As of May 2022
Chair - The Rev. Dr. Rodney Franklin (Class of 2023) 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, and is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Pension Boards and a Director of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance.
Vice Chair - Mr. Lawrence Yunaska, CPA (Class of 2026) is the managing partner in the 15-person Cleveland accounting firm of Baumgarten & Company LLP, where he specializes in accounting, tax, and management advisory services for closely held businesses. Mr. Yunaska has been with the firm since 1978, and a partner since 1983. He, with his wife of 40 years, resides on the West Side of Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Yunaska is a 1973 graduate of Westlake High School and a 1977 graduate of Wittenberg University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Yunaska has served on various state committees for the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, as well as local Cleveland committees. He also serves as an advisor to various boards of directors of local Cleveland companies and nonprofit organizations. Mr. Yunaska was the President of the Lakewood/Rocky River Rotary Club and is currently treasurer of North Coast Health Ministry and Deaconess Foundation and serves on both Boards. He served as treasurer of the Dover Congregational Church in Westlake, Ohio for 17 years.
As Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Yunaska serves on the Pension Boards’ Executive, Governance, and Personnel Committees. He also chairs the Audit, Budget, and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)/Technology Steering Committees.
Ms. Marguerite Boslaugh, CFA, FSA (Class of 2026) 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 their 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. The couple makes their home in Simsbury, Connecticut. She is a member of the First Church of Christ UCC in Simsbury, Connecticut, where she is a member of several boards. Marguerite is a member of the Pension Boards’ Investment Committee and is a Director of UCBMA.
Mr. Ángel E. Cepeda Velázquez (Class of 2025) is head of Accounting and Administration for Iglesia Evangélica Unida de Puerto Rico (IEUPR, United Evangelical Church of Puerto Rico), a UCC-related denomination comprising 100 clergy and lay church employees in 75 churches and ministry settings throughout the island. He also serves as Bookkeeping and Business Advisor of Escuela Evangélica Unida de Fajardo (United Evangelical School of Fajardo), where he oversees accounts receivable and cash flow.
Mr. Cepeda received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico (Humacao) in 2011. Mr. Cepeda brings strong business analytical skills, as well as proven experience in developing and implementing financial systems, strategic planning, staff supervision, and budget oversight.
He is a member of Iglesia Evangélica Unida Juan Martín in Luquillo, Puerto Rico.
Mr. William C. Huffman (Class of 2025) is an attorney with more than 40 years' experience in the areas of corporate law, probate administration and litigation, and elder law. He earned a B.A. degree in Economics from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and a Doctor of Law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He is admitted to the bar in Ohio and Florida.
Mr. Huffman is a partner/member in a four-attorney firm, Huffman, Hunt & Klym, LLC (and its predecessors), where he is responsible for administration of office operations and supervision of attorneys and staff. Mr. Huffman served a 15-month term as Administrative and Presiding Judge of Rocky River Municipal Court in 1992-1993. Since 1999, he has served as a Special Counsel to the Attorney General of the State of Ohio. Mr. Huffman is a member of the Ohio State, Florida, and Metropolitan Cleveland bar Associations.
Mr. Huffman is a member of Dover Congregational United Church of Christ in Westlake, Ohio, where he has served on the Personnel and Nominating Committee, Church Council, and Endowment Committee. His community service has included Westlake City Council, Lakewood Civil Service Commission, Lakewood/Rocky River Rotary Club, and Westlake Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Huffman presently serves as a director of First Federal Savings and Loan of Lakewood and First Mutual Holding Company.
The Rev. Charmaine Penn Johnson (Class of 2024) serves as Associate Minister of Spiritual Formation and Associate Minister of Servant Leadership at Kirkwood United Church of Christ in Atlanta, Georgia. The Rev. Johnson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Loyola University in New Orleans; an M.B.A. from the 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.
As an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, she served as Associate Minister/Assistant Pastor of Victory United Church of Christ in Stone Mountain, Georgia from 2001-2016 prior to accepting the call to Kirkwood UCC. She had served in various lay leadership capacities at Victory UCC for more than 10 years.
The Rev. Johnson’s business background includes various positions in information systems with Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York (1988-1997); Communications and Pursuit Strategist for Ernst & Young, LLP in Atlanta; Business Analyst/Supervisor/Project Manager for the Georgia Department of Human Resources (2000-2002); and sales and marketing positions with Artistic Impressions, Inc., Simply Art, Inc., and Market Force Information, LLC.
