Throughout the fall months, we’ll be profiling all seven members of our Board of Trustees. This week, we feature Tim Fulham, who became a member of UU Wellesley Hills in February 2018 and joined the UUSWH Board in June 2019. He now serves as Clerk on the Board.
Tim lives with his wife Lise Olney in Wellesley. Lise is a past Chair of our Standing Committee and presently a member of the Wellesley Select Board. They have two daughters. Mary is 26 years old and recently returned home after living in Jordan studying Arabic; she’s currently looking for a job in national security. Elizabeth is 23 years old and works for City Year as an assistant to 4th grade teachers in Buffalo, NY.
Tim met with our Board Chair Kathy Coolidge to answer a few questions about himself.
Q. What brought you to Wellesley?
A. I grew up in Wellesley. I attended Boston College and earned a degree in English and then went to Columbia University Business School for my MBA. I loved New York. I lived on the Lower West Side and worked on the 101st Floor of the World Trade Center, although I was not a fan of heights. After spending five years in New York, I returned to Wellesley to work in my family’s business and I met Lise while I was working on a project in Washington, DC. Lise was then working as an editor at the National Geographic Society. Two years after we met, we married and decided to call Wellesley home.
Q. What kind of work do you do?
A. I am a Managing Partner for Stonebridge Partners, a small private equity firm based in White Plains, NY. Unfortunately, the former managing partner of the firm died unexpectedly last August and my responsibilities changed. Prior to working at Stonebridge, I worked with my family for 30 years at Fulham and Company. The office is still in Wellesley Center, above the Dover Saddlery.
Q. Tell me about your religious background.
A. I grew up as a Roman Catholic, went to St. Paul’s Catholic School in Wellesley — and I was an altar boy! For many years I was a parishioner at St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill but gradually became disenchanted with the institution of the Catholic Church. It was a gradual process. Lise was very happy at the UUSWH so I became more involved here.
Q. Currently, you’re the Clerk on our Board. How did you get involved with the Board?
A. Well, I’ve been very involved with Stewardship for the last few years and I’m still on the Stewardship Committee. I really enjoyed working with David Barnard and Peter Stoner and feel like I got to know a lot of people in the congregation that way. I learned what was important to the members of our congregation because people tend to express their feelings when you’re on Stewardship! Being on Stewardship led to my greater commitment and involvement and then ultimately to join the Board.
Q. You’re on other Boards as well — what are those experiences like?
A. I’m on Board of the Head of the Charles Regatta. I’ve been rowing as part of the Head of the Charles since 1974 — I rowed in high school. I’ve been on that Board for 12 years. I’m also on the Board of the New England Conservatory of Music, which I became involved with when my daughter Elizabeth studied at the Prep School there. It’s really fun and rewarding for me to be part of these boards — very interesting people. I’ve learned a lot about strategic and operational issues.
Q. What’s most important to you right now?
A. My family and their well being is most important. But I’m also concerned about the world we have created for ourselves — and what kind of world we are leaving for the future generations and the people that will follow. That’s what stays in my thoughts.
We are very glad to have Tim Fulham serving as one of our seven very capable UUSWH Trustees!