Board of Directors

The Humanist Society Board of Directors

Kathy Diedrich, President

Kathy Diedrich has been active in secular and humanist groups for nearly a decade, first as a member of AHA and later as a Humanist Celebrant.  Kathy is also active in the Rochester Area FreeThinkers (RAFT) group, a local 501c3 secular organization.  There she organizes events, secures speakers, and serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors.

Following a first career at IBM, where she served as a software engineer, manager and project manager, Kathy took a very different professional path and launched Minnesota Life Celebrations.  Using her credential as a Humanist Celebrant, and leveraging her newly earned certificate credentials in Weddings, Funerals and Memorials, and Ceremonies for Families and Children, Kathy has been providing professional secular ceremony services since 2010.  She has performed over 250 ceremonies, writing each one to meet the needs and wishes of her clients.  While the demand for secular services came as somewhat of a surprise, Kathy is happy to provide custom, meaningful ceremonies throughout southeastern Minnesota, and to often be the first face of Humanism for her clients.

Sarah Ray, Vice President

Sarah is a transgender atheist woman who left Christianity with a passion for community building–especially in rural areas where it’s often difficult to be “out” or find like-minded people. She came to humanism out of the “angry atheist” phase on seeing a need for secular communities to focus our energy into productive, positive impacts in our world. Sarah is an endorsed Humanist Celebrant, Support Group Leader with Recovering from Religion, co-founder and Director of the Atheist Community of Polk County, and Producer/Host of the show “Freethought in Florida”.

Steven R. Bechtel

Steven R. Bechtel is a graduate of the Tulane University and The George Washington University Law School. He is the senior partner of the Mateer & Harbert law firm in Orlando, Florida. Steve is also an Arbitrator and holds a Florida Real Estate Salesman’s License. Steve’s community service has included holding office in civic organizations and voluntary service on governmental boards in the Central Florida area. Steve has been a secular humanist most of his adult life. He has been a member of the American Humanist Association for several years and regularly attends  its annual conferences. Steve also is a member of the Board of Directors of the Secular Coalition for America.   In 2012, Steve became a Humanist Society Celebrant and has greatly enjoyed presenting a secular prospective to events which are so significant to people’s lives, such as weddings and memorial services, throughout Florida. Steve teaches a class in Humanism at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Keith Becher

Keith Becher has been a Humanist Celebrant for over 5 years, and has officiated weddings, memorials, funerals, recommitment ceremonies, along with providing invocations for various government meetings in his community. He currently serves as a director for the Central Florida Freethought Community. He is President and co-founder of the Humanist Community of the Space Coast, a Brevard County area group that focuses on community service, volunteerism, community outreach, and education. Keith also serves on the Board of the Florida Humanist Association, and the Space Coast Freethought Association.

Randa Black

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 Pantojas

Anthony Cruz Pantojas, is a doctoral candidate in Cultural Studies. They serve as the Humanist Chaplain at Tufts University where they are also a graduate student in Anti-Racist Curatorial Studies. Anthony has been recognized with numerous awards, including an Interfaith Innovation Fellowship where they spearheaded an initiative for global majority first-generation emerging spiritual, ethical, and cultural college student leaders. Cruz Pantojas earned master’s degrees in Theological Studies, and Leadership Studies from Andover Newton Theological School and Meadville Lombard Theological School, respectively. They were selected to be part of the inaugural Interfaith Leaders in Higher Education Council. Cruz Pantojas is a Humanist Chaplain, Celebrant, and Spiritual Director.

Jess 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.

Benjamin Iten

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 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 seek certification from the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education as a Certified Educator.

Elisa Rosoff

Elisa (pronounced “Alyssa”) Brewster Rosoff is a Humanist-endorsed, interfaith Clinical Professional Chaplain (BCCI, Inc.). She has a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City as well as a Master of Education in Early Childhood and Special Education. Elisa is both a community-funded chaplain at a large women’s prison in NC and a chaplain with the Women’s Reentry Project of NC, a program of Arise Collective. 

Prior to working for the non-profit Arise Collective, Elisa was a hospital chaplain specializing in palliative care and pediatrics. She has provided diverse people with spiritual and/or emotional care in Washington, D.C., New York, and North Carolina. Elisa now resides in Durham, NC with her husband and three “children” (a Siberian husky and two chihuahua rescues). She is passionate about holistic health, time in nature, dance, the fine arts, reading, writing, social justice, compassion and equity. She is fluent in Spanish in addition to English. 

Lynn Rothemich

Lynn A. Rothemich (she/they) is an endorsed Humanist Chaplain /Celebrant as a result of a journey of formation and listening to /living into their authentic self.  They hold a Master of Divinity and a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual and Pastoral Care from Andover Newton Theological School (NKA: Andover Seminary at Yale) and are a Board Certified Chaplain. They practice as an Interfaith Hospital Chaplain effectuating spiritual care in trauma, emergency medicine, palliative care, behavioral health and grief/bereavement care. 

They have volunteered for professional Chaplain certification committees and facilitate listening circles with the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab. They also enjoy supporting others as a Humanist Celebrant in rituals to include celebration of life and marriage ceremonies. They continue to express their humanism by contributing to community environmental groups in stewardship of our earth and living into their deep connection with nature and spirituality. 

She has lived in different regions of the USA to include New England, Southwest, Pacific Northwest and the Mid-Atlantic/south.  Sharing all of her joy with her wife and dog  as they adventure through life hiking, birding, kayaking and taking road trips.  Her heart is with spiritual care and she hopes to continue to foster and mine the humanist perspective, commitments and ethos with all those who seek professional chaplain/celebrant endorsement through The Humanist Society. 

Jocelyn Williamson

Jocelyn Williamson is a lifelong atheist and Humanist, who is also an endorsed Humanist Celebrant who serves on the Humanist Society board. She currently holds the position of President at the Florida Humanist Association, and is a co-founder of the Central Florida Freethought Community (CFFC), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization comprised of freethinkers, Humanists, atheists, and secularists who prioritize reason and compassion as guiding principles. Additionally, Jocelyn serves as a Florida Representative for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, State Director for the American Atheists, and represents Humanism on the Interfaith Council of Central Florida’s Council of Traditions. She loves kayaking, hiking and all things science fiction.