The Rev. Johnson’s community activities include serving as Pathways Facilitator for the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ; Co-Chair of the United Church of Christ African American Women in Ministry (AAWIM) National Steering Committee; Members in Discernment (MID) Advisor for the UCC Southeast Conference; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; and Parent as Partners Volunteer.
Mr. John B. Kleiman (Class of 2024) is retired and was most recently a consultant and Director to Opal Reassurance Limited in Hamilton, Bermuda. Mr. Kleiman is 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 the fields of 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 is the Chairman of the Benefits Committee for the Pension Boards. He also serves on the Executive Committee and the Board of Ministerial Assistance.
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 and Christian Service Committee as well as a church building project. An active member of the community, he has been a Scoutmaster as well as President and Treasurer of the local chapter of American Field Service. 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 first-grade teacher in New Hampshire.
The Rev. Dr. Carol E. Lytch (Class of 2025) is President Emerita of Lancaster Theological Seminary, one of the seminaries of the United Church of Christ.
Prior to assuming the presidency of Lancaster in 2011, Dr. Lytch served as Assistant Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), an accrediting agency for theological schools in the United States and Canada. She has also served as Coordinator of the Lilly Endowment’s Program for Strengthening Congregational Leadership, and has been a visiting scholar and researcher-in-residence at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
A cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Dr. Lytch earned an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and studied at the University of St. Andrews and the University of Edinburgh, both in Scotland. She received a Ph.D. in Christian ethics and sociology of religion from Emory University.
Dr. Lytch is an ordained minister with dual affiliation in the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The Rev. (Kahu) Kenneth Makuakāne (Class of 2024) is Senior Pastor of Kawaiaha’o Church and Associate Conference Minister of the Hawai’i Conference of the United Church of Christ.
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.
Kahu Makuakāne received a Bachelor of Arts degree 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 both their professional and personal lives and contributed to the community and society in general.
He is recognized as a prolific songwriter and successful innovator in producing and recording Hawai’ian music, who has produced over 100 albums, and his compositions have been recorded by numerous artists. 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.
Mr. George L. Ochs (Class of 2023) is an investment management professional with more than 30 years’ experience in the areas of portfolio management and real assets.
Mr. Ochs has been a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC) since 1995. His wife Sandra is an ordained UCC minister, currently retired. From 1988 through 1995, Mr. Ochs was employed by Prudential Insurance. For the following 20 years he was employed by JP Morgan, serving as a portfolio manager, and as a client relations and capital formation professional.
Mr. Ochs is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (Civil Engineering) and the University of Colorado-Denver (MBA).
Mr. Ochs’ outside interests include an alumni scholarship program, which he and a classmate established for his high school in 2012. These annual scholarship awards are directed towards students of need who have demonstrated significant community service activities.
Mr. Benjamin J. Rader (Class of 2023) is a lifelong UCC member who serves General Counsel of The Goldman Sachs Foundation and The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund. Since 2017, he has also served as a lead legal counsel and corporate secretary for the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund. Ben is a Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Goldman Sachs, and co-founder and chair of Goldman Sachs’ pro bono program.
From 1999 until 2005, Ben worked as an attorney at Cleary Gottlieb in the firm’s New York, Frankfurt, Germany, and Washington, D.C. offices. His practice focused on corporate governance and securities law, but he was also active in the antitrust law and international litigation areas.
Ben has deep roots in the United Church of Christ. His father, the Rev. William Rader, is a retired United Church of Christ pastor in the Penn Central Conference. Ben and his family were members of St. John’s UCC in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania from 1970-1993, and of the Shared Ministry UCC in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from 1994-2004. He met his spouse while on a UCC-sponsored youth trip to Germany. Ben is currently a member of Otisville-Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church in Otisville, New York. As a primary caregiver to his father, Ben has worshipped with his father since 2004 at Church of the Apostles UCC in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has served the wider United Church of Christ as a member of the Board for World Ministries (the predecessor instrumentality to the current Wider Church Ministries) and, since 2008, as a Trustee of Lancaster Theological Seminaries, one of the seminaries of the UCC.
Ben is a graduate of Wesleyan University (BA), the New York University School of Law (JD), and Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany (LLM in International and European Law).
The Rev. Franz Rigert (Class of 2024) has deep roots in the United Church of Christ, where his father served in pastoral ministry for over 30 years.
The Rev. Rigert studied pre-law and religion at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 and receiving the Exceptional Leadership Award. He declined an invitation from the University of Wisconsin Madison Law School when called by the Holy Spirit to attend seminary. He graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, where he received the Distinguished Preaching Award. He was ordained in 1992.
