Our Board

Our Board Members

Sue Mackey | President

Sue is a Certified Thanatologist, has served as a member of the Ethics Consult Team at Boulder Community Hospital, is trained as an end-of-life doula, has worked as an admissions counselor for hospice and is certified in dementia care. She has extensive experience in creating effective medical directives and is passionate about helping people navigate the myriad of end-of-life options to create an Exit File™as a gift to those left behind. She also possesses a wealth of knowledge regarding today’s funeral industry. For fun she hosts Death Cafes. Sue joined the Board in 2019, having been an FCSC member for several years. Sue took over as President in 2020. Learn more about Sue and her business, Out of the Box End-of-Life Planning.

Leanne Abdnor | Secretary, Outreach

Lea received her grief counseling training from 1987-1992 with Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (author of “On Death and Dying”). She was then invited by Dr. Ross to help facilitate her Life, Death and Transitions Workshops held throughout the U.S. Lea was a long-time Victim Advocate for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and presents grief training to new advocates.

Jim Taylor | Treasurer, Information Services

Jim has a background in accounting and computer work; he is also Treasurer of the National Square Dance Association, and is actively working on re-imaging square dancing. He is a Mason and a Shriner---was Denver's "Shriner of the Year for 2013". Jim has been on the Board since 2006, and has been the Treasurer since 2007. He is retired, but a full-time volunteer for many organizations.

Anthony Bowerman | Membership Services

Anthony was born and educated in England. He came to the US in 1971. After a 40-year  career as a geologist in the international mining business he retired in 2001.  Anthony has been on the Board since 2004 and takes care of all matters related to the membership.

Jan Eccher | BOD Education, Telephone Secretary

Jan spent nearly 32 years with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, involved specifically with vital records of Colorado. Her knowledge of the vital statistics and funeral regulations and laws is a valuable asset to FCSC. Much of her pastime is spent on genealogy and writing family history. She has been a Board member since 2003, and served as President of FCSC for 16 years. She is now the phone Secretary and in charge of Board Members Education, which includes pertinent Colorado legislative bills.

Judy Taylor

Judy has written and edited numerous articles and newsletters over the years, and is known for her many photographs of Shrine activities and square dancing. She is a past teacher, and worked in the Counseling Psychology field. Judy joined the Board in 2007, and has done the Newsletter since 2007. She started this website in 2014; her title is now called "Media". Her hobbies: Most crafts, glass jewelry, & photography.

Cynthia Duaghtery

Cynthia Daughtrey began her career as Assistant District Attorney, Milwaukee County, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1995, she moved to Colorado and has been a practicing attorney for 36 years. She has been practicing law in the areas of real estate; metropolitan districts and water law, local government, and contracts in private practice, local government, and corporate legal settings. Cynthia founded her own law firm in 2018. Currently, Ms. Daughtrey practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Wills, Trust, Contracts and Real Estate. Additionally, she is a licensed real estate broker in Colorado. Cynthia is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, Northwest Colorado Bar Association, member of the Agricultural and Rural Law, Business Law, Real Estate and Solo/Small Firm and Trusts and Estates sections of the Colorado Bar Association.

In her free time, Cynthia spends her time in the sun as she is an avid road and mountain biker, skier, swimmer, and triathlete. Her most memorable triathlon was the completion of the Escape from Alcatraz. She has also climbed and successfully summited Mt. Rainier, Washington twice, climbed mountains in Ecuador and reached the top of Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet.  

Past Board Members & Volunteers

Dawn Kirkwood | Co-Director of Outreach & Secretary
(2023)

Dawn is a retired librarian with a background in education and nonprofit management. She believes strongly in the benefits of open and well-informed conversations about end-of-life issues and decisions. As a new FCSC board member, she is enthusiastic about supporting its outreach and educational goals.

Lila Gracey | Vice President & Chair of Outreach Committee

Lila’s professional experience includes directing grassroots advocacy efforts, managing high-level social policy initiatives, developing programs and direct services. Lila has a broad background in politics that includes serving as scheduler for Governor Richard Lamm of Colorado. She served for six years in the Mennonite Voluntary Service. She helped create and operate programs for people experiencing homelessness as well as founding and directing a national advocacy organization focused on alternatives to imprisonment. In addition, she worked with people experiencing major mental illnesses at a community mental health center. She also worked with Ambassador Swanee Hunt as her chief-of-staff in Vienna, Austria.

Lila’s leadership skills developed through a variety of challenging positions: in the public and nonprofit sectors, an entrepreneur, a management executive, a volunteer, a team member, and as a consultant. She has an unyielding commitment to help build strong communities through partnerships among government, nonprofit, philanthropic, and corporate entities.

Andy Sweet| Co-Director of Outreach
(2020)

Andy comes to the Board shortly after his retirement from his practice of clinical psychology. He is also an artist, a sculptor, an avid outdoor lover, a traveler and enjoys cooking, jazz and gardening. He brings to the position a passionate interest in consumer education and a desire to make the discussion of death matters more commonplace in our culture.

Marilynn Manzutto| Secretary
(2021)

Marilynn worked as death investigator in a coroner’s office for more than a decade; she then transitioned and is now an End-of-Life Doula with focus as a Death Educator, Home Funeral Guide, and Grief Recovery Specialist. Marilynn is also a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (Region VIII) and is Secretary for the National Home Funeral Alliance. In both her professional and personal relationships, she seeks to empower individuals to be their most authentic self by removing barriers and inspiring opportunities to discover personal truth and expression. Learn more about Marilynn and her business, Transitional Witness.

Jill Ross | Vice President
(2020)

Jill is familiar with the funeral industry; before FCSC, she was previously the Outreach and Education Manager for a family owned funeral company in Colorado. While serving on the FCSC Board the past two years, she has demonstrated her passion and advocacy for the FCSC mission, presenting many Outreach programs and drawing in many new members. Jill was elected as President in 2019. Due to her full time job in management and leadership at a Sr. living community (and due to the covid-19 Pandemic), she resigned as President. She remains on the FCSC Board.

Funeral Consumer Society of America

FCA is the parent organization of Funeral Consumer Society of Colorado. The FCA Web site address is: www.funerals.org