Board of Directors

Paul, elected president in May 2025 after serving on the Board for a year, hopes to find ways to reach and embrace individuals, particularly those from marginalized communities, looking for a place to belong. Paul came to humanism on a long, winding path from Christian deconstruction. His values today reflect this journey, which is why serving HMN where possible is so important to him. He cares deeply about the well-being of people, education, reproductive rights, separation of religion and government, community building that combats loneliness, and sharing the values of secular humanism. In his working hours, you can find him doing process improvement and data analytics. In his free hours, you can find him caring for his blue oyster and lion’s mane mushrooms, singing, enjoying performance arts, and nerding out over games and TV.  Ultimately, he believes individuals uniting under the shared values of humanism can build a more loving and safe community for all. This is why he joined the board as an at-large member, and why he is honored to serve as president.

Dayna joined HumanistsMN in 2022, seeking values-based connections and opportunities for ethical action. She joined the Board in 2025 and helped to develop the HMN Leadership Training series. She was elected vice president in 2026. Dayna believes that HMN plays a critical role in advocating for secular values, developing empathetic humanist leaders, and providing a supportive community for nontheists. She earned a Master of Divinity degree in 2012 from Emory University in Atlanta, where studying the Bible and Christian history led her to deconstruct from religion and supernatural beliefs. Dayna recently retired from a career in cybersecurity, where she held roles in training, technical communications, and project management. In her spare time, Dayna knits and makes wheel-thrown pottery, creating practical objects that bring joy to everyday life.

John has been HumanistsMN treasurer and unofficial live-streamer since 2020. He was raised Catholic, but ironically, it was the scholarly Catholic education at the University of St. Thomas that pushed him away from the church in favor of agnosticism and humanism. His interests in physics, psychology, philosophy, biology, and music inform much of the content in sessions that he occasionally hosts at Community Gathering events. When he isn’t at such events, you can find him rock climbing, playing volleyball, baking, gardening, or gaming with friends.

Stephanie has long been interested in finding ways to develop her character, deepen her self-awareness, and work toward building a better community and planet. The humanist world view resonates with her because it empowers humans to take responsibility for ourselves and the world around us. HumanistsMN is a community of like-minded people dedicated to those same goals. Her education and training as a social worker and previous experience with community organizing has given her the knowledge and experience to serve in a meaningful way with HumanistsMN. Her areas of particular interest are community outreach, membership growth, and separation of religion and government. In her free time she enjoys reading, pursuing health and wellness, going to music and art festivals, and visiting her favorite coffee house.  

David grew up Pentecostal in deep southern Illinois but became a humanist when he read Spinoza in college. He spent 25 years as an English professor and 20  years as a Unitarian Universalist Humanist minister. He retired as Senior Minister at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis. David has published a lot, mostly poetry, and is currently writing a book on Transcendentalism for a contemporary context. He is a member of the freedom-to-write organization PEN International and an associate member of The Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought. He is a recipient of the Humanist Distinguished Service Award from the American Humanist Association and currently chairs the AHA’s Education Committee. He sees humanism as a way of hope in our troubled times and hopes to assist HMN in whatever way he can.

Cory was born and raised in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing and strategic communications from North Dakota State University. He moved back to Cottage Grove in May 2022 and soon became an active member of HumanistsMN. Since joining, he has hosted a book club through the organization and deepened his engagement with the humanist community. In addition to his involvement with HumanistsMN, Cory participates in Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities and a community discussion group called “Complexity and Coffee.” He values opportunities to connect with others, explore big ideas, and work toward building a more compassionate and thoughtful society. He’s excited to step into a larger role with HumanistsMN as he continues to advocate for a better future grounded in the values of humanism.

Dave has been a member of HumanistsMN since 2013 and served a previous eight-year stint on the board as an at-large member and as secretary.  His first involvement in the organization came when HMN moved the manually maintained spreadsheet of members onto an online system, and then moved it to another system two years later.  Since then, Dave has been involved in various efforts to grow the organization primarily via our online presence.  Over time, he’s come to the conclusion that possibly the most meaningful thing we can do is to give members a sense of community via the organization.  But he also understands that this is among the most elusive objectives any group such as ours can undertake.

For more than 30 years, Julie has worked with Fortune 500 companies as a business analytics professional, partnering with them to solve complex problems with thoughtful, practical solutions. But her story isn’t just about technology or data. It’s about resilience, responsibility, and community. Raising four children on a single income with her husband, Drew, shaped who Julie is as a problem-solver and leader. It taught her persistence, adaptability, and the importance of showing up, especially when things are challenging. Julie believes in using both innovation and compassion to make a difference. Whether volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, supporting sustainability through driving an EV, cultivating a bee-friendly environment on her property, or mentoring the next generation, she strives to align her values with action. Julie believes that we live in a time that calls for both clear thinking and steady empathy. Her commitment is to bring people together, use technology responsibly, and contribute to solutions that improve lives, practically, meaningfully, and with purpose.

Audrey is HMN’s program coordinator. She earned a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in the early 1980s, which was instrumental in extricating her from a religious upbringing and belief system. Upon returning to her native Minnesota in the mid-90s, Audrey discovered contemporary humanism through First Unitarian Society and HumanistsMN. She became a Humanist Celebrant and has since poured her energies into building the humanist movement. During the 2010s Audrey served on the HMN Board for eight years as an at-large member and president. She is now returning after a hiatus of four years. With HMN experiencing unprecedented growth this past year, Audrey looks forward to working with the Board to help strategize for the future.

Jenn is a lifelong Minnesotan and graduate of the College of Natural Resources at the U of MN. She has had a meandering career in water resources and native landscaping. She closed her one-woman landscaping operation in 2022 and started a new career with a local solar installation company. She has always been an active volunteer in local environmental organizations like Great River Greening and Friends of the Mississippi River/Boundary Waters, Blue Thumb and Rebuilding Together. Currently she is also on the board of a climate change solution education organization called We All Need Food and Water. She joined the Humanists in Action committee shortly after joining HumanistsMN in 2022 and has been enjoying the activism and social experiences she has found here. She looks forward to serving and growing the organization on the board. Jenn enjoys native gardening, canoeing in the BWCA, traveling world and reading a good book.