Leadership Team
Meet our Staff
Katie Kline
Executive Director
Katie is an educator, activist, community-builder, and writer with a passion for the arts, social justice, spiritual exploration, and the natural world. With an academic background in religion and a professional background in spiritual development, communications, nonprofit leadership, and arts administration, Katie is passionate about engaging in multi-generational, intersectional movement building that centers right relationship, story, and community care. Originally from St. Paul, Katie now resides in Duluth where she enjoys exploring the Lake Superior watershed with her husband Shawn, their three beautiful children, and two goofball pups.
Allison Wyeth
Regional Organizer
Allison, from Minneapolis via Santa Barabara, California, has served MUUSJA for the past several years as a Program Director, Pride Organizer, and UU the Vote Director. Holding a Master’s degree in education, Allison has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors and brings extensive experience in volunteer coordination and training, business management, and communications, as well as multi-generational engagement.
Leslie Mills
Pride Outreach Organizer
Leslie is a third-generation Unitarian Universalist who joined the MUUSJA team in 2023. She has trained in the peaceful Japanese martial art of Ki-Aikido for over a decade and focuses her work through that lens. Living in an artist’s loft in St. Paul, she is a writer, painter, singer, knitter, gardener, gluten-free baker, and tea maker. Her favorite kind of travel is aways based in relationship building, service learning, and justice work. Leslie was ordained in 2016 and has worked with UU congregations around the Midwest, volunteering regularly to work with youth on both a regional and national level.
Dallas Rising
Communications Manager
Dallas (she/they) is an activist, yoga instructor, somatic grief worker, and interfaith chaplain. She came to the UU faith as a teenager and spent the 90’s deeply involved in UU youth leadership from the local to national level. After a 20-year hiatus from church, she rejoined in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd during the pandemic, seeking a way to be more resourced during a particularly tumultuous time. With decades of grassroots organizing work in liberation spaces and experience in secular nonprofits, she’s enjoying approaching social justice work from a space of spiritual grounding. She lives in Minneapolis with her spouse and two rescue dogs.
Karen Wills
Technology Integration Specialist
Karen, MUUSJA’s former Executive Director, is wearing a new hat as our Technology Integration specialist. Karen is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist and organizer.
Meet our Board
Gail Bishop
Gail has been a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester for 25 years, having served as a past president of the congregation as well as in other leadership capacities. At First UU she is currently Chair of the Social Justice Council, a member of the Finance and Stewardship Committees, member of the Disability Task Force, and serves on one of the church Hospitality Teams. She is an advocate for the disabled, serving for the past eight years on the Board of Directors of PossAbilties, an organization that creates opportunities for children and adults to contribute and connect with the Rochester community. Her family consists of one husband, two daughters, and three Westie dogs! When not serving for causes on the ground she is in the air as an instrument rated, private pilot. “At altitude,” she says, “there are no differences – we all appear the same!”
Lynn Degerstrom
Lynn has been a member of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester for 6 years. She has been highly active in social justice issues for the last 30 years. Currently, she focuses on LGBTQIA+ issues and facilitates the Wide Welcoming Team where the mission is to extend radical welcoming to each person who enters the First UU Church – Rochester doors. She is also responsible for overseeing the annual renewal of the Welcoming Congregations program through the UUA. She lives her life looking through the lens of her mantra “everything is energy” which led her to study energy work and traditional Chinese Medicine at Windemere School of Eastern Healing Arts in massage where she later became the Director of Student Affairs. That passion for “energy” has led her to a lifetime study of Feng Shui. Her family consists of her husband of over 35 years, a son, and 3 dogs. In her spare time, she loves to do wool applique and is an avid player of MahJongg.
Judy Foster, Co-Chair
Judy has been a member of the St. Cloud Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (SCUUF) since 1979, having served in numerous leadership positions, including two terms as president of the Executive Board. Now retired as an English professor at St. Cloud State University, she is active in the community, currently serving on the St. Cloud Area Regional Human Rights Commission. At SCUUF, she serves as newsletter editor and chairs the Community Garden and Technology committees. Her current social justice focus is justice for ex-offenders, a joint project with Spirit of Life Unitarian Universalist Church in St. Cloud.
Bonnie Graham
Bonnie is awn active member of the Underwood UU Church and is closely involved with climate justice work in northern Minnesota, especially around Camp Firelight. Photo and full bio forthcoming!
Kathy Peterson, Co-Chair
Kathy’s commitment to racial justice, which came late in life, is passionate and consuming. She hungers to make a positive difference towards justice and equity in our society. Along with contributing to the health and happiness of her great grandchildren, and keeping fit with daily exercise and mindful food choices, her life is filled with time spent with friends and advocacy on behalf of marginalized peoples.
Jeff Snyder, Treasurer
After living in Rochester for 38 years, and attending First Universalist Unitarian Church of Rochester for the last seven of those years, Jeff and his wife Karen moved to Minneapolis in June of 2014. While at First UU, Jeff served as a member and chair of the Finance Committee and was on the Board of Directors serving as Treasurer at the time of his departure. Jeff and Karen are new members of First Universalist Church where Jeff is now a member of the Community Investment Team. Jeff’s primary interest in the social justice arena is in the area of environmental justice. He is currently retired and plans to stay that way after a long career with IBM as an engineer and project manager. Jeff and Karen have an adult daughter and son living in Los Angeles and Minneapolis respectively.