The 2023 Board

Minnesota Atheists is a democratic organization with elected representatives who serve on the board for a one-year term unless reelected. Nominations are in January and elections are in February with the new board taking effect March 1st. Nominees need to be paying members in good standing for at least one year prior to the date of election; Director-at-Large nominees need only be members for six months prior. If you are interested in joining the board, find out more here and let us know that you’re interested!

You may click on the board member’s position to email them directly. General inquiries to the board can be sent to board@mnatheists.org.

President, Ben Blanchard

Greetings!

I am honored to be nominated for President of Minnesota Atheists, and I am excited about what we can accomplish this year. Having spent more than a decade in leadership roles in the secular world, I firmly believe the role we play is important, both for our members and in the greater community. This year I look forward to focusing on growing our membership (a goal deferred due to covid) both in number and heterogeneity of members. I also want to focus on developing more leaders in our community, so that we can accomplish more as an organization.

Thank you.

Associate President, Heather Hegi

I am honored to be nominated for Associate President. I have been on the board and volunteering my time to Minnesota Atheists since 2012. I think it is important for atheists to organize as a force and let our voices be known. Religion is still prevalent in our society, and it affects things such as how we respond to global climate change and how ‘morality’ is imposed on us when it comes to LGBTQ rights and the right to an abortion. When one views this world to be a steppingstone to eternal life rather than the one and only life we have, the seriousness of our reality is degraded. I want Minnesota Atheists to continue to be a voice of reason, educating the public about atheism, while providing a community for atheists in Minnesota.

Chair, Michelle Morlan

I am excited to have the opportunity to continue volunteering on the board of Minnesota Atheists for another year. I joined in 2021 as a director at large and spent the last year as associate president. I have really enjoyed working with the organization and have many thoughts for the future! I am a STEM professional, and I’m passionate about how critical science and reason are to society at large.

Associate Chair, August Berkshire

The role of the chair is to set the agenda for the Minnesota Atheists board meeting and business meeting and to lead (chair) those meetings. The role of the associate chair is to fill in when the chair is not available. For the past year, as the current associate chair, I believe I have done a good job doing this. I would be happy to continue in this role. I look forward to helping us prepare for the 2025 American Atheists national convention in Minnesota.

Treasurer, Chris Matthews

I am a Minnesota native and a life member of Minnesota Atheists. I personally value positive atheism and the separation of government and religion. I have served on the board as treasurer since 2011. I am proud to help provide the infrastructure for Minnesota Atheists to pursue goals that we collectively find worthwhile, and I appreciate the opportunity to continue in this role.

Secretary, Alyssa Ehni

I have served on the Minnesota Atheists’ board of directors in varying capacities for the past several years. I have enjoyed my time on the board of directors; shaping the organization and helping us move towards our organizational goals. If elected, I intend to revisit our pre-pandemic goal of increasing membership. Building our community is important to the foundation of everything else that we do.

Director-at-Large, Stephanie Zvan

I’ve volunteered with MNA since 2009: on the radio show, on TV, at community events, building governance processes, representing us to other organizations, on the board. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and determined to address our challenges. This year, I intend to get more involved with legislative initiatives as part of American Atheists’ state advocacy team.

Director-at-Large, Mike Trombley

I’ve been on the MN Atheists board for two years. While my goal has been to increase membership and community, I’ve realized that these two items are mutually dependent. We won’t have a robust membership if we are not visible within our communities. And we can use our membership as a means to be visible for that community. MN Atheists is a necessary group to be available to those who might be trying to grab hold of the safety in knowing that there are others around them, like themselves, not burdened by a societal expectation of a god belief. Being on the board is one way to assist in growing a healthy group of Atheists within our community.

Director-at-Large, Catherine Prody

I have been a member of Minnesota Atheists (off and on) since Off and on as I moved out of state twice for employment. I am an attorney licensed to practice in Minnesota. I am essentially retired but am able to work on legal issues that may arise. (My specialty has been intellectual property law.) If elected, I look forward to working on the board.