PRESIDENT & TRUSTEE

Claire Thurston has been a student of The Urantia Book’s teachings since 1980 and has actively participated in Urantian organizations. As a vice-president and trustee of UUI, she has focused on outreach and strategic planning. A current highlight of her work with UUI is collaborating with others in creating foundational work for a new service program. In addition to her continued work with UUI, she has collaborated with her daughter, Angie Thurston, on spiritual projects specifically designed for Gen Z, a generation that has been acutely in need of meaning and purpose.

The Urantia Book’s perspective on fatherhood spurred research on fathers’s roles in child development, which led to a book, The Dad Difference, and a protocol to prevent child abuse that was piloted with the Denver probation department. In 2020, she retired from her career with the federal government’s Center for Leadership Development where she helped to launch three programs; one of them, the LEAD Certificate program, helped to facilitate the initial series of courses for UUI. She is excited that Urantia University will be an institution of higher education awaiting her grandson!