AUUF Podcasts

Lise Adams Sherry has served as AUUF’s Contract Minister since August 2020, and is on a path to becoming the Fellowship’s “settled” minister. She grew up in Oregon as part of a blended family. Her main interests growing up were dancing and theatre--she performed a lot! Another highlight was learning French and spending her junior year of college in France. Lise is married to Nelson and together they have two boys (Kennen and Derek), and a new daughter-in-law, Maria). They’ve lived in Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Lise received her M.Div. from Meadville Lombard in Chicago. Her religious life is informed by nature, Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian tradition. Social justice, multi-generational worship services, and pastoral care are some of her favorite parts of ministry. Lise also enjoys hiking, bicycling, reading, gardening, movies, traveling, and learning about other cultures.

body> Rex Lamont Butler has been an attorney in Anchorage for four decades, since he graduated from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. Soon after graduating from high school in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rex served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1973. After earning his B.A. in journalism from the University of North Florida, he worked for a time for The Florida Star newspaper. After earning his law degree in 1983, he worked as an associate for Anchorage attorney M. Ashley Dickerson, and then as a legislative aide for Alaska State Senator Joe Josephson. He also worked as an assistant attorney general in the Consumer Protection division, served as general counsel for the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. for President Committee-Alaska, and taught for 16 years as an adjunct professor. Since founding his own firm in 1985, Rex has specialized in criminal defense work. He has been active in the community and in his church and has received a number of honors including a Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award, and public service award from Anchorage Mayor Tony Knowles. Rex and his wife Stephanie have four children and a granddaughter.

Stuart Hirai grew up as a Sansei — 3rd generation Japanese American — in eastern Oregon, where Nisei mentors who had served in the famed 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team were instrumental in shaping his life. The Hirais were one of 350 families moved to eastern Oregon in June 1942 as laborers in the first internment camp established as a result of President Franklin Roosevelt’s infamous Executive Order 9066. “Stu” graduated from Oregon State University and received his Master of Science degree in Hydraulic Engineering from Colorado State University. He worked for 35 years with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and participated in the Senior Executive Fellowship Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Stu is a member of numerous historical and educational organizations. He has made presentations at incarceration camp pilgrimages about the Nisei soldiers from those camps, conducted tours, and spoken at WWII seminars about the Nisei soldiers who served in the Pacific and Europe. Stu is writing a book featuring his Nisei mentors who were in the camps, the military, and resisters during the tumultuous times after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. ​ The slides can be found here - https://www.akwebguy.com/AUUF/AUUF_Sunday_Program_20220220/#1

Amy Hetzler is National Volunteer Program manager for Compassion and Choices, a nonprofit organization working to improve patient rights and individual choice at the end of life, including access to medical aid in dying. Before taking this position in 2018, she worked with the organization in Montana to resist legislative efforts to outlaw activities relating to providing medical aid in dying, and then after joining the C&C staff, she moved to Denver and was the field director for the successful (65%) Yes on Colorado Prop 106 campaign. Before joining C&C Amy honed her fundraising, PR, organizational and volunteer management skills for over a decade while working with the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, and with the American Heart Association raising funds to support public education about heart disease in western Montana. Amy lives in Missoula with her Jack Russell Chihuahua Sadie and her husband Robert, and spends her free time hiking, reading, gardening and doing jigsaw puzzles. The slides can be found here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/tgcquqmckzxoihn/Compassion%26ChoicesPresentationAUUF.pdf?dl=0

Reverend Summer Albayati (she/her) is a UU Muslim of Iraqi descent who has been playing the Arabic drum professionally since the age of 12. Rev. Summer is currently on the staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). She earned her Master’s in Divinity from Claremont School of Theology, and before coming to UUA she served most recently for over eight years as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kern County in Costa Mesa, California. In serving congregations, her focus was on transformation by emphasizing that a mission-focused congregation increases vitality, membership, commitment to justice and love. Rev. Summer co-hosts a podcast with her son called “The Bayat Beat,” a commentary on society and culture, with an emphasis on social justice. She also has a chapter in the anthology, Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity and Power in Ministry, published by Skinner House, and is currently working on a book regarding Islam, the Qur’an, and Liberation Theology. Rev. Summer serves as our primary contact in the Pacific Western Region of the UUA. For more about Rev. Summer, go to: https://www.uua.org/offices/people/summer-albayati

