Meet the UUC Board for 2018-19

President: Ellen Plummer is Associate Vice Provost at VT where she is part of the team responsible for programs and policies that support faculty success. In addition, Ellen directs policy and governance efforts including supporting the Academic Affairs committee of the Board of Visitors. While at VT, Ellen has assisted with the university’s strategic planning processes, directed grant-supported recovery initiatives, and helped shape the university’s inclusion and diversity efforts. The VT Women’s Center reports to Ellen, and she serves on the board of the statewide Virginia Network, for which she helps lead the Senior Women’s Leadership Seminar for aspiring academic leaders. Ellen has a B.S. in Human Development and an M.S.W. in Community Organizing both from UConn. She holds a Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy Studies from VT. She was a member and RE teacher at ERUUF (Eno River, TN) and attended the UU congregation in Keene, NH. At UUC, Ellen serves as a Worship Associate, has chaired the Worship Services Committee, and served on the Ministerial Search Committee that brought us Rev. Pam Phillips. 

President Elect: Steve Keighton has been a member of UUC for nearly two decades, and much of that time has volunteered in RE-related programs, particularly with YRUU as an adviser and on YAC, but also with the younger children including as an OWL instructor and mentor in the Coming of Age program. He also serves as a greeter. Steve and his wife, Debbie, along with children Halle and Lucas (now both young adults), have lived in the Blacksburg area since 1997 where Steve works for the National Weather Service in Blacksburg as the Science and Operations Officer. Steve earned his B.S. degree in Meteorology from Penn State and then his M.S. at the Univ. of Oklahoma. The Keighton family has lived in OK, UT and AZ, but now has deep roots in southwest VA. A few of Steve’s many interests include hiking, camping, biking, volleyball, seeing live music, microbreweries, watching certain sports, and playing disc golf.  

Treasurer: Sandy Power has worked in IT System Administration for the past 20 years. She currently runs a financial system for VT that handles over $23 million in student account transactions annually and serves on the Inclusion and Diversity Committee for the VT Vice President for Finance. Sandy completed a B. S. in Engineering and additional business coursework at Clemson.  While living in Atlanta, she worked as an Environmental Engineer and Project Manager, specializing in delineation and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination at dozens of sites throughout the southeastern U.S.  At UUC, Sandy has served on the Finance Committee and the Grounds Ministry, subbed as a coffee maker, and helped with the annual auction.  She is a lifetime member of the Sierra Club, and enjoys hiking, kayaking, yoga, live music performances, and Clemson Tiger football.    

Secretary: Irene Peterson has been attending UUC for almost 3 years along with her spouse, Molly McClintock. She serves on the Greeting Committee, has participated in Circle Suppers and has helped with the annual UUC fundraising auction. Since retiring from teaching assistive technology to visually impaired individuals, she is able to fill her time volunteering with Montgomery County Christmas Store, Blacksburg Refugee Partnership, Project Linus, Life Long Learning Institute, Montgomery County Historical Museum, Montgomery Floyd Regional Library Board and the NAACP.

Member-at-Large: Dan Kominsky and his wife, Sara, have lived in the New River Valley since 1999. They and their two daughters currently live in the Riner area and particularly enjoy outdoor activities. During the school year, Dan spends a fair amount of time traveling with his daughters as a gym and dance “mom”. The family first got to know UUC in 2016 and have been thrilled to find a community of like-minded people. Dan recently became a member of Lay Pastoral Care Ministry. In his day job, Dan is a research scientist at a small business where he designs fiber optic sensing systems.   

Member-at-Large: Nancy Norton has been a UU for over 25 years and a member of UUC since 1996. She has been a choir member, coordinator of art for UUC’s gallery, and Sunday greeter. Perhaps her most visible contribution to UUC is the stained glass panel entitled “Go Out with Joy” that hangs over the main entry to the building. Nancy earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a masters in Library and Information Science from UNC-CH. She is retired after a career in libraries and library software and has two adult children and five terrific grandchildren. For fun she plays at making art, and enjoys biking, traveling to new and old favorite places, blue grass music, and watching Duke basketball.

Member-at-Large: Amy Pruden grew up in Toledo, OH and enjoyed spending summers and winters “up at the lake” in northern Michigan. She is currently a professor in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech where she teaches and conducts research related to curbing the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance. She has attended UUC since 2008 and has served on the Strategic Planning Committee, the Ministerial Transition Committee, the Children’s Religious Education Committee and has taught several classes “downstairs” for the Children’s RE program. She is married to Rajesh Bagchi and has two children in the program.​