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Central East Regional Group (CERG) Staff
Patricia Hall Infante
Regional Consultant for Faith Development
Patricia Infante is the Regional Consultant for Faith Development. Pat has served in the same arena for the Joseph Priestley District for the past two years and before that had the portfolio for Growth for two years. She has been a Director for Religious Education at the Cherry Hill, NJ congregation for nine years before joining the JPD staff. She brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of faith development to assist our congregations in growing in faith. Pat is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist.
Mark Bernstein
Regional Consultant for Growth Development
Mark Bernstein is the Regional Consultant for Growth Development. Prior to this poistion, Mark served as the Director for Growth in the Joseph Priestley District for two years. Mark has served as the president of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County, Media, Pa. He has been an active lay leader having taught religious education, serving on the canvass committee, being a worship associate, and being elected to the board of trustees twice. His professional career has been as a direct support professional and administrator in the field of disabilities. For the past twelve years he has operated his own business which provides training and consultation in the field of disabilities. He has been a member of the JPD Adjunct Staff leading board/staff/lay leadership retreats. Mark brings a deep knowledge of congregational life and ways to support congregations in growing our institutions.
Renee Ruchotzke
Regional Consultant for Leadership Development
Rev. Renee Ruchotzke is the Regional Consultant for Leadership Development. She is responsible for providing consultation, programming and training material (including webinars and videos) on various aspects of congregational leadership. She works closely with Threshold Congregations and with those doing leadership development at the district and cluster levels. She serves on the Unitarian Universalist Leadership Team Institute (UULTI) design team and plans other in-person trainings at the district and regional level. Renee is a graduate of Meadville Lombard Theological School and is in Preliminary Fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association. Renee was the Consulting Minister for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Canton, Ohio for two years, where she actively participated in the district small church growth project. She served her internship in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before that she served East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Kirtland, Ohio for two years as their interim Director of Religious Education. She co-authored a Tapestry of Faith curriculum, "A Chorus of Faiths." She was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent, Ohio where she has been a member since 1996. There she served in a variety of leadership roles before being called to ministry. She is now their affiliated community minister.In her district work Renee was a member of the Leadership Development Committee of the Ohio Meadville District for two years, where she planned district-wide trainings and workshops. She has served as an adjunct district consultant, leading search committee retreats, Religious Educator start-ups, mission/vision work and various other workshops including stewardship, campus ministry and radical hospitality. Those who know her say that leadership development is a passion for Renee. She was the 2007 recipient of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Seminarian Award for Excellence in Social Justice, and the 2010 recipient of the Commission on Social Witness sermon award.
Beth Casebolt
Communications Consultant
Beth Casebolt is the part-time Communications Consultant. She also serves as the part-time District Administrator for the Ohio-Meadville District, a position she has held since November 2007. Prior to taking on the administrator role she served as the secretary of the OMD Board. She has also served the Ohio-Meadville District as member and chair of the Lifespan Faith Development Committee, Children's Program Coordinator for Summer Institute 2003 and as a Small Congregation Liaison. She is a member of the Association of UU Administrators and serves on their credentialing committee. Beth began her service to Unitarian Universalism as a religious educator, she is a credentialed religious educator, associate level; a trainer of teachers for the Our Whole Lives program elementary ages; a member of the Liberal Religious Educators Association and a mentor for the religious educators' credentialing program. Beth has a BS in Nursing from Alderson-Broaddus College and is a certified pediatric nurse. She also works as the Technical Director for the Theater Department of Ohio University Eastern Campus. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her partner and their two college age children and doing needle and fabric crafts.