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Elders
The following six pages include brief biographical information about each of our 2020 nominees who have agreed to serve as an elder, deacon, youth deacon, foundation trustee and nominating committee. We are grateful for their commitment and dedication to Pinnacle Presbyterian Church.
SUSAN BACON grew up in University Place, Washington, and moved around the country with Jim, her husband of over 50 years. They have two sons and four grandchildren. She has a PhD in communicative disorders with an emphasis on how to listen. Professionally, she has been a kindergarten teacher, a speech pathologist, a Chief Learning Officer, a College Professor and a Dean. She has served as a deacon and an elder in Presbyterian churches in the mid-west. Susan joined Pinnacle 3 years ago. She participates in Arts, SAGE, Book Group, Small Groups, and serves on the Fran Park Center Advisory Group. She was part of the first Princeton Cohort and mentors members of the current Princeton Cohort.
KIM BUSSEY, PhD is a geneticist, bioinformatician, and professor at ASU. She teaches biology to non-majors and helps oncologists fully integrate genomics into their medical decision making. An alumna of the University of Arizona, she earned a PhD from OHSU and trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the NIH. Kim, a native of Denver, CO, grew up in predominantly Methodist congregations. Along with her family, she started coming to Pinnacle in 2009 and joined the church shortly after. Kim co-directs Interface: Faith and Science at Pinnacle, serves on the Fran Park Center Advisory Group, and is a member of Pinnacle Pealers. When she isn’t doing science, she enjoys playing music, hiking, mountain biking, and indulging in her passion for Star Wars with her husband, Matt, and their two daughters, Caitlin and Danika.
TERRY L. COULT and his wife, Katherine, joined the Presbyterian Church over 40 years ago before they were married. They have been members of six Presbyterian churches, including Pinnacle for the last three years. Terry retired almost two years ago ending a career in sales within the consumer products industry. Retirement has provided an opportunity to give back to the community. Currently Terry serves on two committees (Finance & Property) at Pinnacle, as well as participation in two task force projects that include the Pinnacle's Preschool and most recent the search for our new director of operations. Together, Terry and Katherine have raise two children.
JOHN NAPOLITAN grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, where he met his wife, Elaine. They have been married for 52 years and have three adult sons. They have lived in Arizona since 1984. After serving in the United States Coast Guard, John received a Master of Business Administration degree from Miami University in Ohio. In 2006 he retired after spending over 30 years in the homebuilding industry. Prior to joining Pinnacle in 2015, John and Elaine were members of Mountain View Presbyterian Church. John has been a member of the Facilities Committee at Pinnacle since 2016. He has also served on a number of non-profit boards including The Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC) and Rainbow Acres, a community for adults with developmental disabilities in Camp Verde, Arizona.
ELAINE ALEXANDER has been a member of Pinnacle since 2003. Previously she was a member of Valley Presbyterian. She moved to Scottsdale from Princeton, NJ, after vacationing here and loving it. Her education includes Business Admin. at Rider College, Lawrenceville, NJ, and Design at UCLA, which led to a career in design. She worked as an interior designer at Wiseman and Gale Interiors, Scottsdale, for ten years and more recently at Est Est Inc., a large design firm in Perimeter Center. Elaine is single and looks forward to investing her available time in Church activities.
CATHERINE (CATE) BOSSARD, who is Scottish, grew up in England. She moved to Arizona in 1981 and joined Pinnacle in 2008. She gained and honed her profession of marketing in Europe and currently works as a marketing consultant. At Pinnacle, Cate has served on the hospitality committee and as an Ambassador at our Welcome Kiosk. She is an avid animal lover and had a desert tortoise for more than 30 years.
PEG BOUTCHIA and her husband, Mark, have been members of Pinnacle since 2018, when they moved to Scottsdale from Clarendon Hills, IL. Peg is an elementary school resource teacher, who instructs students with learning needs in the areas of reading, writing, and math. She teaches at Indian Bend Elementary School in the PVSD. Peg earned her undergraduate degree from Syracuse University in theater and voice performance. At her previous church, Community Presbyterian Church in Clarendon Hills, Peg sang in the choir and continues that role at Pinnacle. She also served as a deacon and an elder and is looking forward to serving as a deacon at Pinnacle.
LESLIE COLLIOPOULOS and her husband, John, have been married for 29 years and have been members of Pinnacle since 2017. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Leslie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Social Work from University of Cincinnati and a BS in Nursing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Following ten years of nursing, she began an MBA program and was licensed as a Long Term Care Administrator in Ohio. Following the death of her father, she has focused her career on patient care, case management and most recently, working in a collaborative role with health care providers to enhance quality of care. Leslie has also served as a Stephen Minister at Pinnacle for the last year.