He served as Associate Minister at Kingwood United Methodist Church in Buffalo Grove, Illinois before being called in 1995 to serve Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Grafton, Wisconsin. While at Pilgrim, Franz led 25 mission trips domestically and internationally. The congregation developed a partnership with an African-American Baptist church, sponsored a refugee resettlement family, and participated in several Habitat for Humanity projects. The Rev. Rigert facilitated a local ecumenical group, fostered numerous interfaith conversations, and participated in clergy support groups. Over the years, the congregation grew from 300 to over 700 active members. He led Pilgrim through a capital fundraising initiative and a major building expansion.
The Rev. Rigert was on the Southeast Association Church and Ministry Team for six years, serving as the Chairperson for four years. He then served three terms on the Conference Board of Directors. In the fall of 2014, he was called to serve as the Wisconsin Conference Minister for the United Church of Christ. From 2016-2019, he served on the Pension Boards’ Faith and Finance Advisory Group as a representative of the wider United Church of Christ.
His wife, Trinn, has taught Early Childhood Special Education in the Cedarburg School District for 24 years. They have two sons and a daughter: Mitchell, who works and resides in Tacoma, Washington; Jordan, a student at UW La Crosse; and Marianna, a student at UW Eau Claire. Franz enjoys hiking, traveling, music, and nature.
Mr. H. Philip Salmon, CPA (Class of 2026) is the Chair of the Church Council of The Riverside Church, New York, New York, an interdenominational, interracial, and international church endowed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. He was previously its Audit Committee Chair and Treasurer.
Mr. Salmon is the Director of Finance for the Amani Public Charter School in Mount Vernon, New York, a Title I Middle School. He is responsible for finance, accounting, human capital, development, marketing and recruitment, the registrar office, legal and compliance, and after-school programs.
Prior to Mr. Salmon’s not-for-profit leadership positions, he was a senior financial executive with 20 years of experience leading and executing over $35 billion in innovative and groundbreaking global M&A and capital markets transactions. He was a Vice President with MetLife, Inc., New York, New York, and Banc of America Securities, New York, New York. Mr. Salmon began his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young LLP, New York, New York, and an internal auditor with Bankers Trust Corporation, New York, New York.
Mr. Salmon is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Harbor Science & Arts Charter School, New York, New York, and a member of the Board of Directors of Community Capital New York, Elmsford, New York, a Community Development Financial Institution, and a member of its Finance Committee.
Mr. Salmon has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. in Finance from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business, Durham, North Carolina. Mr. Salmon lives in Westchester County, New York.
The Rev. Dr. Leslie Schenk (Class of 2024) is a member of the Pension Boards’ Investment Committee and Chair of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance (UCBMA). She is Pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Madison, Wisconsin, where she has served since 2015. After her ordination in 2008, she served as Pastor for over seven years for the yoked UCC congregations in Ladysmith and Conrath, Wisconsin. At Ladysmith, she also served a mission congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Originally from Buffalo, New York, the Rev. Dr. Schenk relocated to Wisconsin in 1995 to join a Madison-based economic consulting firm. She worked as an economic consultant primarily doing cost and productivity analysis and statistical studies for a major U.S. company in a regulated industry.
The Rev. Dr. Schenk earned her Ph.D. in Economics from Michigan State University and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, one of the seminaries of the United Church of Christ.
The Rev. Joel E. Strauch, CFA (Class of 2023) is retired and continues to serve on the boards of a number of organizations.
Rev. Strauch received a B.S.F.S. degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, and an M.B.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He was ordained to ministry in the United Church of Christ in 1973 and served as Senior Minister of Highland Avenue Congregational Church in Orange, New Jersey from 1974-1975.
From 1977-1990, Rev. Strauch held several positions at J.P. Morgan Investment Management, including Investment Research Officer, Vice President of Balance Accounts, Senior Vice President in Futures and Options, Fixed Income Groups and Portfolio Manager. In 1991, he joined Munich American Reinsurance Company as Vice President and Treasurer. From 1994-1996, he was Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Munich RE Capital Management, and from 1996-1999, he worked at Salomon Smith Barney Asset Management as Director of Travelers Asset Management International, Institutional Sales and Client Service. In 2000, he joined Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO), as Director of PIMCO Specialty Markets LLC (2000-2005), and in 2006, became Senior Vice President with responsibility for developing and servicing new and existing account relationships with US domestic insurance companies for the Client Facing Financial Institutions Group – Account Management, Insurance Channel. He retired from Pacific Investment Management Company in 2014.
