Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater
Our Elected Leaders
Active List 2025-2027
The Board of Trustees of the congregation develops administrative policy, is accountable for the business affairs of the congregation and is the trustee of the property of the congregation. New board members are voted on at an annual meeting in May.
Eliseo Santana, President
Eliseo Santana, who will soon turn 65 years old, has resided in Pinellas County since 1980. He and his wife, Nereida, will celebrate their 45th year of marriage in June. How does he describe himself and his values? The wellbeing of the family is central to his daily actions. Together, they have four adult children, 13 grandchildren, scores of nephews/nieces and grandnephews/nieces that live in the area and they are very active in their lives.
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CLICK HERE TO READ ELISEO'S FULL BIO
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Contact Eliseo at: president@uuc.org
Rich Cann, Vice President
​Rich was an active member of the First Universalist Church of Rochester NY for 6 years, serving on the Ministerial Relations committee as well as singing in their choir. Rich and his husband moved to St. Petersburg almost 10 years ago. Rich has been a member of UUC for the last 8 years, singing in the choir and helping the in tech booth. Rich has 3 adult children all living in Rochester NY.
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Contact Rich at: vicepresident@uuc.org
Aryna Ryan, Secretary
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Aryna Ryan has been a member of UUC, her first UU congregation, since 2019. She served on the 2020 board as an alternate, as well as on the 8th Principle Committee. She taught OWL, has been active with the Kiwis, the Art Committee, and is currently a covenant group leader, and Pastoral Associate. She came to UUC from Orlando, where she lived for 12 years, tutored, and taught classes in Life Skills at Valencia College. She spent 25 years in southern California, where she taught K-12 in art, theater arts, special education, and ESOL. She also tutored literacy and taught ESOL to adults. She has lived in six states, traveled to many others, lived in Costa Rica as child, and Denmark as an adult. Her interest in the arts and psychology resulted in a BA in English/Theater, MS in Creativity, and MSW from UCF. She wrote art and education articles for The Desert Woman in Palm Springs (1993-2005) and in 2015 published Creativity: The Ultimate Teen Guide. She was married last year to Mike Freedman, a fellow UU, on the UUC labyrinth.
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Contact Aryna at: secretary@uuc.org
Tim Thorn, Treasurer
Tim Thorn is a lifelong religious rebel, and formally a UU since 2013. He married his wife Lori in 2010, with whom he is raising their three children - Leonard, Jovan, and Ember. After an early career in technology, Tim went back to school receiving a BA in Math from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and a master’s in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Tim is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, and is employed as an Actuarial Manager at Centene specializing in Medicaid Regulatory Cost Reporting. Tim has a deep love of science, the natural world, music, fitness, and above all family. He’s also a passionate baker, gardener, runner, holds a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, and plays the Baritone Saxophone with the Pinellas Community Band.
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Contact Tim at: treasurer@uuc.org
Christina Bellamy
Christina’s original family had a Protestant heritage, and yet she had no formal church experience. For most of her 83 years, she has been curious about religion and spirituality, and worked with many activities in faith spaces, but never in the pews. Given that open terrain, UU called her over and over, starting about a decade ago. Social justice actions pulled her in, and she finally joined as a member in 2023. She believes that UUC is a good complement to the other community volunteering that nourishes her spirit: Tampa Bay Time Bank, Refugee & Migrant Women’s Initiative, Living Mirror Playback Theater, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Florida Action Committee. Christina and Ned Bellamy raised a large blended family together in the house where they currently reside. She has been practicing organic gardening and composting since the early 1960s, and that has grounded her all these years.
Marilyn Magee
Marilyn was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She had a career as an RN in home healthcare. Raised as a Roman Catholic, she joined Beverly UU in the 1980s as a divorced mom seeking a liberal religious invitation for her children. In 1989, her youngest son died of cancer. She is forever grateful for the support she received from her fellow church members. When her second husband, Larry, retired in 2001, they moved to Largo, FL, hoping for relief from the snow and cold. Marilyn also worked in home health here in Florida and retired in 2014. She and Larry periodically visited UUC. Larry died of Alzheimer’s in 2021. She formally joined UUC in October 2023, seeking a like-minded community and opportunities to serve. Marilyn loves to travel (especially cruising), reading, and walking in nature. Among her favorite places to visit is Chicago, where she still has several family members, most importantly, her son. ​
Barbara Bedingfield
​Barbara Bedingfield moved from Alabama to the Tampa Bay area with her family in 1960. After graduating from the University of Florida College of Education in 1964, she joined the Peace Corps with her first husband, Tom Moore, to go to Liberia West Africa for two years. Upon returning in 1969, Barbara became involved in the Human Relations Council and helped to form Citizens for Moral Leadership to work for integration. She and Tom were youth counselors at the United Church of Christ in Clearwater during which time they arranged social gatherings with black youth from the Greenwood area.
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CLICK HERE FOR BARBARA'S FULL BIO
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Bruce Gotts​
Bruce is almost a native Floridian. He spent winters and was home-schooled in Pinellas County since the early 50’s. After completing his studies, which took a couple of hours, he and his sister, Mary, would take the bust to Pier 60, where he would spend the day fishing for pinfish, which he would sell to the fishing party boats for bait at a penny apiece. That would give him enough money for bus fare home and the next day. It also was usually enough to be able to buy an ice cream cone on the way home.