Board of Trustees and Officers 

Trish Burch, President

Before moving to St Petersburg in 2013, Trish and her husband Gerry were members of a small UU congregation in northwest New Jersey. Knowing that she would find a welcoming community in a UU church, Trish began attending services at UUSP in 2013. She is forever grateful for the care and support given by the UUSP community through her husband’s illness and eventual passing.

Trish is happily retired from her career as a consultant to colleges and universities and other non-profits. She has many interests and volunteer activities that keep her busy: she is a Master Gardener, takes classes in Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), serves on the Board of her dog training club, and loves cooking.

Having served as Treasurer for three years, Trish is aware of the challenges UUSP has faced since the pandemic. She is optimistic about our future and looks forward to contributing as a Board member to UUSP’s continued success.

Sandi Weeks, Vice-President

Sandi grew up in the Cleveland area, with her earliest church memories being those of Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) and the First Congregational Church of East Cleveland. "I remember the Congregational church being very progressive and was a member of the choir. While I was in college my parents joined a local Church of Christ, which I found to be pretty fundamentalist. Around the same time I found the book When God was a Woman by Merlin Stone, my eyes were opened.

After my move to Pinellas County, my spouse and I eventually found the St. Petersburg Unitarian Universalist church. We were active, with Lauren being Treasurer, and me being on the Board (including being President). Eventually both our careers took off (I had been in graduate school to become an NP while being President). We had helped lead the church through a very difficult conflict in which the minister resigned, and through healing with two contract ministers. We came back after meeting Rev. Ben several times in the community’s social justice events. I would like to continue to lead the church in the direction of Article II by serving on the board again."

Dani Blye

I work in horticultural services out of Dunedin, and I live in North St Petersburg.

I was born in '91 to two loving parents who did the best they could with what they had, in a family rife with mental illness, in a town that still held fast to Confederate sentiments, and a Southern Baptist Church that may have meant well but was painfully misguided.

I've had a lot of learning (and unlearning) to do in my life. It's a never ending process.

My maternal grandmother (AKA Pancho) was the first person to put this into terms that resonated with me. We would have long, meaningful discussions about life and love and healing. She gifted to me Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet", and it has been with me ever since.

For about 7 years, I worked seasonally for the National Park Service. I would work the summer season, save up, and travel the world during my furlough. I have been immensely fortunate in my life to have seen 37 countries this way, and I have no doubt it helped to shape me into a healthier person. In recent years, I found myself back in the St Pete area near family again. 

Giving back and being a part of a community in this way has been a new and exciting experience (and admittedly overwhelming at times!) But I'm grateful to have found a group of people so devoted to making a positive difference in the world. I'm grateful that you have invited me to grow, to learn, and even to unlearn, by your side.

Dayna Foster

Dayna was born  in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in a small village in the southwestern part of the state. She joined the Army in 1974 and served a total of 14 years in various active and inactive positions and units. "I spent 27 years working for the federal government as a program evaluator for the Government Accountability Office and retired in 2014. I taught English to Speakers of Other Languages in Ohio and Florida for 12 years as an adjunct, including a 10-month stint in China. Before coming to UU St. Pete, I was a long-time member of multiple congregations as I moved for work or personal reasons. I joined UU St. Pete in September 2022 and joined the Board July 2023."

Claudia Sundman

A student of life, if not necessarily letters, Claudia managed to nail her goal of retiring as early as she (legally) could while wearing comfortable clothes! Claudia grew up on Long Island, NY, living first in Massapequa, then Southampton. She and her future husband, Roger, moved to New Hampshire, where she worked in various jobs as a line cook. Roger was a Marine Engineer and would leave home for months at a time for the first ten years of their relationship. That job ended for him and they both moved to Finland for six months while he oversaw the retrofitting of a cargo ship into a cruise ship for 8 months. Roger's next ship was a fish processing mothership catching pollock in the Bering Sea and turning it into a processed fish mush called “Surimi.” Claudia was hired on that ship as the “Chief Purser.” Jobs on merchant marine ships paid well. The jobs on fish processing merchant ships paid even better. They were out to sea, together, for six to eight months a year, where spending money was not really possible so they wisely saved well. They retired after ten years on that job, when she was 40 and he was 47.

They sold their home in New Hampshire, moved their “stuff” to North Carolina, and bought a sailboat and lived on it for three years from Maine to Guatemala. Unfortunately, Roger died ten years after retirement of an aggressive brain cancer, so she was very grateful that they were able to have retired early and done some fun things while he was still young and able-bodied. 

Since Roger's death, Claudia has traveled extensively, often picking a city somewhere in the world and going there to “hang out” for three months at a time by herself. She now lives at Westminster Palms retirement community.

Todd Wellman

Kelly Patton

Kelly was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. She became a Unitarian Universalist in 2016 at Second Unitarian Church of Omaha. She moved to St. Pete in 2020 and joined UUSP in January 2022. Since joining UUSP she has participated in a Covenant Group, the Meditation Group, the Book Discussion Group, the Racial Justice Team, the Bodily Autonomy Team, the 8th Principle Task Force, FAST, the Friday Sunset Supper, and the Women’s Walking Group. 

Kelly has been a pharmacist since 2006 and currently works 2 part-time jobs in home infusion and long term care. She loves talking to patients and learning their stories. In her free time, she enjoys nature walks, reading a good fantasy novel, watching Sci-fi TV shows, and spending time with her husband Chauncey, her chihuahua Rosa, and 2 feral cats that live in her yard, Zhaan and Chiana.