The Reverend Elinor Artman is a retired parish minister, and as a fifty-year Unitarian Universalist she says, she “has been able to see the tremendous progress over the years in reclaiming our women’s heritage, in large part initiated by the UUWHS.” The work goes on, she insists, and she “looks forward to being an active part of it.”

Phyllis Rickter has served on the UUWHS Board in previous years and has also served the UU Women’s Federation in various capacities. She is member of the Arlington Street Church in Boston, where she and her husband Don raised their two sons, the younger of whom, Paul Rickter, is now Secretary of the UUA Board of Trustees. Phyllis is most welcome in her return to UWHS as Vice President, and succeeding Joan Goodwin leader.

The Reverend George G. Whitehouse was appointed Minister-at-Large by the Arlington Street Church under the Reverend Jack Mendelsohn in 1969. He attended Northeastern University and Harvard Divinity School and was ordained by Arlington Street Church. Since 1969 he has represented ASC in many social outreach programs involving students, families and several Juvenile Criminal Justice start-up programs. George is currently on the board of the Bethany Union for Young Women (a subsidized housing facility in Boston for young women between the ages of 18-30) and the Tuckerman Coaltion Board and Steering Committee (a consortium of UUs advocating for legislation affecting families and children living in poverty). He has also been the resident Campanologist (bell-ringer) at ASC since 1969. George has played a major role in helping UUWHS get the library settled, and we’re delighted to have him on our Board.

Rev. Kate Walker is minister of the Meadville Unitarian Universalist Church in Meadville, PA. She has been a UU all her life being the daughter a UU minister. She received her BA in Communications from the University of Denver, an MA in Social Ecology from Goddard College and an Masters of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry. She resides in Meadville with her husband, step son, four cats and two dogs, loves to read and watch Firefly episodes. In the winter she skis and in the summer she rides her bike when ever she can. Kate agreed to join the UUWHS board because she believes it's important to maintain accurate records of our UU religious leaders to ensure our stories are remembered and for inspiration as we strive into the future.

Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman has served several interim ministries in New England. Before moving north, she was both parish and community minister in central Texas, serving congregations in Houston and San Antonio, hospital chaplaincies in Austin, and a staff chaplaincy for Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region. She graduated from Austin Presbyterian Seminary in 2001, completed a year-long intern ministry in Portland, Oregon in 2002, and was fellowshipped into Unitarian Universalist ministry in 2003. Live Oak UU Church of Austin ordained her in 2005. Prior to ministry, Barbara was professor of music history at West Virginia University, where her research and teaching included Baroque opera and performance of early music. She was also associate faculty in the women’s studies program and her research included women in music history and feminist pedagogy in music. She continues to perform on the viol and is an avid folk dancer. Her current historical research concerns early Universalist women ministers and she is also writing a biography of Rev. Mary Billings, the first women ordained to liberal ministry in Texas, in 1892. She has two children, Amanda, age nineteen, and Patrick, age twenty-two.

Rev. Helen Zidowecki has served as the Program Consultant (Religious Education and Youth) for the Northeast District, retiring in 2007. She has been a member of the UUWHS Board since 2002, and has a become manager of the web as we convert our inventory to online resources. Her interest is making our herstory available to all ages within our congregations through traditional religious education and development of Small Group Ministry. She is the coordinator of the development Unitarian and Universalist Women: Liberating History.