Our Board of Trustees, entirely made up of members of Foothills, works to ensure the mission of the congregation is being fulfilled. The Board meets twice monthly. The board’s role is to oversee the Senior Minister position, as well as ensure we are accomplishing the ends of our mission and vision through monitoring.
Contact the Board at theboard@foothillsuu.org
Meet the Trustees
Susan Williams, President, and her husband Mark have been attending Foothills for nearly 20 years. This community is close to her heart, and so are the people who live into its values and mission. She embraced the church through one volunteer role at a time and believes whole-heartedly that “we are the church.” She has been a part of family ministry, the Caring Team, the Safe Space Team, and the Sunday Morning Service Team as a worship host, usher and greeter. Facilitating and engaging with people in small groups – Journey Groups, Inquirers, Meet the Movement and the Board of Trustees has been her favorite way to get to know congregational members. She’s a big fan of all the learning, listening, openness and sharing!
Born in Wisconsin, her career in special education and early intervention began in
Milwaukee and continued in Northern California before a happy landing in Fort Collins. She retired from a 37 year career in 2025, spending the last 12 years as an Instructional Coach with Poudre School District’s Early Childhood Program. She created and facilitated professional development for district staff and provided mentorship to new and experienced educators. Engaging with colleagues as part of a solution-focused team, listening to the experiences and goals of others, and determining action steps leading to progress are skills that have transferred well to her Board work.
She approaches her new leadership role on the Board with humility, hard work and humor. Working in partnership with ministers, staff and her fellow Board members to guide Foothills into a continued, positive future is deeply held. Integrating joy in service to Foothills and our UU faith is deeply fulfilling.
Regular spiritual practices include: greeting the day with gratefulness, reading and
writing poetry, yoga, gardening, hiking, appreciating the natural world, noticing little things and laughing out loud. When not at church, you will find her digging in the dirt, trying a new recipe, walking her dogs, enjoying a good book, exploring Old Town and spending time with Mark and their two musical sons, Max and Riley.
Beth Adams, Secretary, and her husband, Patrick Yeager, joined Foothills as members in 2018. She was a key leader throughout the pandemic as a Circle leader, as a part of our Here and Now Visioning process and has served as a leader for several Journey Groups. Recently, Beth and her husband Patrick helped Foothills launch our social group “Millenial’ish” geared to Millennials at Foothills. Beth brings related experience in her current role as the Associate Director of Operations for the College of Health and Human Sciences at CSU, a role that allows her to combine her business operations and project management skillset, with her passions for higher education, student success, creation of healthy learning and workspaces, and processes and policy. Beth serves in different leadership roles on university councils, and has served in various volunteer capacities for non-profit organizations around the Denver metro area.
Beth enjoys activities that allow her to be creative, build relationships, and focus on her personal well-being and that of others. Outside of work and church, you may find her rolling out a yoga mat, navigating the reservoir via paddleboard with dog Timber, crafting alongside cat Sace, appreciating live music with friends, enjoying a game of Yahtzee with Pat on a brewery patio, or dreaming up recipes using fresh veggies from their garden.,
Cathy Thomas first came to Foothills in 2023 seeking connection and community. Initially hesitant due to some “church anxiety,” she quickly found herself embraced by this heartful, liberal space. She discovered kindred spirits in the Foothills community garden, and as winter arrived, found warmth and belonging in a small group. Learning more about the church’s history, she was surprised to realize how much Foothills had already influenced her life—long before she ever stepped through the doors.
Cathy continues to be active in the garden and small groups and has been especially moved by the Active Hope, Braiding Sweetgrass, and Resiliency groups, which have supported her in feeling grounded in the interconnected web of all beings. A longtime Fort Collins resident, Cathy lives with her husband Jon, their dog Fern, and kitty Marigold. She loves spending time in nature, practicing yoga, and playing tennis.
Jessi Harper-Bischof has been attending Foothills since 2019, when she was seeking a place that could feel like a home for herself and her daughter, Philippa. She has served as a leader for journey groups, a co-lead for her neighborhood Community Circle during the Covid pandemic, and occasionally supported Faith Family Hospitality and childrens’ education. She was also a Caring Listener for a season. She has found an inspiring community at Foothills that supports her in her continued growth, and would be honored to be a member of the Board of Trustees.
Professionally, she is a geriatric nurse practitioner and former teacher, and, in both roles, most enjoys getting to know every person individually and supporting them in making decisions that promote their autonomy and happiness. She loves to spend time with her daughter and step-kids, her husband, and the family dog Spud, hiking, biking, paddleboarding, skiing, having family breakfasts, and/or welcoming people over for a relaxing time together at home. Jessi loves reading, yoga, baking, and art, and perhaps most of all, sitting outside and allowing herself to remember what a precious gift it is to be one of the innumerable individual creatures on this amazing planet.
