Lutheran Social Services 2008 Board of Directors

The Rev. Carl J. Anton of West Hartford, Conn., retired in 2006 as pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church, West Hartford, a congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). Pastor Anton was a teacher and youth director in the LCMS school system in New York and New Jersey before entering Concordia Seminary, Springfield, Ill., in 1972. He served as an associate pastor in Illinois for five years before becoming senior pastor at Bethany in 1981. He's served on the Lutheran Social Services of New England Foundation for five years, newly elected to the LSS Board of Directors in 2001. Pastor Anton is a long-time supporter and volunteer with LSS. He also is a member of the Institutional Review Board of the University of Connecticut Medical Center, as well as the New England District, LCMS, Board of Directors. He is former Chair of the Board of Directors of the West Hartford Pastoral Counseling Center. His wife Joan is a quality and assurance analyst.

Katie Benashski of Wethersfield, Conn. Katie, now retired, formerly was an assistant vice president with Hartford Financial Services. She and her husband Richard are members of Bethany Lutheran Church, West Hartford, Conn. Katie also serves as a director on the LSS affiliate board of Luther Ridge.

Gail Phillips Bucher of Concord, Mass., a retired cosmetic scientist, served as director of the New England Center for Faith and Science Exchange from 1999-2002. She began her career as a pharmaceutical chemist for Colgate Palmolive Company in 1963, later moving to The Gillette Company from which she retired in 1996 as divisional clearance officer and database administrator. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science and a Master's degree from Northeastern University, College of Pharmacy. Since 1985, she has served as a trustee of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Mrs. Bucher, a 1999 graduate of Boston Diakonia, is a service deacon at University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Mass. She also is a member of the Alliance on Science and Technology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She directs retreats for scientists and engineers. She is former president of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists and the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists. She is chair of the Gillette Retirees Outreach Program. Her husband, a satellite communications engineer, is assistant leader at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. She is a member of University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Mass.

Dale F. Eck of Bolton, Mass., retired in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer of the Entwistle Company, Hudson, Mass., a defense contractor. A longtime LSS supporter, he currently serves as chair of the Finance Committee. Mr. Eck holds a Bachelor's degree from Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He also has served as director and president of All Faiths Cemetery, Worcester. He and his wife Catherine have two grown children. A Lutheran since birth, Mr. Eck is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Worcester, Mass., where he serves as treasurer.

David P. Forsberg of Worcester, Mass., is president of the Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC), a private, non-profit economic development organization. A former Worcester City Councilor, he has served as chief development officer for both the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and City of Worcester. Forsberg also served as the first Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary of the Weld-Cellucci Administration. In addition, he was Regional Administrator - Federal Housing Commissioner for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for President George H.W. Bush. He served as Vice President and Administrator of the former Lutheran Child and Family Services, Framingham, Mass. Forsberg holds a Bachelor's degree in religion and government from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, and a Master's degree in urban affairs from Boston University. He and his wife Ann have two sons. He is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA), Worcester.

Garth H. Greimann of Wellesley, Mass., is managing director of Berkshire Partners LLC, a Boston firm dealing with private equity investing. Previous to being named managing director in 1994, Greimann served as vice president for four years. Prior to that he was Vice President of Bank of Boston (1982-1988) and Assistant Vice President of Citizens and Southern National Bank (1977-1981). A 1977 graduate of Dartmouth College, he and his wife Lindsay, a pre-school teacher, are the parents of three teenagers. He plays French horn in the Rivers Music School Symphony, Weston, Mass. Greimann, who was raised in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Connecticut, is currently Vice President of Grace Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Needham, Mass. 

Sonja Hegymegi of Milford, Conn. Sonja is an accountant. She currently serves as a director on the LSSNE affiliate board for the Lutheran Home of Southbury, Conn., where she chairs its Finance Committee. Sonja is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Milford, Conn.

