In the Spotlight: Meet Donna and Evan Green

29 January 2018

We are life-long Californians who moved to Utah a year ago. We still suffer from red state culture shock, and what a year it’s been for that! We are happy to find First UU - a church that is actively involved in the community, both politically and in hands-on ways – it’s like a support group. Now that we’ve signed the book, Donna joined the Caring Network, we’re both signed up to help with the Sanctuary Church effort, we love our small group, and we’re anxious to see where else we ‘fit in’ with the activities of the church.

We were married in a Catholic church where we promised to raise our children in ‘the faith,’ which we did until Donna got tired of so many things about the church, including attending without her non-religious spouse and reluctant daughters. In what could be interpreted as a moment of divine intervention: when she said she was going to look at other churches, he (aka non-religious spouse) said he would go along. And so we found a liberal United Methodist congregation where we both learned how to develop meaningful spiritual lives. How liberal? Well, Evan once gave a talk to the high school youth group titled “I don’t believe in God,” without getting in trouble. We participated in and led successful and failed projects from education to environmental and poverty issues. It was beautiful and messy and aggravating. Among the highlights were the Living the Questions(livingthequestions.com) educational program and Open Table (www.theopentable.org, which is like Family Promise on steroids). We come from a christian religious perspective but are excited by the broader vistas available in Unitarian Universalism.

We are (proud) parents of two grown daughters. Evangeline is a first-year medical student in Biddeford Maine and Valerie is starting her career as a civil engineer in San Francisco. If you give us an excuse to tell you more about how wonderful they are, we’ll happily tell you. There’s also Buster. He’s a dog we found in a parking lot and acts as such.

Donna: After the girls started high school, I started a third career (research biologist, full-time parent/girl scout leader/volunteer, …) as a high school biology and chemistry teacher. Unfortunately, I’ve been on several years hiatus while chronic and acute migraines have dramatically reduced my activity level. In fact, that’s what brought us to Utah, because my pain level is lower and it’s helping me get back to ‘doing’. I’m an avid reader (favorite authors Barbara Kingsolver, Isabel Allende), and love baking and quilting. 

Evan: I work as an independent engineering and management consultant (greenleafconsultingllc.com). I’m an electrical engineer by training and a manufacturing engineering manager by practice. My career includes a brief stint as a professor and many exciting years at a laser company during the build-out of the global fiber optic network. Ten years ago, for moral reasons, I decided to focus my work in alternative energy where I’ve been deeply involved in two start-ups which didn’t quite do the ‘up’ part. When I’m not traveling for work, I play as much tennis as I can, and love hiking and photography.

We’re looking forward to getting to know you. Drop us a line.

Peace,

Donna () and Evan ().