Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the endorsing body of The Humanist Society. In addition to reviewing applications for endorsement, the Board has recently expanded and began exciting new efforts to continue growing and uplift the presence of Humanist Professionals throughout society.

Executive Committee

Benjamin Iten

President

Benjamin Iten

President

Ben is now an endorsed Humanist Chaplain, but he was raised in the evangelical church. Over time his academic studies in Judaism (at The Ohio State University) and Bible Interpretation (at the University of Oxford) challenged him to rethink how he understood religion and spirituality. Eventually this rethinking led him to humanism and its progressive outlook on life.

Humanist values continue to inspire Ben’s work as a professional chaplain and Clinical Pastoral Educator for a major hospital system where he helps people find their inherent worth and dignity. When he’s not out visiting patients, he’s teaching new chaplains and volunteering with his local AHA chapter, the Humanist Community of Central Ohio. He is the first Humanist Chaplain certified by the Humanist Society to become a Certified Educator with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.

Elisa Rosoff

Vice President & Chaplain Cmte Chair

Elisa Rosoff

Vice President & Chaplain Cmte Chair

Elisabeth "Elisa" Rosoff is a Humanist Celebrant and Board Certified Chaplain (APC/BCCI). She holds a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York and a Master of Education from Concordia College. Elisa's background in Montessori Education, Diplomacy, Psychology and Religion ultimately led her to pursue a career in Corrections, Reentry & Rehabilitation Chaplaincy.

In her current role as the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections Chaplaincy Training & Education Coordinator, she works to protect incarcerated people's first amendment rights and looks forward to laying the groundwork for a future in which North Carolina prison-based CPE programs can serve as a model for other states.

Elisa resides in Downtown Durham, NC with her husband José and beloved pets, Zlatan, Peritio, Pierogi, and Belinda. She is passionate about holistic health, spending time in nature, reading, writing, and serving as an ally and activist, striving for a more compassionate, safe and equitable world.

Jana Miner

Treasurer

Jana Miner

Treasurer

Jana Miner is a Palliative Care Chaplain at University of Colorado Hospital. She is an endorsed Humanist Chaplain and Celebrant through The Humanist Society. She is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. She graduated with highest honors from Rawlings School of Theology with a Masters of Divinity, and a focus in Chaplaincy including grief, trauma and crisis studies. She completed 4 units of Clinical Pastoral Education residency with clinical assignments that include the MICU, NICU, PICU, Adult and Pediatric Emergency Department, and various other inpatient units. She pursued a Palliative Care Chaplain Fellowship at the University of Colorado Hospital and completed 3 additional units of Clinical Pastoral Education. She has been formally trained in Pastoral Crisis Intervention and Grief Following Trauma. She now works inpatient as a staff Palliative Care Chaplain. Jana is mom to three wonderful children. In her free time she enjoys lifting weights, playing cello, paddleboarding and spending time with her family and friends.

Randa Black

Secretary

Randa Black

Secretary

After years of indoctrination into the Catholic church as a child, and then the Evangelical church as a married adult, she let go of things that insulted her intelligence. Randa left religion over 17 years ago and is an Atheist and Humanist Celebrant. She is an active member of the Central Florida FreeThought Community and a lifetime member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, having won the “Nothing Fails Like Prayer” Award in 2021. Randa enjoys giving invocations at city council meetings and works to insure the separation of church and state.

As a professional actor, Randa enjoyed working for Nickelodeon Studios for eight years as a Game Show Host in the live show, Game Lab, as well as numerous featured roles on the network’s sitcoms. She portrayed an FBI agent in The Cape, a drama series starring Corbin Bernsen, and has starred in Unsolved Mysteries and several episodic TV shows. Randa has appeared in hundreds of National and Regional Commercials and Industrials (Toyota, Delta, Angel Soft, Kellogg’s Crispix, K-Mart, Burger King, Ford, Walt Disney World, Holiday Inn, Sears, etc…). She continues to do commercials and voice-over work and lives in the Orlando area.

