Leadership

   
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We value:

Loving Service; Unselfish Devotion; Courageous Loyalty; Sincere Fairness; Enlightened Honesty; Undying Hope; Confiding Trust; Merciful Ministry; Unfailing Goodness; Forgiving Tolerance; Enduring Peace; We value all that is divine.

Trustees

Gard Jameson

Treasurer - Gard bought a copy of The Urantia Book in 1972 in a California bookstore near Stanford University, where he was studying Comparative Religion. His first impression was that it was like no other book that he had been familiar with in either philosophy or religion. Soon after Gard purchased The Urantia Book, his friend Brian, a fellow student, borrowed it and responded by saying, “Gard, do you know what you have here? A revelation.” 

This response piqued Gard’s interest, and he began to read the book. Soon thereafter he communicated with Urantia Foundation after which he joined a study group in Berkeley, which met once a week.   

Gard says that “reading The Urantia Book for the first time was the beginning of a pilgrimage of discovery, the beginning of the realization that God has a will for each of our lives. The pilgrimage is the greatest adventure that one can pursue.”

After twenty-five years in the business world as a Certified Public Accountant and Financial Planner, he returned to college to obtain a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara.

He recently published his first book and has been teaching philosophy at the University of Nevada for the last ten years.

He has been married to his wife, Florence, as he puts it, “for 28 wonderful years,” and they have two children, Michael and Julia.

Georges Michelson-Dupont
Georges Michelson-Dupont

Vice President - Georges Michelson-Dupont was born in Paris, France, in 1947. He married Marlène, who is a reader of The Urantia Book, in 1971, and they have 2 grown daughters. He is an electro-metallurgist engineer. Georges and Marlène own a company that manufactures high-end lighting fixtures and furniture.

Georges’s father introduced him to The Urantia Book in the early 1960s. Georges was a member of the team which spent fifteen years revising and correcting the French translation. 

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as president of an association of French readers, Georges organized several international conferences for readers of The Urantia Book, which took place in France in 1986, 1989, 1992, and 1995. He also organized and hosted the first conference for translators in 1989.

In 1994, the Trustees of Urantia Foundation appointed Georges and Marlène to the position of representatives of Urantia Foundation for the French-speaking countries. Georges became a Trustee of Urantia Foundation in September of 1995 and in 1996 became the first president of the French association of the Urantia Association International (UAI). In 1999 Dorothy Elder and Georges launched the Urantia Book Internet School (UBIS).

Today, Georges is the vice president of Urantia Foundation and the Manager of Translations.

Henk Mylanus
Henk Mylanus

Henk is a Dutchman, who was born in Indonesia in 1937. In 1950 his family returned to the Netherlands. In 1962 he graduated from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and in 1972 was a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University's Business School. Before he retired, he worked in the petro-chemical division of the petroleum industry in international sales and general management.

He became a reader of The Urantia Book in 1972. He hosted a study group while living in Malta and currently lives with his wife, Claire, in Brittany, France, where they host local study groups and occasionally groups from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Henk served as an Associate Trustee of Urantia Foundation and was elected a Trustee in October of 2009.

Judy Van Cleave
Judy Van Cleave

Judy has been a student of The Urantia Book since 1973, when her sister introduced her to the book. She has attended and hosted study groups, is a charter and board member of Idaho Urantia Association, and has served on the Board of Urantia Association of the United States (UAUS) and the board of Urantia Association International (UAI). Judy served as an Associate Trustee of Urantia Foundation and was elected a Trustee in 2008.

Judy lives in Boise, Idaho, U.S.A., where she, her husband, and their family work together in a heating and air conditioning business, which they founded in 1976. While raising her family, Judy served as a volunteer and board member in various local organizations associated with her daughter and son’s activities. Today she especially enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.

Marilynn Kulieke
Marilynn Kulieke

Secretary - Marilynn was introduced to The Urantia Book in 1972 by her husband, David Kulieke, whose parents and an uncle and aunt had been long-time readers. Since then Marilynn and David have hosted hundreds of study groups at their home. After joining the First Society for Readers of The Urantia Book in 1974, Marilynn became an active supporter of the dissemination of the book and its teachings. Elected to the General Council in 1972, she served in a variety of capacities including: chair of special projects; international conference chair, judicial committee chair, secretary, and vice president. Later she served as an Associate Trustee of Urantia and became a Trustee in 2008. 

Marilynn lives in Lincolnshire, Illinois, U.S.A., with her husband and several dogs and cats. Professionally, she has her doctorate in Educational Research Psychology, and she works for GAINS Education Group which offers survey, research, and evaluation services to schools and school districts.

Mo Siegel

President - Mo, father of five, lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife Jennifer. During the last thirty years Mo has served on the board of directors of sixteen for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. He is 59 years old and has spent most of his life in the food industry.   