CAREY ECKLER grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, near Cincinnati, attending the United Presbyterian Church. She graduated from Purdue University (B.S. in Mathematics), where she met her husband Gil. Over the following 10 years, they lived in Saint Louis, southern California, Dallas, and Cincinnati, where they remained until becoming year-round residents of Scottsdale, after 15 years as snowbirds. For many of those years, Carey attended Pinnacle, joining in 2017. Carey taught secondary mathematics for about 15 of her 25 years in education. Along the way, she earned an MBA in Finance from Xavier University, but remained in education as the Technology Director for her K - 12 school district, until retirement in 2001. The Ecklers have two adult children who migrated to Scottsdale for job opportunities.
PAT MALPIEDI was born in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and raised outside of East Lansing. She attended Michigan State University, where she earned a degree in Accounting. She worked as an accountant until the birth of her first daughter. Pat, who has been married to Ron for 35 years, has lived in Scottsdale for 30 years. They have three daughters, two married, who live in Gilbert and the youngest lives in San Francisco. They also have five grandchildren. Pat was ordained as an Elder at Mountain View Presbyterian Church, and also worked in their Youth Ministry. She has been a member of Pinnacle since March 2017.
LINDA MOORHEAD is originally from Houston, Texas, and has lived in the Phoenix area since 1978. She has a B.S. from University of Texas and a M.Ed. from the University of Houston. Linda taught elementary, middle school, and community college classes. She is a Realtor and has been with Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty for 26 years. Linda and her husband, Greg, have a daughter and son, who both live in the Valley with their families, including four grandchildren. Linda has been a member of Pinnacle for five years, and has been involved with the Amigos, Ushering, Dinner Groups, Hospitality, and the Women’s small book groups.
KAY NORMANN, who is originally from Chicago, IL, moved to Arizona in 1984 with her husband, Rolf, when their daughter was going off to college and their son was starting high school. They attended Mountain View Presbyterian, where Kay taught three and four-year-olds for several years. In 1995 they moved to Pinnacle Peak, and in 1997 she moved her membership to Pinnacle. Kay is currently the proud member of the Spiritual Arts Committee and enjoys the dedication of the ladies who work on the special projects for Easter and Christmas. They attend the 8:00 service while here from September until June.
LISA ANN RANSON who is originally from West Virgina, has been a member of Pinnacle for three years. Her daughter Annabelle, who is now seven, attended Pinnacle Presbyterian Preschool. Lisa Ann is an image stylist, author, speaker and wardrobe consultant. Her hobbies include reading, writing, tennis, golf, hiking, cooking and volunteering.
ANET RAUTENBACH who was born and raised in South Africa, married her husband, Derick, in 1983. They moved to the US in 2002 and became citizens ten years later. Previously members at Mountain View Presbyterian Church, Anet and Derick have been members at Pinnacle since 2018. Anet worked as a merchandise manager at Stein Mart for 13 years and retired a year ago. Anet loves cooking and enjoys helping out in the kitchen and at The Table. They have two children and three grandchildren.
MARK STEEL was born in Pittsburgh, the country’s steel production capital. Graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in mathematics/physics, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the USAF. Serving ten years, he was an Airborne Communication Officer on the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) directly supporting Presidents Carter and Reagan. Mark was a program manager for the next 30 years with several defense contractors retiring in early 2017 from Rockwell Collins in Oregon. Mark is a volunteer with the Red Cross, recently deploying to Florida (Hurricane Michael) and California (Paradise Fire). He was previously a member of the Emanuel Presbyterian Church in Oregon and has been a member of Pinnacle since 2017. Mark is engaged to Diane Wenger, a Stephen Minister at Pinnacle.
JUDY WELU and her family moved to Scottsdale in 2002. They have been members at Pinnacle since 2016. Before joining Pinnacle they were members of Mountain View Presbyterian Church where she served as an Elder in addition to being actively involved in numerous volunteer activities; including money counting and various youth activities. Judy has a Finance degree from Iowa State University and an MBA from Northern Illinois University. She and her husband, George, have three adult sons; Riley, Brian and Adam. They relocated here from Milwaukee, WI. Since joining Pinnacle she has served on an Open Table team as well as assisting with money counting. She also enjoys volunteering at Andre House and UMOM.
Nominees for Youth Deacons
LAUREN HARPER was born and raised in Scottsdale and has attended Pinnacle since she was a baby. She is the third generation from her family to call Pinnacle home. Lauren’s grandparents, Susan and Gary Glava, were founding members. Church has always been an important part of her life. "Since I can remember I’ve been going to Bible study and youth group. I’ve also had the blessing to be on the youth leadership team and see the work done for the different age groups in a whole new light".
GRANT SOBEK is a native of Scottsdale, AZ. He was baptized and confirmed at Pinnacle, and his mom, dad and sister are all members as well. Grant has been involved in the youth music program, including drums, bells and choir. He is currently a sophomore at Brophy College Preparatory where he is involved in the orchestra, Interfaith Coalition, and Student Council. In his free time, Grant likes to play golf, piano and violin.