Anthony Cruz

Anthony Cruz Pantojas, MATS, MALS (they/he/elle/él) is honored to be the Humanist Chaplain at Tufts University. They joined the University Chaplaincy team in August 2021. In this capacity, Anthony supports the development and sustainability of ethical inquiry through co-constructed projects with the campus community. Cruz Pantojas earned master’s degrees in Theological Studies, and Leadership and Humanist Studies from Andover Newton Theological School and Meadville Lombard Theological School, respectively. Additionally, they hold a Graduate Certificate in Humanist Studies from the American Humanist Association Center for Education.

As an endorsed Humanist Celebrant and Chaplain by The Humanist Society, Anthony works at the intersection of ethics, constructive theologies, and decolonial orientations to culture to understand the human condition. Their queer Afro-Boricua identity also deeply informs their engagement with ethics and relationality. They have received grants focusing on humanist inquiry, and also publishes regularly.

Jessica Dapson

Jessica Dapson

Jess Dapson is a graduate of Utica College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University and Master of Science degree. She is dedicated to serving the public, as both a high school teacher and humanist celebrant who both officiates secular and interfaith weddings and performs secular memorial services. Both a member of the American Humanist Association (AHA) and board member of her local chapter of the AHA, Jess is a progressive, secular humanist who dedicates much of her time to serving numerous communities in various capacities. She formerly served as executive co-chair of the Secular Coalition for New York and wrote op-ed pieces for Pique, Newsletter of the Secular Humanist Society of New York. Together with her spouse, they raise their children in a humanist-minded household where they proudly integrate The Ten Commitments into their daily routines.

Janey Rizvi

Janey Rizvi is a Senior Private Client Advisor at JPMorgan Chase, where he has served his clientele in wealth management for over 15 years. He turned his interest in technology into a business as a co-founder of Minilith, a startup computer hardware company. He is also a co-founder of The Oasis Network, a non-profit secular community organization with chapters throughout the US and Canada that host weekly educational events. Janey gives back to his community by organizing charity fundraisers as an ambassador for Developments in Literacy, a non-profit education organization benefiting disadvantaged children in Pakistan.

Jocelyn Williamson

Nominating Cmte Chair

Jocelyn Williamson

Nominating Cmte Chair

Jocelyn Williamson is a lifelong atheist and Humanist, as well as an endorsed Humanist Celebrant and Invocator. She serves as the President of the Florida Humanist Association and co-founded the Central Florida Freethought Community (CFFC). The CFFC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization of freethinkers, Humanists, atheists, and secularists working and playing together with reason and compassion as guiding principles. She serves as a Florida Representative for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, State Director for the American Atheists and serves on the Board for the BE Orlando Humanist Fellowship.

Keith Becher

Keith Becher has been a Humanist Celebrant for 5+ years and has had the opportunity to conduct weddings, give invocations, memorials, funerals and recommitment ceremonies. He is an active board member of the Central Florida Freethought Community, Florida Humanist Association, Space Coast Freethought Society, Space Coast Pride, and Co-Founder and President of the Humanist Community of the Space Coast.

Andy Burnette

Andy Burnette

Andy Burnette has been Director of Clinical Pastoral Education at Cleveland Clinic since June, 2024. He was a chaplain fellow, staff chaplain, and ACPE Certified Educator Candidate at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center from 2020 to 2024. He is a Board Certified Chaplain endorsed by The Humanist Society.

Andy completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication at University of Evansville (Evansville, IN), a Master of Divinity at Chapman Seminary (Oakland City, IN), and a Doctor of Ministry at Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley, CA). Following his D.Min,, he spent a year in the postgraduate program at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in Washington, D.C. In his free time, Andy serves as vice-president of the US Canoe Association’s Ohio Chapter, and many summer weekends races surfskis (16’ to 22’ kayaks) on rivers and lakes in Ohio and surrounding states. He lives in Cleveland Heights with his wife Heather, their child Venus, their dogs Stella and Juniper, and their cats Cosmo, Olivia, and Quincy.

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Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Benjamin Iten

Elisa Rosoff

Jana Miner

Randa Black

Anthony Cruz

Jessica Dapson

Janey Rizvi

Jocelyn Williamson

Keith Becher

Andy Burnette

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