The United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance, Inc. (UCBMA) has been one of the sources that UCC clergy and lay employees have turned to for assistance since 1885.
The following Directors carry on that legacy by providing leadership and oversight to the ministries of the UCBMA.
Board Officers
Chair – Rev. Dr. Elena Larssen, Class of 2029
Vice Chair – Ms. Marguerite Boslaugh, Class of 2025
Directors
Rev. Dr. Rodney Franklin, Class of 2026
Rev. (Kahu) Kenneth Makuakāne, Class of 2026
Rev. Charmaine Penn Johnson, Class of 2027
Mr. John B. Kleiman, Class of 2029
Ex Officio Directors
United Church of Christ General Minister and President
Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson
Officers of the Pension Boards-United Church of Christ, Inc.
David A. Klassen, President and CEO
UCBMA Officers (Ex-Officio)
David A. Klassen, President and CEO
Mr. Walter A. Reyes, Vice President
Ms. Carolyn M. Weiss, Treasurer
Board Officers
Chair – Rev. Dr. Elena Larssen (Class of 2029) is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance (UCBMA), an affiliated ministry of the United Church of Christ and an affiliate of the Pension Boards. Rev. Dr. Larssen is the Transitional Association General Minister and CEO of the Living Water Association (Heartland Conference). Previously, Rev. Dr. Larssen was the Generosity Officer for the Mid-Atlantic Region on behalf of the National Ministries of the UCC. She has served with UCBMA beginning in 2010 and is a founding member of the Steering Committee for the Next Generation Leadership Initiative.
Rev. Dr. Larssen has served as Associate Conference Minister in the Minnesota Conference; Senior Minister, First Congregational Church Long Beach, CA; Associate Minister, First Congregational Church of LaGrange, IL and First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, CA; and Campus Minister and Adjunct Faculty of Memorial Chapel, United Campus Christian Ministry at Stanford University.
Rev. Dr. Larssen has served on several boards, including the Downtown Associated Youth Services and Urban Community Outreach, a church-based center for the unhoused (both in Long Beach, CA). She is a founding member of the UCC’s Antoinette Brown Society and Working Group. She has served on the Committee on Ministry ethics committees for the Northern California-Nevada and Southern California-Nevada Conferences. She was Founding Co-chair of the 2030 Clergy Network, a network to strengthen, sustain, and mobilize UCC ordained ministers in their 20s and 30s.
Rev. Dr. Larssen is a double graduate of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA (M.Div., D.Min.). She is a graduate of the University of California in Santa Cruz, CA (B.A. in Literature).
Rev. Dr. Larssen is married to Rev. Mark Pettis, who is Senior Minister of the Avon Lake UCC in the Cleveland area. Rev. Pettis previously served as Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Minister of the UCC. They have an elementary school-aged son and a basset hound.
Vice Chair – Ms. Marguerite Boslaugh, CFA, FSA (Class of 2025) has worked for Connecticut General Life Insurance Company/CIGNA for more than 40 years. As a member and then graduate of Cigna's Actuarial Executive Development program, she held various positions in Connecticut General/Cigna’s individual insurance, group pensions, corporate actuarial, and health and dental insurance operations between 1975 and 1994. In 1994, she moved to Cigna Investment Management, working in the Portfolio Management area. Thereafter, she was named Investment Managing Director for $16 billion in total assets. She retired in 2012; however, she continues to work in Cigna Investment Management through its Encore program.
Ms. Boslaugh received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and a Chartered Financial Analyst of the CFA Institute. Ms. Boslaugh is married to Dave Guadliana and lives in Simsbury, Connecticut. She is a member of the First Church of Christ UCC in Simsbury, where she is a member of several boards. Ms. Boslaugh is a member of the Pension Boards’ Investment Committee and is a Director of UCBMA.
Recording Secretary – Rev. Dr. Geneva M. Butz (Class of 2026) served as Pastor of Old First Reformed UCC in Philadelphia and Associate Conference Minister of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference. Now retired, she tutors third-graders, mentors a high school student, and coaches pastors for the Center for Progressive Renewal. A Director of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance, she is involved in the Next Generation Leadership Initiative.
