Meet our Staff

Kate joined the pastoral team at ORUCC in June 2023 after having worked in both chaplaincy and other local church contexts. A native Wisconsinite, Kate grew up in McFarland and attended UW-Madison. Kate earned her Master of Divinity degree at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology in 2013 and was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 2014. She has additional training and experience in spiritual care for mental health. Kate is passionate about walking with people across the lifespan through the joy and challenges of daily life.  

Kate’s ministry seeks to empower all people to discover and embody the sacredness of who they are created to be in relationship with one another, with God, and with all of creation. In her role at ORUCC, Kate is committed to fostering places of belonging for all children and youth to discover the presence of the Divine in their own lives, and to support families and the intergenerational community to grow in their spirituality together. 

 In her free time, Kate loves to have a great conversation over a cup of coffee, make and eat good food with loved ones, read, listen to podcasts, and walk or run around the neighborhood. She lives on the near eastside of Madison with her kiddo Gideon. 

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George resides in Edgerton with his wife, Stephanie (an RN and Certified Diabetes Educator), and their cat, Genny. His adult daughter, Emily, is pursuing a PhD in economics. Prior to joining the staff at ORUCC, George served as Parish Administrator and Communications Coordinator at Grace Episcopal Church in Madison. A Pennsylvania native, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona. George practiced law for 10 years and then pursued a career in journalism and public affairs, having worked at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Food and Drug Administration. George manages the office and takes care of many administrative tasks to support the life of the church. He enjoys reading, cooking, gardening, and playing the guitar in his spare time.

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Julie Mazer has added Children’s Education Coordinator to her ongoing role as Children’s Music Director, which she has held since September 2009. Julie holds a Bachelors of Music in Music Therapy from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. Her background includes work with early childhood, children with learning disabilities, adults/children with developmental disabilities, and the elderly. Julie has been trained in the Orff Schulwerk philosophy of music education, the Reggio Emilia education approach, and the Pace Piano approach. These studies inspire her to provide all children with creative opportunities to construct their own knowledge and to be reflective and respectful citizens. Throughout the school year, she offers early childhood music and movement classes, music programming at the American Family DreamBank and monthly Intergenerational Music Classes. Outside of work, Julie enjoys running, cycling, hiking in the Ice Age Trail with her dog, Louis, and dreaming about her next travel adventure. Throughout the year, Julie and her husband, Marc, escape to their family house in Door County to relax along Lake Michigan’s shore. 

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Bruce became choir director in May, 2008.  Bruce is Associate Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he conducts the 85-member Chorale and the 34-member Madrigal Singers, as well as teaching the graduate Choral Literature and Performance Practice course and undergraduate Conducting.

A Maryland native, Dr. Gladstone holds degrees from West Virginia Wesleyan College (Dramatic Arts) and Southern Methodist University (Sacred Music and Choral Conducting), and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the University of Illinois. He has served as Director of Choral Activities at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia and taught at Eastern Illinois University and West Virginia Wesleyan College. He has also been a church musician and director in Illinois (for 6-7 years). He also teaches individual voice and conducting.

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Although I grew up in the Finger Lakes area of New York State, I’ve been a Wisconsinite for some 50 years. The UW-Madison School of Music drew me here for graduate work in organ performance. Soon after, I began working at Wisconsin Public Radio (where I met my husband) and continued working there for more than three decades. For most of that time, I was also choir director and organist at ORUCC, until Bruce Gladstone was hired in 2007 as choir director and made the job even more fulfilling — for me and for the choir.

In 2008, when I retired from WPR, I took up quilting, first working with fabrics from dresses I’d made over the years for my mother-in-law. I also had more time for gardening, reading, baking and yoga. I continue to play piano and organ at ORUCC.

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Bethany Schultz joined the ORUCC staff as Handbell Choir Director in 2016. Bethany is a freelance clarinetist and bass clarinetist, a private music teacher, and is currently on faculty at Madison Country Day School. Bethany has performed with numerous orchestras, ensembles, and theater companies including the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Madison Symphony. As a teacher, she maintains a studio of private clarinet and saxophone students of all ages and levels. Bethany holds degrees from UW-Madison and Arizona State University.  She and her husband, Brock, have two children, Fiona and Leo, and are active members of ORUCC.

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Rob Martens has been the Tru Function and Tru Gumption director for a number of years. He’s a lover of music, a software developer and the father of Gabriel and Lilly. He’s also married to former Associate Pastor Tammy Martens, who retired in 2021.