Melissa Archer Melissa (Mel) Archer came to Fort Collins in August 2023 alongside her partner Patrick, who teaches math at CSU. They began attending services that fall, during the final weeks of worship in what is now Unity Hall, and formally joined as members on October 20, 2024. This summer, they will be married in Unity Hall with the reception taking place in the new sanctuary, a milestone they look forward to sharing with loved ones from near and far.
A native of Dallas, Texas, Melissa is a lifelong artist, creative, and performer. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications with an emphasis in Art Direction from Texas A&M University-Commerce, both with highest honors. Her professional path has been genuinely eclectic: several years in the Dallas film industry, sculpting silicone prosthetics, performing as a professional clown and roustabout with a Dallas circus troupe, working as a professional puppeteer at community venues and the State Fair of Texas, and completing a 100-square-foot mural mosaic for a church in North Texas. She currently works as Retail Customer Service Coordinator and Lead Visual Producer for Hester & Cook.
Since joining Foothills, Melissa has served as a greeter, volunteered with the Middle School Circle during the 2024-2025 school year, and co-facilitated the Unpacking Your Religious Baggage workshop. She devoted substantial time and energy to Rainbow Villages, and has continued finding ways to serve the congregation since. Melissa’s most substantive contribution has been her work on the Visioning Committee, a committee of the Board currently developing the church’s Vision Statements for the next five to seven years.
To the Board, Mel hopes to bring a creative point of view, genuine openness to change, deep listening, and energetic collaboration. She is profoundly grateful to have found a spiritual home at Foothills and proud to stand for the covenant that animates this community: “Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law. This is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.”
Tim Pearson has been an active member of Foothills UU since 1999 when his wife, their two sons, and he began attending. He grew up in a Protestant church where both of his parents were deeply involved. From them he learned that a church thrives only when members step up to serve. That belief has guided his long involvement at Foothills.
Over the years, he has served the congregation in many ways, including teaching OWL and children’s small groups, serving on the Board, leading small groups, working on bylaws, supporting the mission and visioning process, and helping with everything from gardening to building projects—and, of course, moving many chairs.
Tim and his wife of 42 years, Rebecca, are both Colorado natives. They are the proudparents of two sons and delighted grandparents of a two-year old. Tim loves to ski, hike, bike, travel, cook, and read.
During his previous Board service, Foothills had not yet transitioned to policy governance. He is eager to bring his experience and institutional knowledge to the Board as the church continues to grow within this governance model. Also, because he has previously participated in Foothills visioning and mission process, he looks forward to contributing meaningfully to the current process.
Hudson Wilkins and his wife, Grace, began attending Foothills in 2019. Like many, the pandemic interrupted their attendance, but after the birth of their first child, Rayne, in 2021, they reconnected with the community and have since become official members. They recently welcomed their second child, Ziggie, and life is full in the Wilkins household. While time has been limited, Hudson felt a clear call to step into deeper engagement when invited to consider joining the Board. He sees Board service as a meaningful way to stay actively grounded in community amidst an increasingly oppressive political climate.
Professionally, Hudson is a trauma therapist who works with individuals healing from difficult childhood experiences. The wisdom and values shared during Sunday services often accompany him into his practice, where he supports his clients in building resilience and reclaiming joy.
Mary Klecan, Nominating Committee Mary joined Foothills in the Fall of 2017. One of the first services she attended was a Vespers Service and she knew right away that she was home. She immediately began looking for ways to connect and contribute. She became a regular volunteer at the Foothills Food Pantry and joined the Joseph Priestley Book Group. Over the years she has led Journey groups, Wellspring groups and Racial Justice White Fragility and Caste book groups. She was involved in the initial planning of the Radical Welcome desk. She has been on the Board of Trustees since 2021 and President since late 2023.
Mary grew up in a large Catholic family in Albuquerque. She joined the Sisters of Charity and was missioned to Pueblo to teach in elementary and high schools there. After leaving the convent, she moved up the Front Range and began working in children’s treatment centers in Denver and Loveland. After a six month break to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, she became the director of Namaqua Center in Loveland. Twenty one years later, she retired and started a painting company in Fort Collins.
Growing up with six brothers (and two sisters), she could not help but be active and involved in athletics. Over her lifetime, she has developed a very special relationship with the Grand Canyon. She brought two great loves (Foothills and the Canyon) together in leading Foothills retreats at the Grand Canyon in 2022 and 2024.
As her term on the Board comes to an end, she is interested in serving in another capacity on the Nominating Committee, where she looks to continue to encourage others to consider the many ways to serve our wonderful community here at Foothills.
Peter Moore has had a long career as writer and editor, most recently for Men’s Health and Backpacker magazines. Since moving to Colorado with his wife Claire McCrea in 2017, he has taken up gigs as a cartoonist, animator, and writer for the Colorado Sun and Front Range NPR. But the best thing he and Claire ever did was to “try out” Foothills Unitarian Church, which they now know is the best in a long string of UU churches they’ve belonged to. This is an easy church to love, support, and help build for the future!
