IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
SLATE OF NOMINEES FOR ELECTION ON JUNE 14, 2026
For the Board of Trustees (BOT):
Alison Smith (1st term – 2029: Alison Smith graduated with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and spent her career in international development and relief work, starting with Oxfam-America, continuing with PACT before founding and serving as CEO of Humentum an organization focused on training, developing and convening executive administrators of over 350 International Development organizations. She has also served on several international nonprofit organization Boards.
Alison is relatively new to the UU as a member but has attended services going back as long as Frank Hall along with women’s potluck dinners for the past two years and participates in a Soul Matters/Small Group.
Alison lives in Westport with her husband, Ralph Schwarz, and golden retriever Gertrude Stein . She grew up in Westport and outside Chicago, but has lived in Boston, Berkley, New York, and Fairfield. She has adult twin sons, Cody and Zach.
Ben Chan (1st term – 2029): As a Unitarian, Ben Chan is looking for spiritual growth free from dogma. He was married at All Souls NYC in 1992 and dedicated his two daughters there. He has attended UUWestport since he and his wife moved to Westport 5 years ago and is currently active on the Operations Council and the Beardsley Committee where he tutors kindergarteners. Ben’s late-career passion in urban public education has also led him to serve as the Chief Financial Officer at the Great Oaks Charter School, an underfunded public charter school in Bridgeport. Ben began his career as a strategy consultant at Price Waterhouse and then started a clothing company which he owned and ran for over 20 years.
Ben is also passionate about how traditional institutions like libraries can transform to better serve ever-changing community needs. He is currently the Treasurer for the Board of Trustees at the Westport Public Library. Ben graduated with an engineering degree from Brown University and an MBA from the Wharton School. He and his wife, Susan Baer, have two adult daughters, one of whom lives in Washington D.C. and the other in New York City.
Elena Rockman (1st term – 2029): Elena grew up in a UU church in Pittsburgh, PA. She has been a member of UUWestport for almost 20 years and has been attending since 2001. Her volunteering began with ushering, and she has served on the Nominating Committee, the Camp Jewell Committee, the Memorial Gardens Committee, and the Finance Committee.
Elena’s longest-serving role at UUWestport has been on the Year-Round Stewardship Committee. It has been a rewarding and fulfilling task. While she has stepped back from this role in the past year, she continues to be involved behind the scenes.
For the past year, Elena has served on the Settled Minister Search Team and is now working with a subset of that team to find a contract minister. Being on the Settled Minister Search team has been one of the most rewarding experiences she has had at UUWestport.
As a child, Elena’s son has been a member of the children’s choir, performed in several pageants/musicals, and attended Faith Formation classes for many years. She and her husband are now empty nesters, living in Monroe.
Elena cares deeply about the congregation and is very excited to serve on the Board.
For the Committee on Ministries (COM):
Steven Rosenberg (2029): Steven Rosenberg has been a member of UUWestport for twenty-six years. He was a facilitator of Small Group Ministry groups for fifteen years and the head of the Small Group Ministry program for eight. He was a Visiting Steward for four years, and he is currently a member of the Membership and Reproductive Justice Committees and the Caring Support Network. This year, he co-facilitated a Non-Violent Communication course at UUWestport. He has B.S. and M.A. degrees from Brooklyn College, and an Ed.D. from Hofstra University. He taught in public schools as a regular and special educator and literacy specialist for forty years. Subsequently, he was an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bridgeport for ten years. Currently, he is retired.
Teryl Eisenberg (2029): Teryl joined our congregation in 2016 and saw many exciting opportunities for participation and community engagement to live-out our shared values. Teryl has been the lead of our congregation’s John Street Bridge Outreach, a coalition between our congregation and Helping Hands Outreach, Inc. in Bridgeport, since its inception in April of 2020. Teryl is also a member of the Black Lives Matter Committee and the Social Justice Council (former Co-Lead). Previously, she was a member of the (now disbanded) Racial Justice Council and Immigration Community Support Network Team.
Teryl has worked as a Legal Aid Attorney at Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc. and as a Senior Attorney Adjudicator and Supervisor at the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), the disability hearing office of the Social Security Administration. At Legal Aid, Teryl loved community outreach and education. At OHA, she was a member of the national decision-writer training team. Teryl has also participated in the CT Bar Association’s Stand Down, providing pro bono services to unhoused veterans.