Lance Wilber is the new Public Works Director for the Municipality of Anchorage. He oversees the operations and reliability of the city’s infrastructure, including its streets, facilities, fleet, communications, traffic engineering, traffic signals and signage, and also capital road and drainage projects from design through construction. Until recently, he served as the Director of the Municipality’s Office of Management & Budget, responsible for the coordination, development, implementation and monitoring of capital and operating budgets for thirty-eight municipal departments. Previously, Lance served as the Municipality’s Transportation Division Manager, Traffic Department Director, Public Transportation Director (People Mover) and as Central Region Director for the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. He is a graduate of Oregon State University and Eastern Washington University with a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning. He served as President of Anchorage East Rotary. A life-long Alaskan, Lance has been married for 28 years and has two adult children. The slides that Lance used in his presentation can be found here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ise6g0cddl2993/Public%20Works%20%26%202022%20Bonds%20for%20AUUF%20Jan%202022.pdf?dl=0

Margo Bellamy is President of the Anchorage School Board. A career educator, she has spent over forty years in education working as clerk typist, a teacher, librarian, assistant principal, principal, executive director, mentor, and trainer. During her two-year tenure on the Anchorage School Board, Margo has also served as Clerk, Communication Committee Chair, and Vice-President. Margo is an Adjunct Professor in the UAA Educational Leadership Program and serves on the board of directors of the Alaska Children’s Trust and of the Alaska School Board Association. She is a member of the National School Board Association’s National Black Caucus, National Native American/Alaskan Native Caucus, and National Hispanic Caucus, the Clare House Advisory Council, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the national chapter of the NAACP, and other organizations. Margo is married and is the parent of two adult children, both ASD graduates; and grandparent to two grandsons who both attend school in the Anchorage School District. Margo's slides can be found here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/af1buqp4ho53k39/1_16_22%20%20ASDSB%20%281%29.pdf?dl=0 ASD COVID testing sites can be found here - https://www.asdk12.org/Page/18301 ASD Social Studies Curriculum & national and AK State Standards can be found here - https://www.asdk12.org/Page/5449

This is the audio of the Celebration of Life for Macon Roberts held at AUUF and via Zoom on Saturday, 15 January 2022.

This is the video of the Celebration of Life service for Macon Roberts held at AUUF on Saturday, 15 January 2022.

Joel Cladouhos is a father, husband, and social innovator. He was born in Fairbanks and grew up in Juneau. His background is economic development, the blue economy, and innovation and entrepreneurship. Joel earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Grinnell College and his MBA from University of Alaska Fairbanks. Joel is interested in the sustainable use of Alaska's natural resources, such as fisheries, mariculture, renewable energy, eco-tourism, outdoor recreation, local food systems, the circular economy, and the regenerative economy, and supporting the unique opportunities for sustainable development that represent the greatest potential for Alaska. You can find the slides that Joel used in his presentation here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/te88zreowvj19xv/AUUF%20presentation%20-%201_9_2022.pdf?dl=0

Willie Hensley was instrumental in the creation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which became law 50 years ago this month. He is currently the Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Business and Public Policy at UAA. He also helped found and headed, both the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Northwest Alaskan Natives Association (NANA), an ANCSA regional corporation encompassing his home community of Kotzebue. Willie received his high school diploma from a boarding school in Tennessee, attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, and then graduated with a degree in Political Science from George Washington University. Months after he graduated, he was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives, where he served from 1967-1970. He also served twice in the Alaska Senate. His book Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People recounts his childhood growing up in rural Alaska and his journey as an Alaskan politician and native rights activist. Willie and his wife Abbe have six children and fourteen grandchildren. For more, https://business.uaa.alaska.edu/directory/profile?id=26 and see CV at https://business.uaa.alaska.edu/directory/documents/cv/hensley_w-141500.pdf Note: There are several "dropouts" due to bad internet connection.

Rev. Lise Adams Sherry has served as AUUF’s Contract Minister since August 2020, and is on a path to becoming the Fellowship’s “settled” minister. She grew up in Oregon as part of a blended family. Her main interests growing up were dancing and theatre -- she performed a lot! Another highlight was learning French and spending her junior year of college in France. Lise is married to Nelson and together they have two boys (Kennen and Derek), and a new daughter-in-law, Maria). They’ve lived in Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Lise received her M.Div. from Meadville Lombard in Chicago. Her religious life is informed by nature, Buddhism, and the Judeo- Christian tradition. Social justice, multi-generational worship services, and pastoral care are some of her favorite parts of ministry. Lise also enjoys hiking, bicycling, reading, gardening, movies, traveling, and learning about other cultures

