The BTS Center Celebrates the Election of Four New Board Members and New Board Leadership
July 25, 2024
The BTS Center announces that four visionary leaders have been elected to serve on our Board of Trustees, and the Board has recently elected a new Chair.
Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes, Rev. Dr. Andi Lloyd, and Sumaiya Zama began their Board service effective July 1, 2024, while Ophelia Hu Kinney joined the Board of Trustees in January 2024.
“We’re so fortunate that these four people have accepted our invitation to serve,” said Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill, Executive Director of The BTS Center. “Each of these leaders comes with tremendous gifts — wisdom, creativity, long-demonstrated commitment to faithful action, and diverse areas of expertise and interest. We look forward to seeing how their gifts and passions will find expression through the work of The BTS Center.”
Effective July 1, Rev. Alex Shea Will has completed a two-year term as Chair of The BTS Center's Board, and veteran Board member Debra Coyman has been elected to assume that key leadership role.
Elected to the Board in 2018, Rev. Alex Shea Will has served in many capacities, including as Vice Chair, and he will continue as a member of The BTS Center's Board for a final three-year term. At its June 28 meeting, the Board of Trustees took some time to honor and thank Alex for his wise and steady leadership as Board Chair.
Debra Coyman has been a member of the Board of The BTS Center since 2017, previously serving terms as Treasurer and Vice Chair. To her new role as Board Chair, she brings significant business and Board experience, great care for both church and ecological well-being, and deep commitment to the mission and vision of The BTS Center.
Members of The BTS Center Board of Trustees devote significant time and wisdom to the work of this organization, mostly behind the scenes. They meet six times per year to oversee the mission and purposes of the organization, to guide strategic and organizational planning, to ensure strong fiduciary oversight and financial management, to approve and monitor the organization’s programs and services, and to supervise and evaluate the performance of the Executive Director. Board members also serve on various committees, offering careful oversight of program, finances, and governance.
"As you participate in the many programs of The BTS Center," Ewing-Merrill said, "please know that there is a tremendously gifted group of 14 Trustees working diligently behind the scenes to keep this organization running smoothly. They may not be holding the microphone, and their faces may not be front-and-center in the Zoom room, but we couldn't do what we do without their dedication, expertise, commitment of time, and deep love for this organization. I'm grateful to be leading The BTS Center, in such a time as this, in close partnership with this extraordinary group of individuals."
The full roster for our Board of Trustees, with photos and bios, can be found here.
Please join us in welcoming these four new Trustees and in recognizing and thanking all who serve The BTS Center in this important way.
Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes, Ph.D.
New Member of the Board of Trustees
Rev. Eric Elnes, Ph.D., is an author and biblical scholar with a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served as a minister in churches across the country, from the Pacific Northwest to the Florida Gulf, and from the Desert Southwest to the Eastern Seaboard. While Eric has been active in the environmental movement throughout his 30-year ministry, including serving nearly a decade on EcoAmerica’s “Blessed Tomorrow” Advisory Board, his environmental sensibilities date back to his childhood, exploring the waters and mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
As an advocate for both the environment and Christian Pluralism, Eric helped lead a former congregation in Omaha, Nebraska, to become the Christian partner in Omaha’s Tri-Faith Initiative (www.trifaith.org), alongside a Jewish synagogue and Islamic mosque on a 38-acre Commons. There, his congregation built a new church facility that integrates cutting-edge sustainability technologies, including a geothermal HVAC system.
Dr. Elnes’s books include The Phoenix Affirmations: A New Vision for the Future of Christianity and Gifts of the Dark Wood: Seven Blessings for Soulful Skeptics (and Other Wanderers), which won “Best Book in 2015” in the category of Christian Life/Spiritual Living. Many also know Eric as the host of Darkwood Brew – the world’s first interactive, broadcast-quality internet television program that explores faith and values from a Christian Pluralist perspective.
Eric and his wife, Melanie, live in Oregon with their dog, Roe. They are proud parents of two adult children, Arianna and Maren. Eric’s hobbies include hiking, fly fishing, cooking, beachcombing, reading, writing, and bike riding.
Ophelia Hu Kinney
New Member of the Board of Trustees
January 2024
Ophelia Hu Kinney (she/her) is the child of immigrants. She lives in Scarborough, Maine, with her wife and daughter.
Although she grew up in an agnostic household, Ophelia became a Christian as a young adult. She currently serves as Director of Communications for Reconciling Ministries Network, a nonprofit committed to intersectional justice across and beyond The United Methodist Church, working for the full participation of all LGBTQ+ people throughout the life and leadership of the Church.