Teryl is a trained Community Facilitator through the former Community Mediation, Inc., and a trained Mediator through The Center on Dispute Resolution at Quinnipiac University School of Law. Teryl is married to Shahan Islam, who is the Director of Religious Education at the Unitarian Society in Hartford and who has been active in our congregation.
For the Nominating Committee:
Anita Pfluger (2028): Anita Pfluger has been an active member of our congregation for 35 years. From Day 1 she became involved with our magnificent music program, first singing in several of Rev. Ed’s choirs, and now singing under the direction of Micah Krajca, our new Music Director. A member of the Search Committee who called Rev. John Morehouse as our senior minister in 2015, Anita subsequently served on the Committee on Ministries (COM) for five years. She was part of the 2019-2022 Capital Campaign raising more than $2 million to “Honor Our Past, Renew Our Home, Imagine Our Future;” needless to say, she is thrilled with the renovations and repairs that have renewed our beautiful, iconic building.
Over the years Anita has taken part in many TUUCW programs and activities. She was one of the original Worship Associates, served on two separate Nominating and Leadership Development Committees, and volunteered to be a Visiting Steward during several annual pledge drives. She served one year as Co-Chair of the Social Justice Council, and last year finished a one-year term on the Board of Trustees. Currently Anita is Co-Chair of the Beardsley Committee; she is most proud of the joint project with our Westbridge Coalition that transformed a broken-down computer lab into a vibrant picture-book library for Beardsley’s youngest students.
Sean Feuer (2028): Sean Feuer joined UUWestport in 2024 when he and his family moved to Wilton from NYC. You may recognize his son Brandon, daughters Sierra and Julia, wife Kate and mother-in-law Kathy Jo at Sunday service. Professionally, Sean has over 16 years of experience leading technology and operations teams for various organizations including the federal government, Columbia University graduate schools, and now NYU Langone Health. He attended Columbia University for his undergraduate degree and has industry certifications in change management and strategic negotiation. He is happy to serve on the Nominating Committee with his fellow dedicated congregants.
Kate Croarkin (2028): Katie/Kate became a member of UUWestport in 2003. From 2004 through 2013, Katie was a teacher in the religious education program. More recently, she has served as a chaplain on the Pastoral Care team for over 10 years.
Professionally, Katie has over forty years of leadership experience in restaurant, catering and food service management, in clinical nutrition and dietetics practice, and in school and church business administration. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut in Storrs and completed her Dietetic Internship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – currently Rutgers University School of Biomedical and Health Sciences. Katie is currently working as the business manager at First Church Congregational in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Katie’s husband, Tom, has held numerous volunteer positions at UUWestport and currently continues to be very actively involved with the UU Players theater troupe.
For the Endowment Committee:
Chuck Colletti (2031): The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport has been my spiritual home since 1982. Over more than four decades, this community has shaped my life, my family, and my sense of purpose. In gratitude, I have tried to give back through a wide range of services, including the Annual Appeal, Membership Committee, Board of Trustees, Building & Grounds Committee, Mission and Vision Committees, Year-Round Stewardship Committee, Interim Minister Search Committee, Constitution Revision Committee, and the Committee on Ministry. Each of these experiences has deepened my connection to this congregation and my commitment to its future.
Professionally, I retired after a 50-plus-year career as a media executive and consultant, primarily in magazines and newspapers, with additional work in television and radio. My work centered on long-term planning, thoughtful decision-making, and responsible stewardship of resources—perspectives I would bring to the Endowment Committee.
Roe and I have been married for fifty-five years, and UUWestport has been an important part of our family’s journey. We have two adult daughters—one who grew up in the Religious Education program and another who was married by Rev. Frank Hall—and four grandchildren. These days, I especially treasure the time I spend with our two youngest grandchildren in Darien.
It would be a privilege to serve the congregation again during this time of transition, change, and growth. I care deeply about the long-term health of this community and the role the endowment plays in sustaining our mission. I would be honored to help steward these resources so that future generations can find the same sense of belonging and purpose that UUWEstport has given me and my family.
