Western Jurisdiction Leadership Team
2021-2024
President
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Originally from Northern California, Bonita (Bonnie) moved to Alaska in 1978. She and husband Fred have three daughters and five grandchildren. Traveling with or to visit them is a favorite pursuit! Bonnie is also a labradoodle mom to three sweet dogs.
With a bachelor’s degree in Human Services, and after working as a paralegal, tribal court coordinator, administrative manager, and government director, Bonnie retired in 2011. She enjoys yoga, gardening, and all things Alaska! In 1990 Bonnie received a scholarship to attend Assembly. This jolted awake a passion for the mission of UMW that has expanded with time and experience. Bonnie has served in local and conference UMW positions and as Chair of Nominations for the Western Jurisdiction. She is PPRC Chair and Reconciling Ministries facilitator for her church. “To succeed in living out our vision, we need to embrace an imperfect life, expect the unexpected, lean in, listen, and love.” |
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The church has been a formative part of my life as long as I can remember, first through youth group and later with my spouse becoming a pastor and my own call to service in UMW the past 25 years, where I have served both the district and conference levels. I recently finished my term as Yellowstone Conference President; the past 4 years Rocky Mountain Conference President Ellie Young and I have worked to bring our teams together and build the relationships necessary to become one team representing the new Mountain Sky Conference. While both challenging and exciting by turns, the newly created team is awesome and already doing great things! Beyond UMW, we have raised 5 children and love being grandparents to six-year-old Marley, and I enjoy reading, genealogy, visual design, and spending as much of the time we are given as possible with friends and family. I’m looking forward to my next adventure!
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Vice President
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Secretary
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I am originally from Zimbabwe and was raised in a Methodist family. I have been married for 21 years and have a daughter. I moved to the US in 2006 and attended graduate school in Milwaukee WI then to Denver CO in 2008. I became the UMW president for my local church and joined the mile-high district team in 2013 as the communications coordinator and then Social action coordinator till 2019. I was also a committee member for the Charter for racial Justice for the Rocky Mountain conference in 2017. UMW has given me a chance to grow spiritually and I’ve learned to serve in many ways. I have met many great women over the years and continue to grow through the many UMW events. I look forward to serving and doing all I can to grow spiritually and serve in the UMW in the years to come. |
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I was born in Williamson, West Virginia and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. I married in 1972 and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where Bob attended graduate school. We moved to California, and then to Oregon, where we became United Methodist in 1978. Wehave two children and five grandchildren, and have lived in Missouri, California, Oregon, Idaho, Georgia, New Jersey, Maryland, and Germany.
I graduated from Eastern Oregon University in LaGrande, Oregon with a BS in psychology. My career included working with low income adults, troubled youth, and children. As a United Methodist Woman, I held positions in the local church, district spiritual growth and district treasurer, and as conference treasurer. Reading and traveling are my hobbies. Since my husband retired, we have traveled within the United States and internationally. We spent 18 months RVing and enjoyed meeting new people. We now live in Florence, Arizona. |
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Chair, Committee on Nominations
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Previous UMW: Conference Education & Interpretation, Vice President, Secretary, CON. District President, Vice President, Education & Interpretations.
Church Involvement: Currently serve on the conference committee on nominations, served on the district planning committee, past lay leader and lay member to annual conference, past treasure and also served as chair of finance. Community involvement: I have been chairing the Feeding the 5,000 for the last 5 years. I have volunteered for the school district as a reading aid. I graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Heath Education and a minor in Nutrition. I have 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren. I live in Pocatello, Idaho and have been a member of United Methodist Women all my life and it all started with my mom’s passion for justice and service to others. |
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Julie Asuncion moved to Southern California 40+ years ago from Hawaii. She retired as a programmer analyst; she and husband are blessed with 2 children, 8 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. She attends First Filipino-American UMC and is thankful to church and a strong UMW presence, which encourages her to serve the Lord, grow her faith and share talents and time.
Active in United Methodist Women for over 20 years, she serves as the East District UMW President of California-Pacific Conference. She served as UMW Conference Secretary, district and local organization offices and the Cal-Pac Board of Laity. She is honored to serve as Chairperson of the Church Council. Julie served as President of the Methodist Hospital Women’s Auxiliary (local mission) and representative of David & Margaret (national mission). A member of many years in her church and the United Methodist Women are of great meaning and a blessing. |
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Member, Committee on Nominations
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Hi! My Name is Robin Gregory and I’m a proud wife to husband Brent and mom to Erin (22) and Jack (20). In 2009, after a 20-year career as a U.S. Navy pediatric nurse/nurse practitioner, living in many locations (PA, DE, VA, NC, CT, CA and Spain), I settled in Spokane Valley, WA where I became a member of Spokane Valley UMC and ultimately our church’s chapter of UMW. I have a multi-denominational protestant background and have always enjoyed singing in the choir. Recently I went back to my instrumental roots and have been playing my trumpet again in a community band after many years. Seeing my son thoroughly enjoy his high school and college band experiences reminded me that I could still play too!
It’s been a joy to live in the Pacific Northwest, as our family loves to be outdoors- gardening, hiking, camping, backpacking or snowshoeing. I still take care of little ones as a pediatric nurse practitioner, and my husband and I enjoy traveling. Being an active member and Sarah circle chairperson in our local UMW chapter has been very rewarding and I’m looking forward to serving at the jurisdiction level. I am excited to be a part of this strong, women-led force for good throughout the world. |
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As a teenager Eileen was involved with the youth group at Amboy UMC, Conneaut, Ohio. The United Methodist Women sponsored her attendance at church camps, with mission projects related to migrant camps and inner-city issues. After high school graduation she served four years in the United States Air Force and 25 years with the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons.
In 2014 she became a member of the local unit at Journey UMC. She served one year as program resources coordinator, four years as president, and currently serves as secretary. During this time, she served four years as North district president and conference Legacy 150 Liaison. She enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, and puzzling. She loves to spend time with her family; husband Pat, three grown daughters, 6 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Eileen always looks forward to seeing and feeling God’s presence in the most unexpected locations. |
Member, Committee on Nominations
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Gayle is a cradle Methodist born and raised in the Red Bluff, California United Methodist Church. She became involved in district and conference youth ministries while she was in high school and as she began college at University of the Pacific she also began an eight year term as a director of the General Board of Global Ministries and Women’s Division – now United Methodist Women Inc. She has continued to be involved in some way beyond the local church in UMW; the CA-NV Conference; and the boards of National Mission Institutions Gum Moon Residence and Mary Elizabeth Inn.
On completing her master’s degree in demography at Washington State, Gayle moved to the S.F. Bay Area and from the mid 1980’s through 2015 she worked for a company that produced Gift Shows and Harvest Festivals. She joined Center for Domestic Peace in San Rafael as their Operations Manager after the 2016 Jurisdicitional Conference. Most recently Gayle was co-Lay Leader for the California Nevada Conference; has been a member of several General/Jursidictional Conference delegations; and currently serves on the Conference Council on Finance and Administration and as Bay District UMW Vice-President. Gayle enjoys making computers & electronic equipment behave, trips to the beach, traveling with friends and is looking forward to Assembly and a road trip next spring with her step-daughter who lives in Columbus, OH. |
Logistical Consultant
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