Ophelia is also a writer occupied with the delightful task of curating spiritual imagination about the divine. She has spoken at churches, schools and colleges, conferences, and with government agencies about LGBTQ issues, queer Christianity, and queer Asian intersections. At HopeGateWay in Portland, Maine, Ophelia helps to create imaginative worship series.
Ophelia has been a participant in The BTS Center’s MLK Day events, Convocations, and the first Spiritual Ecology for Spiritual Leaders gathering for emerging multifaith leaders. She has also created resources for the Leadership Commons and regularly enjoys The BTS Center’s programming.
Previously, Ophelia worked for United Way of Greater Portland as Grants Manager. She has served on the boards of the Equality Community Center and the Chinese and American Friendship Association of Maine. She is a graduate of Amherst College (2012) with a BA in Environmental Studies and of the Yale School of Management (MBA 2016). www.opheliahukinney.com
Rev. Dr. Andrea (Andi) Lloyd
New Member of the Board of Trustees
Rev. Dr. Andrea (Andi) Lloyd is pastor of the Trinitarian Congregational Parish of Castine, United Church of Christ. She received her M.Div. from Yale Divinity in 2022. Prior to her career in ministry, Andi was an ecologist. She received a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona in 1996, and went on to serve as a professor of biology at Middlebury College from 1996 until 2020. She served as the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Middlebury from 2012 through June 2019. In her work as an ecologist, she studied the effects of climate change on forests in Alaska and Siberia. She taught classes on plant ecology, evolution, and climate change, and authored / co-authored more than 30 articles and book chapters on climate change. Along with Rev. Andy Nagy-Benson, she is the author of Letters to the Ecotone: Ecology, Theology, and Climate Change (Resource Publications, 2022).
Sumaiya Zama
New Member of the Board of Trustees
Sumaiya Zama is a service-oriented researcher, community advocate, and social impact strategist with extensive experience working in youth advocacy, civil rights, and non-profit organizations. Her writings and work center around themes of faith, coalition building, and movement building.
Sumaiya began her career as an inner city youth worker for the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts where she worked with refugee and immigrant youth. She then established the first Youth Advocacy department dedicated to Muslim youth in the state at the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MA) where she worked with young Muslims, families, educators, and religious leaders to build power in and understanding of the Muslim community.
Sumaiya has a dual Master’s Degree in Islamic Studies from Columbia and Aga Khan University where she produced research on the impacts of technological modes of policing and surveillance on young Muslims in New York City. She is the recipient of the first Aga Khan dual-degree fellowship.
Currently, Sumaiya works for the Bridgespan Group, where she works to deliver digital leadership development tools to nonprofit CEOs and executives. In this work, she is deeply passionate about helping BIPOC-led organizations access knowledge and capacity building supports in order to achieve their organizational goals and missions.
Rev. Alex Shea Will
Outgoing Board Chair
Alex Shea Will is currently the Area Conference Minister for the Northeast Region of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC). In this position, he collaborates closely with 100 congregations in the Boston area to help them achieve their goals. On a daily basis, he offers career and professional development coaching to individuals, provides executive search support, and imparts strategic guidance to congregations. His expertise in conflict resolution and unwavering dedication to inclusivity are integral to his work.
Alex hails from the Boston, Massachusetts area and holds a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Catawba College, an institution affiliated with the UCC. In his leisure time, you’ll often find him enjoying rugby, basketball, or soccer.
Debra Coyman
Incoming Board Chair
Debra Coyman is a business executive pursuing her third chapter. Debra enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking, cycling, skiing, kayaking and gardening for wildlife. She is nearing completion of the 4000-foot summits in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, and is working on biking the East Coast Greenway in one-week segments from Calais, ME to Key West, FL.
Over the span of her career, Debra has led business development and strategic planning for companies in the biotechnology sector. In 1994, she joined the executive team at IDEXX Laboratories, a publicly-traded veterinary medical device manufacturer, where she held a variety of roles, including chief Human Resources executive. During her tenure, IDEXX grew its revenues and employee count by over 10 times.
Debra earned an MBA from the Harvard School of Business Administration and a BA in history from Yale. She is certified in Conflict Management by the University of Southern Maine, and completed the Institute for Civic Leadership’s Leadership Intensive program.
Debra has served as a trustee or advisor for community organizations, including the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Portland Stage Company, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the University of Southern Maine, and Jobs for Maine’s Graduates. A resident of Falmouth, Maine, she has also held numerous leadership roles at her church, where she sings in the choir and rings handbells. Currently, Debra volunteers at the Homeless Animal Rescue Team and is raising a puppy for Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