Rev. Strauch serves on a number of boards, including the Boards of Managers for AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC and AAFMAA Mortgage Service LLC, on the EMCERT advisory board to the Emergency Department of the University of Virginia Health System, as Chaplain General of the National Huguenot Society, and as chair of the investment committee of Sojourners United Church of Christ, Charlottesville. He maintains his ministerial standing with the Shenandoah Association and serves on the Pension Boards’ Investment and Corporate Social Responsibility Committees.
The Rev. Dr. Iese Tu’uao (Class of 2023) is Senior Pastor of the Samoan Church of Hawai’i LMS/UCC and was the first Samoan ordained in the UCC in 1992. Before becoming ordained, Rev. Dr. Tu’uao was an aging specialist and social services worker in Los Angeles.
Dr. Tu’uao received a B.A. degree in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine in 1976; and M.Div. and D.Min. degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1992 and 2004, respectively. He was ordained to ministry in 1992 in the Orange Association of the Southern California-Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, becoming the first Samoan to be fully ordained in the UCC.
Dr. Tu’uao worked as an aging specialist for the Los Angeles City Area Agency on Aging (1977-1980) and as an eligibility worker for the Los Angeles County for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (1980-1998). His previous ministry experience includes service in both parish and Conference settings: Senior Pastor of Malamalama Congregational Church UCC (1988-2006); Associate Conference Minister of the Hawai’i Conference (2006-2011). He also served as Acting Conference Minister of the Hawai’i Conference from July 2017-January 2018.
Dr. Tu’uao has served as President of the United Church of Christ’s Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries, and has been a member of the UCC Executive Council and UCC/Disciples of Christ Common Global Ministries Board. He served as Chair/President of the Hawai’i Conference from 2014-2018; was a member of the Hawai’i Conference Foundation (2014-2018); was on the Church and Ministry Committee of the Oahu Association (2014-2016); and served as Moderator of the National Council of Samoan Churches, UCC (2006-2018).
Mr. Frank Van Gansbeke, CFA (Class of 2026) is a Professor of the Practice at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, where he teaches finance-related courses focused on societal and market sustainability. Mr. Van Gansbeke also is the founder and managing partner of Goose Creek Ventures, LLC, advising and angel investing in early-stage companies in FinTech, Medtech and sustainable development of innovative financial practices and emerging Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks.
Mr. Van Gansbeke has more than 30 years of global investment banking senior executive experience in corporate finance and capital markets with Banque Nationale de Paris Paribas in Paris, France and New York, New York and BNP Fortis Bank and its affiliates in Brussels, Belgium and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He mentors with Techstars NY Blockchain Accelerator and is a board member of several for profit and non-profit companies with a global footprint.
Mr. Van Gansbeke co-launched the Sustainable Finance Unconference series for prominent sustainable finance professionals. At COP26 in Glasgow, he also co-launched the Beyond Bretton Woods initiative, focusing on the practice and principles of the global financial architecture. He is a regular contributor to Forbes online commenting on the nexus of digital finance, sustainability, and global markets.
Mr. Van Gansbeke has a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Economics from Vlaamse Ekonomische Hogeschool in Brussels, Belgium, an M.B.A. in Corporate Finance and Quantitative Economics from Catholic University of Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. He is a CFA charter holder and has certifications from MIT Sloan School of Management in FinTech, Oxford Said Business School in Private Equity & Impact Investing, and Strategic Leadership, and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Competitive Strategy.
Mr. Van Gansbeke lives in Middlebury, Vermont with his wife Annie and is a member of the Congregational Church of Middlebury, where he just completed a 3-year term as Board Trustee.
Mr. Scott G. Young, FSA, MAAA, EA (Class of 2024) is an experienced actuary and leader with more than 25 years’ experience in financial and actuarial services. He serves as Chief Valuation Actuary and Director of the Actuarial Services and Technology Department for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a U.S. Government Agency.
Mr. Young received a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, in Actuarial Science from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania.
His previous professional experience includes various positions with Markley Actuarial Services, Inc., in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1993-2010). In 2010, he left his position as Vice President of Professional Services at Markley to join the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) as an actuary in the Actuarial Services Division (ASD). He became the Chief Valuation Actuary in 2013 and the Director of the Actuarial Services and Technology Department in 2016.
Mr. Young holds the professional designations of Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA, and membership in the American Academy of Actuaries. He serves as PBGC’s representative to the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries and is also a member of the American Academy of Actuaries’ Committee on Actuarial Public Service.
Mr. Young and his spouse Jacquie, an ordained UCC minister who previously taught at Lancaster Theological Seminary, live in Derwood, Maryland. He is a member of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Stoverstown, Pennsylvania.