Mo began reading The Urantia Book in 1969 after spending two years living and attending school at a Catholic monastery. He has hosted a Urantia Book study group since 1972. During the past twenty-seven years Mo has served on the boards of three organizations solely dedicated to The Urantia Book. He has been a Trustee of Urantia Foundation since 1998. 

Richard Keeler
Richard Keeler

Richard discovered The Urantia Book in 1959 and became a Trustee in 1989. 

He has served the Foundation as the treasurer and as the president. He has one daughter and professionally is a commodity trader.

Associate Trustees

Claire Mylanus

Claire was born in Nantes, France in 1953. She is a reader since 1976, when she found a copy of The Urantia Book in French. She contacted the Urantia Foundation and bought the book right away in its original English version.

Reading the book, she says: “ was an answer to all the questions that I had for years; it was so logical, so intelligent and so beautiful!”. She attended study groups for years and hosted her own study group.

She had an education in a Classical Lyceum with Latin and three languages. Later on , she lives in different countries, and worked in sales of private and professional photographic equipment for 15 years, did public relations for a media company and occasionally translated articles for magazines.

She raised two children, a daughter who is a reader of The Urantia Book, and a son; and she has one granddaughter. She is married to Henk and they host study groups at their home in Brittany, for French, English and Dutch readers.

She is a member of the Education Committee of the Urantia Fondation and has served as an Associate Trustee since 2007.

Irmeli Ivalo-Sjölie

Irmeli was first introduced to The Urantia Book by a friend in 1982. At that time she lived in Oslo and there was only one other Urantia Book reader there besides herself!  Later, when she moved from Norway to Finland, she joined the Urantia Association of Finland and found a study group. By now, this group has been meeting for 12 years and they are reading the book for the second time.

Having lived in various countries and being an avid international traveler, Irmeli speaks Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, French, Portuguese, English, German and Spanish. She can read The Urantia Book in numerous languages; however, the Portuguese translation is her personal favorite since she has lived in Brazil a great part of her life.

Education and Personal History:Initially, Irmeli studied chemical engineering in Delft, Holland. After her marriage to Eduardo Prado, they moved to his native Brazil where she finished her studies at the Sao Paulo University -- graduating with a B.Sc. in chemistry. Years later, after the marriage ended in divorce, she remarried and moved to Norway.  There she studied homeopathy for 5 years at the “Norwegian Academy for Natural Medicine.” Following the early death of her Norwegian husband, Ole Sjölie, she studied Logotherapy and Existential Analysis at the Viktor Frankl  Institute of Logotherapy, in Texas USA, achieving the “Diplomate in Logotherapy” credential. She greatly enjoyed seeing her two daughters and one granddaughter complete the study of Logotherapy and earn their Diplomate credential.

Career and Avocation:While living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she headed the “Control Laboratory” of the Swedish  pharmaceutical enterprise, Astra do Brazil, for ten years.  In Norway she was head of the “Department for Clinical Trials” at the Norwegian Radium Hospital (the largest cancer hospital  in Europe) for nine years. Subsequently, upon returning to her native Finland, she was the principal teacher of homeopathy at the Finnish Institute for Natural Medicine for twelve years. Currently, she is an independent lecturer on Logotherapy in Finland, Germany and Brazil.Irmeli Ivalo-Sjolie serves as Honorary Chairman of “Finland’s Homeopaths” and as an At-Large Member of the International Board of Directors of the “Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy” headquartered in Texas, USA. Simultaneously she has served on the Urantia Foundation Board of Trustees as an Associate Trustee since 2007In Europe and wherever she goes, she is making The Urantia Book known to interested readers. She has been to many book fairs in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and is preparing to go to Hungary next to promote The Urantia Book at the Budapest book fair.

James M. Bird, Jr.
James M. Bird, Jr.

James (Jay) discovered The Urantia Book in 1970. He was in college studying religion, philosophy, art, and literature. These pursuits helped him realize that the exploration process can become a conversation filled with amazing and thrilling discoveries. The Urantia Book was the most important of these discoveries, and he remains amazed by it to this day.

Jay has spent his career as a business manager and is President and Chairman of the Board of Industrial Vehicles International, Inc. and Hanley and Bird, Inc. Industrial Vehicles International, Inc. is a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of seismic vibrators. Hanley and Bird, Inc. is an integrated natural gas marketing, distribution, exploration, and production company. He also serves on the Boards of educational and industry non-profits.

In addition to these duties Jay enjoys working with technical teams in the development of innovative solutions to tough challenges. He is interested in a new technology enhanced art media which combines dynamic fluid properties with optical effects. He would like to develop a 21st century technology based solution for enhancing the beauty of our homes and workplaces.

A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma Jay is happily married to Nancy Bird and is blessed with three amazing children, Heather, Dylan, and Chris.