Amanda Metivier, an alumna of Alaskas foster care system, has dedicated her career and personal life to child welfare reform. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Social Work in 2008 and a Masters in Social Work in 2012. Both from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She spent 13 years as a foster parent to teens along with her husband, and recently adopted. Amanda along with a dedicated group of foster youth and alumni, co-founded the non-profit Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA) in 2003, where she currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Through her advocacy with FFCA, Amanda has led efforts to expand services and supports for foster youth across Alaska. She is the Interim Director of the Child Welfare Academy and oversees the Office of Youth Empowerment (OYE), a partnership of the Child Welfare Academy and Facing Foster Care in Alaska, offering opportunities for foster youth to pursue higher education and training, provides training for child welfare staff and allies, and to engage in leadership and empowerment activities. Amanda has received state and national recognition for her work. She received the Casey Excellence for Children Award in 2013, was named one of Alaskas Top 40 Under 40 in 2014, was recognized by Alaska Childrens Trust as a Champion for Kids in 2016, and by the YWCA as a Woman of Achievement in 2017. Sarah Redmon is the Project Coordinator for the Office of Youth Empowerment, a partnership of the Child Welfare Academy and Facing Foster Care in Alaska. Sarah is a former foster youth and is currently a foster parent to her younger siblings. Sarah joined Facing Foster Care in Alaska as a youth advocate and member and was elected to the Youth Leadership Board, before joining the Board of Directors as the Deputy Treasurer. She also served as an All Star, with the national non-profit Fosterclub, training child welfare staff and allies across the country and giving input into federal legislation. In her current role, Sarah works with foster youth across the state to draw on their own lived-expertise to participate in advocacy, training, and peer support activities.

body> Bruce M. Botelho retired in October 2012, after completing four terms as mayor of Juneau, the longest-serving mayor in Juneau’s history. Mayor Botelho also served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Revenue and later as Deputy Attorney General of the Alaska Department of Law until his appointment as Attorney General in December 1994, serving until December 2002, thus achieving the distinction as the longest-serving attorney general since statehood. In his capacity as mayor, he served as a commissioner on the Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission and as a director of the Alaska Municipal League. He is a past president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. He recently completed service as the public policy chair of the Foraker Group and as a board member of the Alaska Humanities Forum. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Alaska State Bar Association’s 2005 Pro Bono Award, its 2007 Jay Rabinowitz Public Service Award, and the Alaska Municipal League’s 2011 Vic Fischer Local Government Leadership Award. In 2018, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in laws from the University of Alaska Southeast. He is married to Lupita Alvarez and they have two children: Alejandro and Adriana. Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/4uwwyfyfiyhxe3h/BB_forAUUF_12-5-21.pdf?dl=0

Tom Kizzia traveled widely in rural Alaska during a 25-year career as a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He is the author of the bestseller Pilgrim’s Wilderness, chosen by the New York Times as the best true crime book set in Alaska, and the Native village travel narrative, The Wake of the Unseen Object, now re-issued in the Alaska classics series of the University of Alaska Press. His latest book, Cold Mountain Path, The ghost town decades of McCarthy-Kennecott, Alaska 1938-1983, was published last month by Porphory Press. Tom’s journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the Columbia Journalism Review, and in Best American Science and Nature Writing 2017. He received an Artist Fellowship from the Rasmuson Foundation and was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. A graduate of Hampshire College, he lives in Homer. You can find his website at - www.tomkizzia.com

Jennifer Brown is currently the development manager for Standing Together Against Rape (STAR). Jennifer is responsible for STAR’s fund development and event management as well as public relations and marketing. Prior to working at STAR, Jennifer spent 15 years at Boys & Girls Clubs – Alaska, managing and training staff at Club locations all over the state, from Nome to Metlakatla and many places in between. She has dedicated most of her adult life to working in the nonprofit sector, doing everything possible to make our community better for future generations. Born and raised in Anchorage, has four grown children—Tayler, Cameron, Triston, and Emily. She enjoys spending her time with family and her part-time job as a singer in various venues throughout Southcentral Alaska. Website - https://staralaska.com Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/zi8g1qgxzf9rkym/AUUF%20Presentation%20Nov%202021.pdf?dl=0

Andrew Halcro currently hosts a blog on politics, life and entertainment called “With All Due Respect.” He served two terms as a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002 and was a candidate for governor and mayor. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Avis Rent a Car of Alaska, one of the state’s oldest and most successful family-owned businesses. He became president of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce in 2012, and served as executive director of the Anchorage Community Development Authority from 2015 until earlier this year. Andrew's podcast - With All Due Respect: href=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1773395

Celeste Hodge Growden is president and CEO of the Alaska Black Caucus and a long- time civic leader in Anchorage. Hodge Growden’s career includes a three-year stint as a legislative aide for the late Senator Bettye Davis and Community Liaison for U.S. Senator Mark Begich. She worked over 30 years with the Municipality of Anchorage, the last six of those as the city’s Director of Office of Equal Opportunity. After retiring from the Muni, Hodge Growden served as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Shiloh Community Development, Incorporated. Her extensive board service and other volunteer experience includes serving as President of the Anchorage NAACP for nearly a decade and president of Business and Professional Women North to the Future for two terms. She is the recipient of many awards including the 2019 National History Makers Award; Ford Motor Company “Freedom Sister’s Award; YWCA Women of Achievement Award, and Social Worker of the Year. For more: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/celeste-hodge-growden https://www.thealaskablackcaucus.com/about-abc/board-of-directors/