The Rev. James E. Keurulainen (ex-officio) of Dedham, Mass., is president of the New England District, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). President Keurulainen received his Master of Divinity degree in 1974 from Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Springfield, IL. He served as pastor of LCMS churches in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts before being elected President of the New England District, LCMS, in 1997. He has been active in youth work, as well as serving on the District's Missions Board. He has served as Protestant chaplain at Norfolk County House of Correction, Dedham, Mass., since 1977. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass., and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y. He and his wife Priscilla, an LCMS pre-school director and teacher, have two grown children. A native of Fitchburg, Mass., President Keurulainen is a member of Messiah Lutheran Church, Fitchburg.

The Rev. Timothy J. Keyl of Nashua, N.H., has served as pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Nashua, since 2000. Pr. Keyl formerly served churches in Vermont, Virginia and Illinois. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Valparaiso (Ind.) University, a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and an MLM degree from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He has received a variety of awards for solo and choral work. Pr. Keyl is a member of the Worship and Global Mission Committees of the New England Synod, ELCA. In addition to leading workshops, he writes articles on worship and song as resources for the church. He is a member of the Liturgical Conference, an ecumenical collaboration centered on liturgical renewal and Christian unity. His great-grandfather was superintendent of the Martin Luther Orphans' Home at Brook Farm, West Roxbury, Mass., the first recognized Lutheran social service program in New England. He and his wife, the Rev. Kari Henkelmann Keyl, have two children.

Jeff Kinney of Natick, Mass., is a Senior Vice President with Wachovia Bank, and is based in both Hartford and Boston. Prior to joining Wachovia, Kinney served in similar positions with both Fleet Bank and First National Bank of Chicago. Kinney holds a BA from Wittenberg University and an MBA from DePaul University. In addition to serving on the LSSNE board, Kinney serves on the Good News Garage board. He is a former board member of the Greater Hartford Arts Council. Kinney and his wife, the Rev. Rebecca Bourret, are parents of three teenagers. They are members of Christ Lutheran Church, Natick, Mass., where Rebecca serves as pastor.

Loren Korte of Wayland, Mass., is a member of Peace Lutheran Church, Wayland, where he has served on the congregation council and stewardship committee. He obtained a B.A. from Valparaiso University. Loren is the retired president and CEO of D.C. Heath and Company (a division of Raytheon Company), an educational publisher of textbooks and other instructional materials. He has served on various LSS boards and committees for nine years, including serving as chair of the former Lutheran Social Ministry in New England (LSMNE) parent board.

The Rev. Margaret Gatter Payne (ex-officio) is Bishop of the New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Penn., she began her career as an English teacher in Punjab, India, on a Fulbright grant. She was ordained as a minister in the Lutheran Church in America in 1984 following graduation from Princeton Seminary in New Jersey . Her first call was to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Princeton Junction, N.J., where she served for seven years. In 1991, she was called to be an assistant to the bishop of the New Jersey Synod, specializing in the area of stewardship, as well as relating to pastors and congregations throughout New Jersey . Prior to her election as bishop of the New England Synod in 2000, she served as vacancy pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church , Wilbraham , Mass. Bishop Payne served as the Chair of the ELCA Task Force for Sexuality Studies from 2002-2005. She was re-elected bishop of the New England Synod for another six-year term in June 2006. As a member of the Conference of Bishops, she is the advisory bishop for the Multicultural Ministries Program Unit of the ELCA and the Racial Justice Ministry Coordinating Team. She also serves on the Strategic Planning Group that oversees the implementation of the ELCA Plan for Engagement in Israel and Palestine. She and her husband John moved to Massachusetts in 1999, where John raises cattle and manages a forestry operation on a family farm.

Paul Nordquist of Framingham, Mass., is an engineer and retired Director of Reasearch and Development in GTE Goverment Systems. He is currently serving as the LSSNE representative to the Lutheran Planned Giving Consortium in New England. He also serves on the Engineering Advisory Council at the University of Rhode Island. His wife Shirley is a retired pharmacist and they have four children together. Paul is a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Natick, MA.