Jan Bernard
Jan Bernard

Jan Bernard has been reading The Urantia Book since 1987 and became involved with other readers in 1998. She is a long time resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, where she operates businesses and enjoys her three children and eight grandchildren.

Marta Elders
Marta Elders

Marta has been a student of The Urantia Book since 1970 and has been committed to living and disseminating its teachings since that time. She was a charter and founding member of the Connecticut Society of the Urantia Brotherhood and has served in numerous capacities over the years.

She lives in Darien, Connecticut, USA, with her husband, Dave, and near one of her sons and his family. Her other son lives in California with his family.

Marta is a licensed counseling psychologist and practices in Connecticut and New York, working with individuals, couples, and groups. In addition to serving as an Associate Trustee of Urantia Foundation, she is the president of the Marion Woodman Foundation, a Jungian-based organization committed to embodying spirit.

Marta says, “My joy is soul work.”

Merrit Horn

Merritt has been reading The Urantia Book since 1968. He was a charter member of the Rocky Mountain Spiritual Fellowship, co-founder and Academic Officer of the Boulder School for Students of The Urantia Book,and is the author of The Call of the Spirit (1984, 2008). He recorded one of the published audio versions of The Urantia Book, has been tracking and analyzing typographical issues in the text of The Urantia Book for many years, and is a member of the Standard Reference Text committee. Out in the real world, he is the IT Director for a large organic foods manufacturer. Merritt lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife, Jeanney, and any of their four daughters who happen to be 'visiting' at the moment.

Olga Lopez
Olga Lopez

Olga became a reader of The Urantia Book in 1996. She was born in Barcelona, Spain, and lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in Vilanova I la Geltrú (near Barcelona). She works for a public company as a computer analyst. She has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and in Philosophy.

Olga currently serves as president of the Urantia Association of Spain, which is a national association of the Urantia Association International (UAI). She has hosted a study group at her home since 2004, and has served as an Associate Trustee of Urantia Foundation since 2008.

Ralph Zehr
Ralph Zehr

The Urantia Book with its profound, advanced teachings became a part of Ralph and wife Betty's life in the fall of 1967 while a medical missionary in Ghana. Its impact was immediate and continues to grow after more than 40 years. Words cannot express his gratitude for having found the book early in his parental and professional careers.

Ralph and Betty have two adult children, both readers, and three grandchildren. Betty is a recently retired public school teacher, reading specialist, and Ralph will be a retired radiologist at the end of 2009, terminating 45 years of medical practice.

In addition to his regular practice, his professional experiences include Director of Radiology Residency Program, appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor, Education Committee Member, Chairman, Department of Radiology, Member of Board of Trustees, Guthrie Healthcare System, Editor-in-Chief of Guthrie Journal, Secretary, Vice President, President of Medical Staff, of more than 200 physicians.

Betty and Ralph have hosted study groups in their home for many years. They have recently completed their first course as team Teacher/Facilitators for Urantia Book Internet School, a deeply inspirational experience. They also serve on the board of UBIS. Ralph is a founding member and executive board member, presently serving as president for New York – Pennsylvania Urantia Association. They have hosted bi-annual association meetings in their home for the past 11 years. He has served on various national committees and Foundation initiatives.

Víctor García-Bory

Victor discovered The Urantia Book in 1993. He has been involved in a diverse array of Urantia Foundation projects since the late 1990’s. From 2001 to 2004 Victor served as manager of the Spanish desk at Urantia Foundation.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Victor lives with his family in New York City. He has spent most of his professional career in the marketing sector developing strategy and plans for Fortune 500 organizations in the U.S. and internationally. Victor is member of a diverse group of professional, cultural, educational and commerce organizations.

Executive Director

Jay Peregrine

Jay Peregrine has been reading The Urantia Book since 1974. After years of participation in local Urantia study groups and associations in the San Francisco Bay Area, he became a member of an advisory group to the Trustees of Urantia Foundation in 1996 and began traveling to Chicago regularly to help out at the Foundation's headquarters at 533 W. Diversey Parkway. Jay joined the staff of Urantia Foundation in 1998 and became Urantia Foundation's Executive Director in 2004. Before joining the staff of Urantia Foundation, Jay worked in business administration and information technology management for 25 years. Most recently, he worked for the University of California at San Francisco. Jay is single and lives in Chicago, IL.

Committees

Types
  • Finance Committee
  • Governance Committee
  • Compensation Committee
  • Public Relations Committee
  • Fundraising Committee
  • Education Committee
  • Book Committee
  • Committee on Translations European
  • Advisory Committee
  • Standard Reference
  • Text Committee
  • Planning Committee

Urantia Foundation, 533 Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL 60614 USA |
Tel: +1-773-525-3319; Fax: +1-773-525-7739
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