Rev. Mark Richards
President
Mark is a New England native who moved to Door County in 2016 to begin his final career as a hospice chaplain. Prior to ministry Mark worked for IT companies designing customer application training. Mark received his MDiv from Andover Newton Theological School and was ordained by First Parish in Concord, MA in 2018. Mark has been active in racial justice issues and prison ministry for the past 25 years. He is devoted to Christina, his wife and partner of 46 years. Mark is a gardener and a traveler who stays close to the ground.
Rev. Jim Coakley
Vice President
Reverend Jim Coakley serves as our vice president. His regional ministry serves four Unitarian Universalist Fellowships in Northeast Wisconsin: Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, and Stevens Point. He is a graduate of Meadville Lombard Theological School with a Masters of Divinity and was ordained in 2016.
Molly Plunkett
Secretary Treasurer
Molly Plunkett hails from Madison and Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society, which was for many years a lay led congregation but has had part time ministers more recently. She is Co-Chair of the Social Action Committee which has had a focus on homelessness. The Prairie UU building has been under renovation since 2019 and Prairie UU is now is hosting zoom services. She retired as an attorney from the Dane County Corporation Counsel’s Office.
Penny Robinson
Board Member at Large
Penny Robinson is a member of the Fox Valley Unitarian Fellowship in Appleton, where she currently chairs the Justice Action Ministry (JAM) Facilitators. She has also served in leadership positions in ESTHER, an interfaith community organizing group and on the board of the Appleton LWV. Penny has experience teaching high school English and in public relations journalism. She envisions WUUSAN as a leader in uniting and organizing WI UU congregations working for much needed social justice throughout the state.
Jim Black
Board Member at Large
Jim Black is a retired attorney who limited his practice to workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability. He is on the national Board of Directors for the Unitarian Universalist for a Just Economic Community, has lead the Just Economic Action Team at his local UU congregation in Ephraim Wisconsin, helped create Door County United to Amend which seeks to undo the effects of the SCOTUS ruling in Citizens United v F.E.C. and is on the EAA Government Host Team. For recreation he flies airplanes, hikes, bikes, kayaks, cross-country skies, and snow shoes. He and his wife, Trish, of thirty-eight years live in Sister Bay Wisconsin. They have three adult children.
Arthur K. Thexton
Board Member at Large
Arthur K. Thexton, an “upraised UU”, is a solo practitioner at Thexton Law Offices in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He graduated from Beloit College in 1972 cum laude, having double-majored in economics and sociology. He then attended Meadville/Lombard Theological School, and received a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1977. Mr. Thexton’s public service includes having worked as a city and county prosecutor, as an elected District Attorney, a police officer and police science teacher. From 1991-2015, he was a Prosecuting Attorney for the Wisconsin Department of Safety & Professional Services (f/k/a Department of Regulation and Licensing) handling professional misconduct cases involving physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals. In addition to his legal work, Mr. Thexton has undergone hospital chaplaincy training, and served as a part-time night chaplain at Meriter Hospital in Madison for two years. He served on the boards of the Wisconsin Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and the James Reeb Unitarian-Universalist Congregation (where he was a founding member).
Janice Galt
Board Member at Large
Janice Galt joined the Green Bay Area UU Fellowship in 1995 and has been an active participant, board member, past president. She currently is part of the Caring Team, and Finance Team. She is a retired ESL teacher, and until recently, enjoyed traveling. She helped with Building Unity’s Get Out the Vote caravan in July of 2020. Supporting the work to actualize our seven UU principles is vital, and is the reason for my WUUSAN membership and service.
Kristi Sprague
Board Member at Large
Outreach Coordinator
Kristi grew up in Chippewa Falls, WI, and has been living in Madison, WI, for 26 years. She is excited to be the new Outreach Coordinator for WUUSAN. She also currently serves as the Social Justice Coordinator at First Unitarian Society of Madison. Prior to this, Kristi was an elementary and middle school teacher who wove social justice learning through her classroom curriculum. She is enjoying working with passionate adults and teens at a time when the world is in desperate need of healing on many intersecting levels. Some of her pastimes include swimming, drumming, meditation, and time with her friends, family, and tabby cat.