Dr. Stanley A. Reible of Westford, Mass., an electronics engineer, is Vice President of Systems and Architecture for Global Communications Devices, North Andover, Mass. He formerly served as president of Oak Wireless; Chairman, Director and Vice President of Micrilor, Inc., a research and development firm specializing in analog and digital signal processing technologies and high-rate local area networking (LAN) products; and a member of the technical staff at the Lincoln Laboratory, MIT. He holds a Bachelor's degree in applied math and engineering physics and a master's and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering, all from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Wis. He is a senior member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) and has been active in IEEE chapter, section and wireless standards activities. Active in community affairs, Dr. Reible serves as a director and a member of the finance committees for multiple non-profit community and social service corporations, representing more than 1,100 employees and 37 care facilities throughout New England. He has published more than 40 professional papers, holds patents, and has written numerous technical reports and proposals to government and industry. He and his wife Lois, a medical technology clinical scientist, have three children. Dr. Reible, a volunteer firefighter, is a member of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church (LCMS), Acton, Mass., where he has served as Chairman of the Stewardship Committee, Chair of education and congregational President.

The Rev. Robert F. Schipul of Cohasset, Mass., was named pastor-emeritus of Christ Lutheran Church, Scituate, Mass., a congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), following his retirement in 2008. He also served for many years as the chaplain at the Lutheran Home of Southbury, Conn., prior to accepting the call to Christ in 2003. Bob is chair of the LSS Advancement Committee.

William Swanson of Pembroke, Mass., is an investment broker specializing in bond trading. He served on the Luther Ridge steering committee for five years and was instrumental in hiring the full time Chaplain and Advancement staff at the Lutheran Home of MIddletown before it closed. His wife Lauren is a director of new program development for Lutheran Social Services. He is a member of Bethany Lutheran Church, Cromwell, Conn.

Wilette W. Thompson of Norwell, Mass., is treasurer of Swedish Heritage Press, a publisher of Swedish greeting cards and related items based on vintage postcards. In 1980, she founded Marketing Strategies, Inc., a full-service marketing, advertising, sales promotion, and public relations firm, which she and her husband Lloyd sold in 2000. She is treasurer of the Norwell Chamber of Commerce, as well as chair of its scholarship committee. Mrs. Thompson is a trustee of the Permanent Fund, which is the church's endowment fund. Her husband Lloyd Thompson is a member of the LSS Foundation Board of Directors. Mrs. Thompson and her husband are members of First Lutheran Church (ELCA), Brockton, Mass.

Mark Trusheim is a member of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod), Acton, Mass. He is the founder and president of Co-Bio Consulting, LLC, as well as Executive in Residence and Visiting Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Special Government Employee for the FDA's Office of the Commissioner. He holds degrees in chemistry from Stanford University and management from MIT. His role in church organizations has varied widely from leading youth groups, school worship and social missions as a teenager , to serving as a social ministry interm at Stanford Memorial Church while in college. As an adult, Trusheim served on the board of Lutheran Family and Children's Services in St. Louis, Mo.

The Rev. Lawrence Wogman is pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church, Cromwell, Conn., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He currently serves as a director on the board for the LSSNE affiliate, Luther Ridge, and on its Spiritual Life Committee. Larry was instrumental in the vision and development of Luther  Ridge.

At Large Members

Dan Abushanab of Framingham, Mass., attends Christ Lutheran Church, Natick , Mass. He is Vice President for Information Systems at ATG, Inc., in Cambridge , Mass. He holds an MBA and MS with broad business, I, and project management. 

The Rev. Gloria Connery is pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church, Worcester, Mass., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She currently serves as the chair of the board for the LSSNE affiliate, Emanuel Village in Worcester.

Karen Gaylin of Concord, Mass., has been a friend of LSS for more than 10 years. Her career has been in the field of Human Resources.

Heather L. Feltman is CEO of Lutheran Social Services.