Board of Directors
The Gaia House Interfaith Center Board of Directors includes up to twenty-five members, including representation from a range of religious affiliations, SIUC students, and at-large community members. Staff directors are ex-officio members. The board has three standing committees with responsibilities over major areas of the Center: program, finance, and building and grounds. There are four officers, elected annually. Current officers are Al Parr, president; Bob Swenson, vice-president; Erika Peterson, treasurer; and Elissia Kimball, secretary.
Kemal Akkaya, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at SIUC and advisor for Intercultural Student Dialogue Association. He is from Turkey and a member of the Muslim faith.
Michael Batinski, Ph.D., retired in 2009 from the History Department of SIUC. He is a member of Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting.
Aur Beck, an at-large board member, is owner of Advanced Energy Solutions and board president of Southern Illinois Center for a Sustainable Future. A committed advocate for energy efficiency and renewable energy, Aur created Oil Addicts Anonymous International and hosts the radio show, Your Community Spirit.
Pradnya Dharmadhikari, Ph.D., now retired from John A. Logan College, practices and teaches yoga at home and at Gaia House Interfaith Center. Pradnya also enjoys writing a weekly e-newsletter about yoga philosophy and psychology.
Martha Ellert, Ph.D., serves our board on the building and grounds committee and was a founding member of the Labyrinth committee. She is a retired associate professor of physiology at SIUC and the director of University Women's Professional Advancement. Martha is a member of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Kathy Frith, Ed.D., a professor in the SIUC School of Journalism, is board president of Sunyata, the Buddhist Center which is housed in Gaia House Interfaith Center.
Michael Frith represents the Sunyata Buddhist Center. Michael, now retired, worked previously in international development.
Millie Hankla is a board president emerita. She is a member of the Cobden First Presbyterian Church and is active at various levels of the Presbyterian Church USA.
Jim Hanson, Ph.D., is an at-large member of our board. He currently works on economic development issues for southern Illinois and is affiliated with the Shawnee Dharma Group.
Gillian Harrison is a medical social worker at Carbondale Memorial Hospital. She has been a teacher and professor, and is a practicing Zen Buddhist. Gillian attends the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship and the Shawnee Dharma Group.
John Hochheimer, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Radio and Television at SIUC. He has a special interest in spirituality and education.
Elissia Kimball serves as secretary for the board and is also secretary of the SIUC Registered Student Organization at Gaia House Interfaith Center. A senior at SIUC, she will graduate in spring 2011 with a bachelors degree in rehab services and art history.
Al Parr, president of the board, came to attend SIUC in 1968 after serving in the Navy and earned a BS in Education in 1973. A retired SIUC civil service employee, Al spends much of his time photographing the SIUC Campus Lake. He is an elder at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Carbondale.
Susan Pearlman, Ph.D., has lived in Carbondale for 28 years. She is on the faculty at SIUC in early childhood education and is actively involved with Temple Beth Jacob and the Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois.
Erika Peterson, Ph.D., is our board treasurer. A talented writer, Erika is taking time off from her psychology teaching career to be a full-time mother to Cordelia and Clark. She is member of the Church of the Good Shepherd (UCC) in Carbondale.
Brent Ritzel is a Carbondale native and local activist involved in many organizations. Brent serves as president of the board of the R. Buckminster Fuller Dome NFP.
Bob Swenson, our board vice-president, is an architect by profession and teaches architecture at SIUC as an associate professor. Bob was recently honored with an Illinois State Historical Society's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of the Carbondale Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Gene Turk is a Yale Law School graduate and former assistant dean of the SIUC School of Law. He is now in private practice in the Carbondale area.
Hugh Muldoon served as Gaia House Interfaith Center director for more than a decade. He has worked with the Illinois United Ministries in Higher Education and the National Campus Ministry Association and is a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd (United Church of Christ) in Carbondale.
Yolan Presley served on the board from 2004-2010. Yo is a graduate of the SIUC Design Department, a retired businesswoman, a founding member of the Shawnee Dharma Group, an adviser to the Sunyata Center, and a member of the Carbondale Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.