.
Dramaturg/Assistant Director, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, CO, 1998-2001.
- Hired to facilitate and formalize the new works program for CSF.
- Oversaw play solicitation process for southwestern playwrights; during my time with the program, submissions grew from 25 to over 100.
- Collaborated with playwrights and directors in development of selected plays; provided support for playwrights in writing process.
- Assisted with Educational Outreach programs for Boulder area elementary schools to introduce participants to Shakespeare and the theatre.
Unitarian Universalist Leadership, Service and Participation
- Vice President, MDD Chapter, Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, 2011-current.
- Conference Planning Team Chair, MDD UUMA Chapter, Ministers Retreat, 2010-current.
- Member, Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, National, Chapter and Cluster, 2009-current.
- Worship Team Planning Member, Standing on the Side of Love Worship and Witness Event, Denver Capitol Steps, 2012-2013.
- Worship Leadership, Central Cluster Ingathering, September 2012.
- Conference Planning Team Member, Pacific Western Regional Assembly, UUMA Gathering, April 2013.
- Facilitator, Board Retreat, First Unitarian Society of Denver, August 2012.
- Planning Team, Front Range Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, 2010-2011.
- Facilitator, Post-Sabbatical Leadership Conversation, Prairie Unitarian Universalist Church, August 2009.
- Youth Chaplain, Middle School Cluster Conference, Boulder, CO, January 2009.
- Strategic Planning Committee Member, First Universalist Church, 2008.
- Guest Preacher, Multiple Services, First Unitarian Society of Denver, Columbine Unitarian Universalist Church, High Country UU Fellowship, High Plains Church - Unitarian Universalist, Prairie UU Church, First Universalist Church of Denver, and Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, 2007-current.
- Ministerial Internship Committee Member, First Universalist Church, 2007.
- Co-Facilitator, Christopher Reeves New Member Group, First Universalist Church, 2006-2007.
- Coming of Age Mentor, First Universalist Church, 2006-2007.
- Worship Committee Member (Chair, 2007-2009), First Universalist Church of Denver, 2006-2009.
- Member, First Universalist Church of Denver, 2005-current.
- Member, Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, 2000-2002.
Other Community Service and Participation
- Alumni Board Member, Iliff School of Theology, 2012-current.
- Core Team Member, Clergy Immigration Network, Boulder-Denver Cluster, Organized in partnership with American Friends Service Committee, Denver, CO, 2011 - August 2012.
- Student Ambassador, Iliff School of Theology, 2008-2011.
- Student Representative, Iliff Student Senate, Iliff School of Theology, 2008-2010.
- Certified Volunteer, as part of Chaplaincy Internship at New Beginning’s Church, Denver Women’s Prison; Colorado Department of Corrections, 2008-2009.
- Licensed Foster Care Provider, Denver Dept of Human Services, Denver, CO, 2005-2009.
- Conference Chair, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), Annual International Conference, Denver, CO, 2001.
- Member, LMDA, 1996-2005; Regional Vice President and Board Member, LMDA, 1998-2004.
- Volunteer Advocate, Women United, a coalition between working class and middle class women to fight poverty, 1998-2000.
- Volunteer Staff, Women’s Resource Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1997-2000.
- Member, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, 1996-2000.
Publications and Presentations
- Invited Speaker, offering Unitarian Universalist Faith Witness to the issue of immigration, Families United Rally with Rep Jared Polis and Rep Luis Gutierrez, June 2011.
- Invited Panelist, "On Becoming a Center of Transformation," with other local religious leaders, including Rev. Mike Morran and Michael Durall, Boulder-Denver Cluster Spring Forum, January 2010.
- Invited Panelist, “Faith Communities and Sexual Identity,” with religious leaders from various parts of the U.S., as a part of the Power of One Conference, University of Puget Sound, in Tacoma, WA, May 2009.
- “Difficult Dialogues,” presentation with Don Kugler, Geoff Proehl and L. Indra Lusero at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado, August 2008.
- “Landfire,” Focus on the Fabulous – Colorado GLBT Voices, Published by Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, 2007.
- “Migrant,” Matter: Journal of Literature, Art and Movement, Wolverine Press, Fort Collins, Colorado, 2006.
- Mourning Agenda, collection of poetry and prose, morningstar productions, Denver, Colorado, 2001.
- “Towards a Dramaturgical Sensibility,” On-Stage Studies, Academic Journal of Theatre Production and Dramaturgy, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2000.
- “Dramaturgy of Solo Performance,” Presentation at the ATHE Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas, with Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Paul Bonin-Rodriguez and Lisa Lusero, August 1998.
- “Training for the Director/Dramaturg Collaboration,” Presentation at the ATHE Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois, with Kevin Trudeau, Harriet Power, Richard Pettingil and Geoff Proehl, August 1997.
Continuing Education
- Building Beloved Community - Annual Workshops on Social Change in Unitarian Universalist congregations, Denver, CO, 2008-2013.
- Worship Workshop - Mountain Desert District, Golden, CO, featuring presentations from Kay Northcutt and Marlin Lavanhar, April 2011.
- Pastoral Care for Reproductive Loss, Workshop through Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 2008.
- Feedback Facilitation Certification, Center for Creative Leadership, San Diego, CA, August 2007.
- Management Styles and Conflict Resolution Certification, The Conflict Center, 2005.