2016 Minnesota United Methodist Builders Board of Directors
Phil Griffin became President of the MW Board of Directors after serving for 7 years on the Publicity Committee. He has been a member of Brunswick UMC for over 20 years and currently chairs the Endowment Committee and serves on the Finance Committee. His favorite positions at church were conducting the Children’s Choir and going on 2 youth mission trips. In his daily life, Phil is a lobbyist specializing in health care clients, a career he has engaged in for over 30 years. With his wife Ellen, Phil makes his home in Plymouth where he enjoys his children moving into adulthood, making music, walking their dog, reading and constantly searching for the “perfect shot” on the golf course.
Ginger Sisco is Past President of the MW Board of Directors, serving from 2007-2013. She is a long-time member of Hennepin Avenue UMC where she chairs the Administrative Council and sings in the choir. She has been a public relations consultant since 1995, with a client base primarily made up of non-profit organizations. Previous to starting her business, she was Vice-President of marketing and community affairs at Minnesota Public Radio, Director of Community Relations at WCCO Radio, and deputy state travel director for the State of Minnesota. She served for 14 years as an adjunct faculty member with the Hamline University School of Business master in nonprofit management degree program.
Jim Reinholdson serves as Treasurer
Julia Philips serves as Financial Secretary of the MW Builders. She has been a member of Walker Community UMC since 2002 and is chair of the finance committee. She also has served on the Conference Council on Finance and Administration. She has been a Health Actuary for the Minnesota Department of Commerce since 1995 and has been very active in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and has also served on the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, the Editorial Advisory Board for Contingencies magazine, and the Board of Governors of the Society of Actuaries. In 2012, Julia received the Myers award for Public Service from the American Academy of Actuaries. She lives in Chisago City with her husband, a retired actuary.
Carol Nemitz became chair of the Builder’s Club, after serving on the committee since 2001. She is a member of Discovery UMC, where she sings in the choir. She is active in United Methodist Women, with a special interest in the local and District Reading Program. Carol is a special education paraprofessional serving elementary students with emotional, behavioral and academic needs. She has served in many leadership roles for the paraprofessional union, including past president. She loves spending time with her husband, adult daughter, and son’s family which includes a grandson and a granddaughter on the way.
Steve Adams became chair of the Finance committee, after serving on the committee since 2005. Steve, a life-long Methodist and has been a member of Spirit of Hope UMC in Golden Valley since 1985. He has served on every ministry team there except the music team. Currently, he is on the Reconciling and Outreach and Stewardship Campaign teams. Steve is a marketing consultant to various high-tech companies. He was employed by IBM and other software companies before starting his own IT firm. Steve also serves on the Hopkins School Board, following 6 years on the Minnetonka Planning Commission. He has interests in contemporary music, theater, architecture, baseball, art, and travel. He and his wife Donna, have two grown children.
Karen Andrew serves as a Board of Directors Member, having previously served on the Builder’s Club. A life-long Methodist, she has been a member of Hennepin Avenue UMC since 1986. There she has served in many areas: Finance, Koinonia Retreat Center, Hennepin Foundation, Trustees, Administrative Council, and Congregational Care. She also serves as President of the Minnesota Conference Board of Trustees. She is a Property and Casualty insurance professional designated as: Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter, and Associate in Risk Management and Associate in Loss Control. Her interests include reading historical fiction and non-fiction and listening to classical music. She lives by the saying of John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as every you can.”
Marilyn Christiansen is a member of the Board of Directors, She has served on the Builders for 16 years, most recently as chair of the Program and Publicity Committee. She has been a member of Richfield United Methodist Church for 36 years, having served on every committee except finance. She also directed their Youth Choir. She is an Adjunct Faculty member at Gustavus Adolphus College, Luther College, and MNSU – Mankato, where she supervises student teaching candidates during their professional semester. She also teaches piano lessons. Her other interests including singing with the LeagueAires, a service oriented woman’s choral group, sponsored by the Junior League of Minnesota and has been a member of a neighborhood Bible Study group for 21 years. Her passions include being a servant leader, creating artwork, and spending time with family and friends.
Eric Hyde joined the Board of Directors in 2013. He is an active member of Eden Prairie UMC; has served on the Mixed Blood Theatre Board; on the Advisory Board for BrightStar Care, a home care service franchise. He is a retired business executive whose 32 year career included Northwestern Bell Telephone/US WEST/Qwest and US Bank, where he held a diverse set of executive management positions in customer service and billing, sales, marketing, installation and maintenance and organization effectiveness. He and his wife, Lois have two young adult sons. They enjoy both domestic and international travel, attending musical productions and the theater. In his many leadership positions within Eden Prairie UMC, he has observed the good that churches working together can accomplish, as well as how support from organizations like Metro West Builders can enhance efforts for sacred space maintenance and improvement.
Phil Worrell has been a member of the Board of Directors for six years. He is a member of Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church, where he has served as member and chair of the finance committee, along with singing in the choir. He is a retired physician in private and group practices, who was elected as chief of staff at North Memorial Health Care and Golden Valley Hospital. He also served on the Mayo Clinic annual Clinical Reviews planning committee for many years. He and his wife, Anne, have three married sons and four grandchildren. He has been active in Scouting and the YMCA. His interests have included sports, wilderness canoe trips, and recreational reading. He enjoys yard work and has been a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.
Daniel Johnson, District Superintendent