Directors
Rev. Dr. Rodney Franklin (Class of 2026) is an ordained United Church of Christ minister and staff chaplain at University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Hospital. He has served in many leadership capacities throughout the UCC. He has served churches in Savannah, Georgia; Cleveland, Ohio; and Birmingham, Alabama, and has also served the national Church on the Wider Church Ministries Board and Global Ministries Board. He is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Pension Boards and a Director of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance.
Rev. Kenneth Makuakane (Class of 2026) is Senior Pastor of Kawaiaha’o Church and Associate Conference Minister of the Hawai’i Conference of the United Church of Christ.
In 2023, Kahu Makuakāne received the ʻŌʻō Award from the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce. This award honors native Hawaiians who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the Native Hawaiian community.
Kahu Makuakāne has served the Hawai’i Conference since 2011. In 2014, he was named Acting Papa Makua (Elder, Leader) for the Association of Hawai’ian Evangelical Churches. He was called to Kawaiaha’o Church in May 2018. A historic congregation dating to the 1830s, Kawaiaha’o was the first Christian church established in Oahu and is recognized as the Mother Church of Hawai’i.
He is recognized as a prolific songwriter and successful innovator in producing and recording Hawai’ian music and has produced over 100 albums, and numerous artists have recorded his compositions. He operates a private recording studio with clients ranging from top recording artists to advertising agencies. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts since 2005 and was the 2015 recipient of the Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kahu Makuakāne earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Hawai’i at Hilo in 1979. In 2006, he was inducted into the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Gallery Hall of Fame, which recognizes outstanding graduates who have been positive role models in their professional and personal lives and contributed to the community and society.
Kahu Makuakāne serves as a member of the Pension Boards Benefits and Corporate Social Responsibility Committees and a Director of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance.
Rev. Charmaine Penn Johnson (Class of 2027) serves as Associate Minister of Spiritual Formation at Kirkwood United Church of Christ in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rev. Johnson served as Associate Minister and subsequently Assistant Pastor of Victory for the World Church before accepting a call to Kirkwood UCC. She served in various lay leadership capacities at Victory prior to becoming an Associate Minister.
Rev. Johnson’s business background includes various positions in IT with Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York; Communications and Pursuit Strategist for Ernst & Young LLP in Atlanta; Business Analyst/Supervisor/Project Manager for the Georgia Department of Human Resources; and Quality Control Proofreader for Market Force Information.
Rev. Johnson’s community activities include the United Church of Christ African American Women in Ministry (AAWIM) National Steering Committee, where she serves as Co-Chair; Member in Discernment (MID) Advisor for the UCC Southeast Conference; and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Golden Life Member.
Rev. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Loyola University New Orleans, an M.B.A. from William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester, and a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Rev. Johnson serves as Vice Chair of the Pension Boards Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and a Director of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance.
Mr. John B. Kleiman (Class of 2029) is retired and was most recently a consultant and Director of Opal Reassurance Limited in Hamilton, Bermuda. Mr. Kleiman was a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Certified Life Underwriter (CLU). He has experience in pensions, health care, long-term care insurance, and reinsurance. Among the companies he has worked for are Aetna Life & Casualty (1970-1989), Conning & Company (1989-1998), Price Waterhouse Coopers (1998-2002), Hampton Re Bermuda (2002-2003), Northstar Reinsurance Bermuda (2004-2011), and Opal Reassurance Limited in Hamilton, Bermuda (2011-2018).
Mr. Kleiman has been a member of the First Church of Glastonbury, Connecticut, since 1972, where he has chaired the Board of Trustees, Stewardship Committee, Christian Service Committee, as well as a church building project committee. An active member of the community, Mr. Kleiman has been a Scoutmaster as well as President and Treasurer of the local chapter of American Field Service. Along with his wife, Barbara, he is also a founding Director of a charity that provides weekend food to needy elementary school children.
The Kleimans are the parents of two daughters, the Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman, Pastor of First Congregational Church (UCC) in Bristol, Connecticut, and Kimberly Lynch, a kindergarten-grade teacher in New Hampshire.
Mr. Kleiman earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Actuarial Science degrees from the University of Michigan.
