Larry Ladd is deeply connected to his Unitarian Universalist (UU) faith. A third-generation UU, he has served both the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and his local congregations for decades, providing both sophisticated strategic leadership and financial expertise at the local and national levels. 

At the 2025 General Assembly, Ladd was honored by the UUA’s President, Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, with The President’s Award for Volunteer Service. The award is given to the person or organization designated by the UUA President as having given extraordinary and vital service to the UUA as a volunteer.

Ladd certainly defines that description. He first became involved with Unitarian Universalism when he became actively engaged in Liberal Religious Youth (LRY), leading to his service as Continental President. At just 19 years old, Larry was elected to the Commission on Appraisal. He has subsequently served the denomination in a variety of roles, including on the UUA Nominating Committee, as chair of the UUA Annual Program Fund Task Force, and as chair of the Board of Meadville Lombard Theological School, among other roles. He was also elected the UUA Financial Advisor three times by General Assembly delegates. You can read his full biography at the UUA website.

In Good Faith had a chance to talk with Ladd about his service to both the UUA and to his local congregation, the UU Fellowship of Falmouth (Massachusetts). We thank him for taking the time and congratulate him for this prestigious honor.

You have served the UUA in a number of positions, including as Financial Advisor, which is an elected position. How did being a Unitarian Universalist impact the work you did in that role? And for anyone wondering what the Financial Advisor does, can you explain the work?

The Financial Advisor is one of the three elected officers of the UUA, along with the Moderator and President. The position was created to provide the UUA board with expert advice on business and financial matters and the congregations with some comfort that the UUA is making the best possible use of its resources. My purpose was to show how you can use the UUA’s assets responsibly to advance Unitarian Universalist values, and I’m proud to have played a major role in creating socially responsible investing policies, establishing budget practices that reflected the UUA’s strategies and mission, and creating standards for UUA religious professionals that embodied social justice principles.

You have deep experience in the realm of higher education, including being chair of the Board at Meadville Lombard Theological School and Chief Financial Officer of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), which is located in Falmouth, Massachusetts, where you currently live. What do you see happening in higher education? And how do you see higher education changing?

Boards of colleges, and of research institutions like WHOI, are responsible, first and foremost, for preserving their mission in a financially sustainable way. In some cases, that means significantly changing how they do their work. In the current environment, boards must defend their institutions from external attacks while imagining a future that is very different than the present. Institutions will need to offer different programs and through different delivery methods to attract funding and students.

You are also a very active member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth. Why is serving as a lay leader in your local congregation so important? 

UU Falmouth is a vibrant community of people devoted to each other and to serving the wider community in Falmouth and neighboring towns. We make connections with each other that help us remember that we are part of a vast human network of caring, for each of us and for justice in the world.

Anything you’d like to add?

Service is how I live my religious convictions. I don’t know any other way to be.