MEET THE MEMBERS

I have had the great fortune to bring together my passion for sustainability and community with my skills as a businessperson and an engineer. I worked in international business for 25 years. Then I began to design low-impact housing developments, starting with a resort in Western Samoa. I followed my son to Colorado nearly 20 years ago, and I love the outdoors opportunities to bike, hike, and ski. I have been contributing technology to co-housing and single family developments in Colorado for the last 15 years. The Geos Neighborhood in Arvada is my vision of a Smart Living Community thriving sustainably, with healthy homes and residents. Having grown up in Austria, I value a close-knit community, where everyone walks to friends, family, and services. Ralston Creek CoHousing already feels like home. We members embrace sustainability, walkability, and community. We design for the greater good, and each of its parts shines.

In her role as an Accredited Interim Minister in the Unitarian Universalist Association over the past twenty years, Barbara Coeyman has lived in many areas of this country: in Muncie IN; Lancaster PA; Reston VA; Carlisle PA; Salt Lake City UT; Littleton CO; Stony Brook NY; Bridgewater MA; Portsmouth NH; Austin TX; and Portland OR. Prior to ministry she was based in Pittsburgh PA. After graduating from Austin Presbyterian Seminary in 2001, she briefly also served as staff chaplain for Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capitol Region.

Before her life in ministry, Barbara was Professor of Music History at West Virginia University, where her interests included Baroque music, women’s studies, and early music performance. At WVU she also worked in academic administration and completed a Master’s degree in Public Management at Carnegie Mellon University, learning which comes in very handy in ministry and many other arenas of life.

Barbara continues to follow her passion for history, now in the subject matter of liberal religion. She volunteers in several organizations dedicated to preserving the history of Unitarian Universalism and she loves planning and running history meetings and conferences, online and in person. For the past ten years Barbara has also been actively engaged in the Center for Courage and Renewal, an institute based on the writing of Quaker Parker Palmer which promotes deep listening and compassionate communication. As a credentialed facilitator, she leads workshops and retreats following the program “Circles of Trust.”

Barbara enjoys hiking, skiing and other outdoor activities; environmental activism; needlework; playing music; and social dancing, particularly contradance and English Country Dance. She has two children, Patrick, of Austin TX; and Amanda, who is married to Abbey. They have one child, Danny, and currently live in Aurora CO.