Mynga Futrell, Ph.D., Executive Director

Mynga handles development of written and presentation material (website content, Bulletins, Internet postings, educational items and PowerPoint presentations, reports to The Brights' Net's legal board), merchandise development, communication with the Forum, and arrangements for interviews. She works with project leaders and associates and to other organizations, such as Secular Coalition for America and leaders of national freethought groups.

*Mynga's involvement in other organizations includes: American Humanist Association [board] and the Atheist Alliance International [board and council]. She also serves in advisory capacities with Americans United for Separation of Church and State [national], Secular Student Alliance [general], and the Religious Liberty Project known as the California 3Rs [rights/responsibility/respect]. Locally, she is involved in Atheists & Other Freethinkers (Founder, VP), Sacramento's Darwin Day (Co-Chair), and Sacramento's Freethought Day Fair (Founder; Program Chair). She is the director of OABITAR (Objectivity, Accuracy, and Balance in Teaching about Religion (educational materials in social studies). She also serves on the annual education conference organizing committee of the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California.

Mynga is an instructional developer, and as she continues to work professionally part-time for clients, she now both works and volunteers for The Brights' Net. It is rare that Mynga spends fewer than fifteen days a month(count the weekends!) working on Brights' tasks. She does receive pay for some of those days. (To be specific: the fixed monthly remuneration is for 50 hours at$35/hour). Besides volunteering considerable time to the Brights, she also volunteers in a number of other organizations.*

Paul Geisert, Ph.D., Associate Director

Paul handles most of the constituent communications (replying to comments and queries received from the site as well as action-associated emails). He is in charge of new registrations (reading every registration comment and responding when appropriate). He also assists with the major programming of the website; setting up of the polls; drafting of communications; consulting and/or problem-solving with webmaster, BCC-coordinator, shopkeeper, and several group leaders; ordering of software, materials and merchandise; maintaining licenses; and bookkeeping and accounting.

Paul is a retired professor who volunteers all his working time to The Brights' Net. For him, there is no time to spare for involvement in other organizations. He receives no pay for his work, but typically puts in half days of a a five- or six-day work week anyway.

Mike McElroy, Webmaster

Mike joined The Brights' Net team in August and is learning the ropes. He is a Bright and a graduate in computer science of the University of California-Davis. Mike has a fulltime job and is assisting The Brights' Net part-time after work, maintaining the computer operations and upgrading the website functionality. As soon as he accomplishes the work accumulated in the interim between webmasters, he will be adding the priority functional and design elements.

Mike works for the nominal $20 per hour of professional level assistance.

Kevin Schultz, Web Consultant (Webmaster Emeritus)

Kevin, our original Webmaster, is the programmer who set up the database originally. He has since then been responsible for installing and upgrading the website and maintaining the computer operations. (Kevin carried out two major moves of the website to improve the hosting situation for The Brights' Net, once in 2005 and again in 2007.)

Kevin started as a volunteer and donated many hours of personal time. Later on, The Brights' Net was able to pay him a nominal stipend of $100/month. Now if he is called upon to advise or to solve a problem, he works for the nominal $20 per hour.

Diane Reed, Shopkeeper

Diane receives compensation depending solely on merchandise sold.

Diane has undertaken the graphic art, design, production, and general management of merchandise at The Brights' Shop (an offering of merchandise at CafePress.com), for which she receives a commission on sales. She has taken on similar challenges to produce Brights' calendars at Lulu.com, and for that she receives a small royalty. The Brights' Net makes Brights' lapel pins available for purchase through the website, and Diane receives a fulfillment commission.

Will Morris, Brights Community Clusters Coordinator

Will is paid a nominal stipend of $100/month and $20 per hour if work necessarily exceeds five hours.

Will has developed and is keeping an up-to-date listing of all BCCs in the world (number and type). He is staying in contact with many of the group leaders, providing development plans for new BCCs, and responding to Brights who wish to form a new BCC, including answering queries from young people who are considering starting a Brights' club on campus that welcomes a broad diversity of persons who have a naturalistic outlook.

Elaine Friedman, Education Specialist

Elaine receives a nominal stipend of $75/month during months she helps with a project.

Elaine is experienced in education and has offered her services to assist Brights Central on aspects that relate to The Brights' Net's educational aims. She is skilled with language and, as time permits, may edit some of BC's communications for accuracy and clarity.