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 the second Thursday of each month from 5:30-7:30 pm. You can read meeting minutes and other important documents at the bottom of our Governance Page.
Contact the Board at theboard@foothillsuu.org
Meet the Trustees
Mary Klecan, Acting President, and her wife, Loretta Bailey joined Foothills in the Fall of 2017. Mary grew up in a large Catholic family in Albuquerque, New Mexico and joined the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati after high school. She spent the next ten years teaching at the elementary and high school levels primarily in special education in Pueblo, Denver, and Loveland. Upon returning from a seven-month hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, she became the executive director of the Namaqua Center in Loveland, a residential treatment center for abused children. Mary retired after 20 plus years and opened a home repair and painting business in Fort Collins. She loves to hike mountains and canyons, especially the Grand Canyon, where she has planned and led groups up and down (actually, down and then up) the canyon over the last twelve years. Mary loves and feels right at home at Foothills with its triple focus on spirituality, activism, and community.
Beth Adams, Acting Vice-President, 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.,
Born & raised in Cheyenne, Sue Bloomfield, Treasurer, spent the bulk of her academic career at Texas A&M University, teaching exercise physiology and researching how bone health is impacted by disuse. A self-described NASA geek, she pursued biomedical research supporting bone health in space and most enjoyed mentoring graduate students in the lab. In May 2020, Sue retired and was fulfilled a long-held goal to move back to the Rockies, with her two senior cats in tow; she recently adopted an Aussie Shepherd mix named Maggie. Her two brilliant daughters live in Aurora, CO, and Raleigh, NC, with multiple other family situated in north Denver. Sue still works about 1/5-time on volunteer professional activities plus minor duties as affiliate faculty with CSU’s Dept. of Health and Exercise Science, sandwiched around lots of hiking, biking, swimming, and pickleball time.
Raised Episcopalian, Sue discovered Unitarian Universalism at the age of 29 and never looked back. She has been a member of UU congregations in Kirkwood, MO; Columbus, OH; Iowa City, IA, and Bryan/College Station, TX. At the last (UU Church of the Brazos Valley), she served on the board for 5 years, one year as President. Since joining Foothills Unitarian in November 2020, Sue has enjoyed multiple small group activities, leading breakout discussions on Zoom-based services, and assisting with the 2021 Service Auction. She looks forward to working with Foothills’ dedicated board members and ministers this year.
Linda Kothera, Secretary, has been a member of Foothills since 2006. She has served on the Hospitality Committee, has been a small group facilitator, and helps with sound for Sunday services. Linda works as a biologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here in Fort Collins, and has a son who attends the University of Colorado at Denver. Her hobbies include lots of crafty things, hanging out with her golden doodle Rex, and treasure hunting at garage sales.
Linda looks forward to working with congregants, staff, and the rest of the Board as we move towards implementing Foothills’ vision of courageous love locally and beyond.
In January of 2022, after nearly 40 years in academia, John Hill retired as the Lead for the Theatre Program at Front Range Community College here in Ft. Collins. During his time in Academic Theatre, he founded and served as the Artistic Director of the Front Range Family Theatre Project, and as the Costume Shop Director and an Instructor for the CSU Theatre Arts Program; as well as teaching for colleges and universities in Idaho, Arizona and Massachusetts. For 8 years he served as secretary of the Board of Directors of the Bas Bleu Theatre Company in Ft. Collins where he occasionally directed productions, and he continues to serve as a designer for the company. Additionally, for over 30 years, he has served the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in three different national regions as a Regional Respondent, Board Member and Clinician.Â
John came to the Foothills community over a decade ago via his dear late wife Mary, who was a long-time member of the church. From the first moment I entered the church I felt welcomed and invited into a faith community that was nonjudgmental and open to all. This is one of the greatest strengths of Foothills, its ability to open its arms as wide as necessary to embrace all who wish to explore our Unitarian Universalist faith.Â
John wishes to serve on the Foothills Unitarian Board to be of deeper service to all of you. Since Mary’s passing, John has deliberately engaged with the Hospitality team to serve as a worship host, usher, or greeter with the desire to develop richer, more meaningful relationships with those in our community. John believes his past experiences serving on several community boards, a national organization board, and serving on three different Episcopal church vestries in his previous church life, gives him tools and perspectives that can be useful in service here at Foothills.Â
John’s educational background is in both performance studies and theatrical design, with a BA from Loretto Heights College in Denver, and an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Diana Hutchinson wants to help create a world where everyone sees themselves and others as worthy of love, belonging, and redemption. Her career has included service in the Air Force and work as an engineer and project manager. Currently, she and her husband Chris have a small business, Trebuchet Group, where their team helps people work together better. Diana has roots in the Lutheran church, and she joined Foothills a few years ago after realizing she was really a closet Unitarian. She has 4 children, two of whom are still at home. Her latest personal mantra is “how might we?”
Susan Williams and her husband Mark have been attending Foothills for 17 years. The church community is close to her heart, and so are the people who have committed to live into, and carry out its mission. Over the years, she has gotten to know this mission one volunteer role at a time. She has been a part of Family Ministry and a member of the Caring, Hospitality and Safe Space Teams. Journey Groups have been a special way to get to know fellow members in a small group setting. Facilitating and participating in these gatherings has been a true gift. Susan is one of the worship hosts on Sunday mornings who engages with staff and volunteers to create a smoothly-run, warm and welcoming experience for attendees. Â
Born in Wisconsin, her career as a special educator began in Milwaukee and continued with a move to Northern California before a happy landing in Fort Collins. Currently she is a full time Instructional Coach with Poudre School District’s Early Childhood Program. This work involves creating and facilitating professional development opportunities for district staff, along with mentorship to new educators. Each day brings an opportunity to thrive as part of a collaborative and solution-focused team, listen attentively to the perspectives of others, and determine action steps that lead to progress. Â
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 work, you can find her digging in the dirt, hiking, walking her dog Millie, enjoying concerts and movies, reading a good book, exploring Old Town and spending time with Mark and their two musical sons. Susan’s latest pursuit – learning all about the Foothills Board of Trustees!