Interim Minister, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston Salem, NC 2020 – present
Interim Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville, Al. 2018 – 2020
Interim Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham, Al. 2016 – 2018
Interim Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, CA 2015 – present
Interim Minister, First Unitarian Church of Oakland, Oakland, CA 2013 – 2015
Interim Minister, Orange Coast UU Church, Costa Mesa, CA 2011 – 2013
Interim Minister, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, TX 2010 – 2011
Interim Minister, Hamilton First Unitarian Church, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 2009 – 2010
Spiritual Director, Private Practice 2007 – 2009
Minister, Edmonds Unitarian Church, Edmonds, WA 1999 – 2007
Interim Minister, Ormond Beach Unitarian Church, Daytona Beach, FL 1998 – 1999
Minister, Jacksonville Unitarian Universalist Church, Jacksonville, FL 1989 – 1998

*Served in this role while completing State Licensing Requirement for Therapist in Washington State.

I began my professional life as a United Methodist Minister. Then before my transition to the UU Ministry, I worked in the business world for four years.These experiences have been invaluable to my work as a UU minister. My experience in the business world added to my grasp of the financial component of church work. My experience as a United Methodist minister deepened my capacity for interfaith work. Also, my background enables me to understand the diversity of religious perspectives which are reflected in UU congregations.

Doctorate in Ministry
Wisdom University, Oakland, California
Area of Concentration: Pastoral Care and Organizational Theory

Masters in Divinity
Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, Tennessee
Area of Concentration: Religion and Ethics

Bachelor’s Degree
Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama
Area of Concentration: History and Religion

Mental Health Credential (LMHC)
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Washington State

Accredited Interim Minister status given by the UUA

Professional Transition Specialistic granted by the Interim Ministry Network

I have been the Interim Minister in eight congregations. The size of these congregations has ranged from 180 to 600 members. This background has given me a comprehensive understanding of the needs of our congregations and the challenges lay and clergy leaders face.
I have worked with congregations in every phase of transition and development, including but not limited to:

• Leadership development and training
• Workshops in understanding congregational organization
• Staff development and training
• Fund raising
• Selling and moving a congregational home
• By-law, policy, and procedure revisions
• Development of covenants of right relationships
• Revision and implementing new governance systems
• Developing programs for growth
• Redefining relationships between staff, the board, Committees and Teams

Additionally, I have a high level of training in two areas of study that are extremely useful in working with congregations: family systems theory and the practice of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s ‘compassionate communication.’  I studied with Rabbi Friedman, a leading teacher for the application systems theory to congregations, for seven years.  Additionally, in the process of obtaining my license to do psychotherapy, I had 140 hours of formal meetings with my supervising therapist, Dr. Mary Sferre, a highly regarded family systems therapist as well as a religious professional; our sessions were spent understanding how people function in social systems with emphasis on religious communities and exploring the meaning of ‘leader.’ My in-depth and extensive training with Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s theory and practice of compassionate communication, including a week-long workshop in Switzerland with other community organizers from around the world, can be used to improve internal and external communication in congregations across a wide spectrum of issues, including, but not limited to, conflict resolution, conflict prevention, establishing healthy ways to manage anxiety around disagreements and differences, and creating models for how optimal communication occurs in congregations.

I apply to congregations the skills derived from extensive experience and training. Subsequently, I can come into a situation, discern what the major issues needing to be addressed, and help a congregation focus its energy toward achieving important goals.  I have done this very effectively in all the interim ministries I have engaged in with concrete and measurable consequences. This process involves nurturing the leadership required to get things moving in a healthy and positive direction with a combination of training, coaching and pastoral support.

Leadership is the key factor in enabling a group of people to move toward important goals in a sustainable manner. Leadership development is the key to success however ‘success’ is defined.

I define leadership as the ability to live in congruence with principles, inspire and sustain trust, and build cooperative teams which move in the same direction.

Ministerial leadership involves helping others become empowered to lead.

Leadership is teachable and essential to the life of a congregation.  I have nurtured leadership in the congregations I have served.

The many references on my website attest to my success in helping congregations develop their leadership.

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