Mr. Kleiman serves as the Chair of the Pension Boards Benefits Committee and a Director of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance.
Ex Officio Directors
Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson
United Church of Christ General Minister and President
The Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson serves as the tenth General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ. She is both the first woman and the first Black woman to lead the denomination.
Prior to this call, Rev. Thompson served in the national setting of the United Church of Christ for 14 years – two years as Minister for Racial Justice, eight years as Minister for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations and four years as the Associate General Minister for Wider Church Ministries and Co-Executive for Global Ministries. She was elected as AGM in 2019.
Before joining the national staff, Rev. Thompson served in the Florida Conference United Church of Christ as a Pastor and on the Conference staff as the Minister for Disaster Response and Recovery. She also worked in the nonprofit arena for over 10 years in senior leaderships positions.
Rev. Thompson has also served in many ecumenical leadership positions including the joint United Church of Canada and United Church of Christ committee working on the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), the World Council of Churches (WCC) on the Central Committee, the Joint Working Group with the Roman Catholic Church (JWG), and the Commission for Education and Ecumenical Formation as the Rapporteur for the work of the commission.
Rev. Thompson earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College in New York, a Master’s in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC, and a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She also studied Public Policy at Duke University and earned her Doctorate in Ministry at Seattle University. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University.
Ex Officio Officers of the Pension Boards-United Church of Christ, Inc.
David A. Klassen, President and CEO
David A. Klassen is the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Pension Boards-United Church of Christ, Inc. Previously, David served as Chief Investment Officer for the Pension Boards and United Church Funds for 14 years.
David has significant experience in the fields of investment and finance. His Wall Street credentials include working as V.P. and Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Managing Director and Head of Equities at JPMorgan Chase.
In a productive decade away from Wall Street, David graduated from divinity school, earned 4 units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and was Partner of Springboard Leadership LLC, working with top leaders and organizations to build diverse leadership capacity in the finance, not-for-profit, and government sectors.
David earned a B.A. in Accounting from Franklin & Marshall College and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, and attended Tavistock Institute’s Leicester Conference on Authority, Leadership and Organization. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and currently is a member of the Board of Trustees of Union Theological Seminary in NYC. In the past, he has served on the Investment Committee of United Church Funds and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Irvington, New York. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, is a long time member of Middle Collegiate Church, a United Church of Christ in Manhattan, and he and his wife Susan are parents to three NY-based adult children.
Ex Officio UCBMA Officers
Walter A. Reyes
Walter A. Reyes joined the Pension Boards in 2018, bringing more than 20 years of experience as a transformational growth leader with a proven track record of successfully leading change and through influencing leadership and organizational culture. Walter served as Interim President and CEO, until a new President and CEO was appointed in March 2025.
He began his career at Goodwill Industries, where he was Vice President of Human Resources. As his career advanced, he accepted the role of Chief Administrative Officer and Human Resources Director for a large, affordable housing development corporation. Walter served as a change agent within the organization and championed strategies that impacted organizational-wide performance management. He oversaw culture change, compliance, and an array of talent management initiatives aimed at the best achievement of corporate goals. Most recently, Walter served as Human Resources Business Partner for Healthfirst, LLC, where he and his team were collectively responsible for delivering HR Strategies that impacted $9 billion revenue line of business with more than 1,000 employees.
Walter completed his BBA and MBA degrees at Hofstra University. He is a member of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and resides on Long Island. Walter enjoys travelling the world to experience its richness of diverse cultures and perspectives.
Carolyn M. Weiss, Treasurer
Carolyn M. Weiss, a financial executive with over three decades of experience, joined the Pension Boards as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in September 2022, reporting to President and CEO Brian R. Bodager.
In this role, Carolyn leads PBUCC’s financial activities and functions in support of the overall mission and vision of the organization. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, she will also be a key executive engaged in long-range planning and establishing the strategic direction of PBUCC.
Carolyn received her Bachelor’s degree in German from the Pennsylvania State University and an MBA in Accountancy from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, where she serves as an Advisory Board Member. Carolyn is a New York State-licensed Certified Public Accountant and has passed Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 7 and Series 63 exams and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 examination. She comes to the Pension Boards from The New York Community Trust, where she served as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer.