My responsibilities as the Director of the International Office for the UUA have expanded from guiding a team consisting of 1.5 FTE positions, to management of a 6.5 FTE staff group that is responsible for the UUA's international engagement with faith, interfaith and social justice partners in more that 25 countries and at the United Nations. Our staff group also manages approximately $850,000 in grants for social change and charitable purposes on an annual basis. Among the related privileges… Show more My responsibilities as the Director of the International Office for the UUA have expanded from guiding a team consisting of 1.5 FTE positions, to management of a 6.5 FTE staff group that is responsible for the UUA's international engagement with faith, interfaith and social justice partners in more that 25 countries and at the United Nations. Our staff group also manages approximately $850,000 in grants for social change and charitable purposes on an annual basis. Among the related privileges has been the opportunity to work closely with two UUA Presidents and, since 2014, to be member of the UUA's Program and Strategy Team which organizes the strategic paths for the organization. It has also been an honor to be a collegial partner to a wide variety of related organizations including Religions for Peace, the International Association for Religious Freedom, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the UU Partner Church Council, and the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, among others. Show less

Unity Church of N. Easton welcomed me to its pulpit in 2001 and the congregation and I embarked on a lovely 7-year ministry. During those years we focused on both in-reach (e.g establishing Small Group Ministries) and Outreach (establishing UCAN: Unity Church Aiding Neighbors). Unity Church was a solidly pastoral-size church, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve there. The church also had an historic legacy of service to the larger community and its citizens - regardless of… Show more Unity Church of N. Easton welcomed me to its pulpit in 2001 and the congregation and I embarked on a lovely 7-year ministry. During those years we focused on both in-reach (e.g establishing Small Group Ministries) and Outreach (establishing UCAN: Unity Church Aiding Neighbors). Unity Church was a solidly pastoral-size church, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve there. The church also had an historic legacy of service to the larger community and its citizens - regardless of religion - and we took that responsibility seriously. Show less

My first lessons about professional ministry were provided by the kind, patient, and forgiving members of this congregation. They introduced these lessons to me first as an ministerial intern, embraced my continuing ministry while I completed my degree, ordained me in 1997, and called me to settlement in 2001. Among the many precious gifts they provided was a 10-month leave of absence (Sept 1998 - June 1999) during which I served as the English Teacher for Unitarian seminarians in Kolozsvár… Show more My first lessons about professional ministry were provided by the kind, patient, and forgiving members of this congregation. They introduced these lessons to me first as an ministerial intern, embraced my continuing ministry while I completed my degree, ordained me in 1997, and called me to settlement in 2001. Among the many precious gifts they provided was a 10-month leave of absence (Sept 1998 - June 1999) during which I served as the English Teacher for Unitarian seminarians in Kolozsvár, Transylvania. Show less

This intercultural experience was transformational in my vocational development. My responsibilities included providing English language instruction for approximately 25 seminarians who had various levels of facility with English. It was also a precious immersion experience for me in an alternative Unitarian community.

A part-time work-study position at the seminary where I pursued a Masters of Divinity degree. The work was only assistive to managers, but it was a precious experience to work daily in the unique library stacks at ML and absorb, through osmosis or otherwise, bits and pieces of theology, history and trivia that has served me as well as any seminary class over the years.

My first post-college working experience was in a busy kitchen in Homer, Alaska. Even thought this was a very short period of time, it was formative in teaching me how to follow instructions, be accountable, and work under pressure.