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Edgar (Ed) Mangiafico, President
Ed was born in Lynchburg, VA (1932) of parents who were Sicilian immigrants. Ed graduated from Emory University (Atlanta, GA) and had military experience as an infantry officer (Korea). Jean and Ed have been married 68 years have two children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Ed spent 45 years in the department store business and retired as chairman of May Company California. He later spent time in the watch business. As an Italian, Ed grew up Catholic then Episcopalian. With his interest in philosophy, he made efforts to understand the attachment to other orthodoxies by being involved in many.
Ed became a Unitarian (before the merger) in Atlanta in 1958 after hearing Henry Steele Commager preach (Commager had written Ed's American history textbooks). Ed became a member or friend of UU congregations wherever he lived: GA, CT, DC, CA, NY, MA. Ed is an existentialist/humanist. His UU and humanist mentor from 1961 was Eugene Pickett. He joined UUMH shortly after the move to the new building and he looks forward to being a part of its continued growth as an inclusive community.
Jon Nye, Vice President
Jon is originally from Buffalo, NY, and spent his formative years in suburban Washington, D.C. He eventually settled near Albany, NY, where he and Kathy raised three sons. Although he and Kathy still spend time there, increasingly Chatham is home.
In his twenties Jon experimented with a number of higher educational institutions, eventually receiving an undergraduate degree from American University and a law degree from Penn. At various times he has worked as a dishwasher, house sitter, legislative researcher, and for over thirty years as a partner in a large law firm. From 1969 to 1972, he was in the U.S. Navy.
Jon has been, in one sense or another, a Unitarian Universalist since youth, although he didn’t realize it until he was first introduced to the Meeting House. He feels fortunate to have had many diverse life experiences. Not all of them were fulfilling, but all helped him to appreciate and value UUMH and the people who make it what it is.
Joe Zahka, Treasurer
Joe Zahka has been a UU for over forty years. Early in their marriage, Joe and Debbie searched for a religion that was consistent with their values of peace and social justice. Joe appreciates that Unitarian Universalism is both logical and compassionate. As an added benefit, all of the UU churches he has attended are fairly old buildings and require a lot of maintenance, something he has enjoyed doing since he was a kid.
Danielle Jeanloz, Secretary
Danielle Jeanloz lived in the Northeast, Europe, and Canada and was originally from Newton. She had the opportunity to travel throughout the world while enjoying a 25-year career at American Airlines in Sales and Marketing.
Danielle and her husband, Bob Zaremba, finally settled down in Chatham full-time in 2004. Danielle and Bob purchased, Maps of Antiquity and moved it to Chatham, and started Chatham Guest Rooms. She joined UUMH in 2011 because it was a welcoming congregation that allowed her to explore and share her thoughts on community, the environment, and social justice. Having never joined a church until then, Danielle was unaware that she could become a part of a religious community open to accepting many different beliefs and religions including atheism and agnosticism. She has found her spiritual home in our Meeting House.
Greg Heyl, Member-at-Large
Gregory Heyl first attended the UUMH in Chatham in 2006 with his husband of 42 years, Eric Riley, and they subsequently became congregational members.
Greg grew up in a small town in North central PA, went to Gettysburg College, and then Temple University School of Medicine. He became board certified in both Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine, the latter of which he practiced for over 20 years in New York City. He retired at age 50 due to multiple sclerosis.
Greg and Eric then bought their home in Chatham and continue to split their year between there and their house in Brooklyn, NY. Chatham became the choice of residence after meeting Jim Shepard, a native of Chatham, in their first year of medical school and then doing a residency together. He and Greg have continued to be close friends for the past 50 years. Greg enjoys the many activities of the UUMH and the loving and caring community it shares.
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Naomi Turner, Member-at-Large
Originally from Provincetown, Naomi has spent most of her life in the Northeast, and much of that on Cape Cod. Following graduation from Penn Hall in Chambersburg, Pa., she returned to Chatham to take over her Mother’s business, the Chatham Candy Manor, a seasonal business that opened in 1955. She recently passed the long-established year-round business along to a young local family of former employees. Naomi has also taught dance and choreographed for over 50 years and has now turned over direction of her non-profit dance organization to international Dance Champion,
Adam Spencer.
Familiar with the non-profit world, she dreamed of returning the old Chatham Movie Theater to Main Street and with a strong group of hard-working board members founded
the Chatham Orpheum Theater which opened in 2013 as a state-of-the-art non-profit movie house restored to its early 20th Century glory. In recognition of her work she was
acknowledged by the Ma. House of Representatives, Lower Cape Business and Professional Women, Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, and the U.S. House of Representatives.
She has been a dedicated UU since the 1980’s, married at First Parish Brewster to her husband, David Veach, and a member of UUMH since 1996. She is inspired by all the opportunities she envisions for UUMH.
Liz Van Wye, Member-at-Large
Liz Van Wye has been a Unitarian Universalist for nearly 50 years. Liz and Dave first joined the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, PA, after searching for a welcoming community based on justice, peace and love to raise their family. After they retired and moved to Chatham, they joined UUMH in 2003. She currently co-chairs the Membership Committee and serves on Outreach as well as volunteering in the Thrift Shop.
Jeffrey S. Dykens, Moderator
Jeffrey S. Dykens, CPA, grew up outside Boston in Sherborn, Massachusetts, and attended Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, and Amherst College. He has lived in Chatham since 1976, where he first worked as a commercial fisherman and seafood wholesaler from 1976-1988. In 1986 he married Julie Eldredge and attended Northeastern University from 1988-1990, where he earned an M.A. in accounting. His first accounting job was with Deloitte and Touche Ross accountants in Boston, where he became a CPA.
In 1999, Jeff earned an MBA from Northeastern University and a Certificate in Public Health from Harvard. He currently works at Duffy Health in Hyannis. Jeff and Julie have three children: Andrew, Abigail, and Joshua, and one grandchild. Jeff is active in the Chatham and Monomoy Regional schools and currently serves on the Selectboard for the Town of Chatham.
Program Council Chair
Sue Bauer
Endowment Board Chair
Dave Van Wye
Nominating Committee
Beth Avery
Bonnie Brydges
Joan Caputo
Jane Eccles
Joan Konopka
Debbie Zahka
Please see Committees Page for Committee Chairs' Names
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