Attorney Abigail O’Connor, O’Connor Law, LLC Abigail O’Connor is an accomplished attorney with over a decade of experience dedicated to trusts and estates. Her specific practice areas include estate planning, estate, and gift tax strategic planning, Alaska trusts, estate administration, and family business succession planning. Abigail earned her law degree, with a concentration in estate planning, from Albany Law School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and likes to incorporate mathematical and tax modeling into her practice. Abigail practices in both Alaska and Florida. She is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and regularly writes and speaks about estate planning. A more complete bio and list of her publications and presentations can be found on her website, https://alaskatrustlaw.com ​ Elizabeth Miller, Vice-President, Alaska Community Foundation Elizabeth Miller is a Certified Fundraising Executive who has dedicated her career to fund-raising for Alaska nonprofits. After a 30+ year career at United Way of Anchorage, she joined the team at The Alaska Community Foundation in July 2019 as the Vice President of Development and Communications. Elizabeth is a life-long Alaskan. She grew up in Talkeetna, and attended college in Spokane, WA, where she graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor’s degree in International Business. She and her husband of over 20 years have one daughter and one dog. Elizabeth enjoys hiking and completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain in the spring/summer of 2019. Stephenie Wheeler, Member, AUUF Endowment Fund Committee Stephenie Wheeler has been a member of the Anchorage UU Fellowship for a dozen years and has been a member of the Endowment Committee for four years. She’s also volunteered on AUUF’s Nominating and Communications committees and has been an AUUF Religious Exploration teacher for many years. Thanks to the U.S. Air Force, she arrived in Anchorage in 1985 to begin an 8-year stint in the Elmendorf AFB public affairs office. Today, she is a corporate and regulatory communications officer for the Alaska Railroad. In the community, she serves on the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Alaska Chapter board and is a member of the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Military & Veterans Affairs Commission. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business/ accounting from the University of the State of New York, and an associate’s degree in public affairs from the Community College of the Air Force. Slides from AUUF Endowment Fund Committee: https://akwebguy.com/AUUF/AUUF_Endowment_Presentation_FINAL Abigail's slides: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsv1gc16s2v9ge6/Charitable_Giving_in_the_Estate_Plan_10-31-21.pdf?dl=0 Elizabeth's sides: https://www.dropbox.com/s/05s1fd2cji105ci/2021.10.31%20The%20Alaska%20Community%20Foundation.pdf?dl=0

Attorney Abigail O’Connor, O’Connor Law, LLC Abigail O’Connor is an accomplished attorney with over a decade of experience dedicated to trusts and estates. Her specific practice areas include estate planning, estate, and gift tax strategic planning, Alaska trusts, estate administration, and family business succession planning. Abigail earned her law degree, with a concentration in estate planning, from Albany Law School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and likes to incorporate mathematical and tax modeling into her practice. Abigail practices in both Alaska and Florida. She is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and regularly writes and speaks about estate planning. A more complete bio and list of her publications and presentations can be found on her website, https://alaskatrustlaw.com ​ Elizabeth Miller, Vice-President, Alaska Community Foundation Elizabeth Miller is a Certified Fundraising Executive who has dedicated her career to fund-raising for Alaska nonprofits. After a 30+ year career at United Way of Anchorage, she joined the team at The Alaska Community Foundation in July 2019 as the Vice President of Development and Communications. Elizabeth is a life-long Alaskan. She grew up in Talkeetna, and attended college in Spokane, WA, where she graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor’s degree in International Business. She and her husband of over 20 years have one daughter and one dog. Elizabeth enjoys hiking and completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain in the spring/summer of 2019. Stephenie Wheeler, Member, AUUF Endowment Fund Committee Stephenie Wheeler has been a member of the Anchorage UU Fellowship for a dozen years and has been a member of the Endowment Committee for four years. She’s also volunteered on AUUF’s Nominating and Communications committees and has been an AUUF Religious Exploration teacher for many years. Thanks to the U.S. Air Force, she arrived in Anchorage in 1985 to begin an 8-year stint in the Elmendorf AFB public affairs office. Today, she is a corporate and regulatory communications officer for the Alaska Railroad. In the community, she serves on the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Alaska Chapter board and is a member of the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Military & Veterans Affairs Commission. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business/ accounting from the University of the State of New York, and an associate’s degree in public affairs from the Community College of the Air Force. Slides from AUUF Endowment Fund Committee: https://akwebguy.com/AUUF/AUUF_Endowment_Presentation_FINAL