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Boston, Mass. (July 24, 2025) – Two new members – Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern and Mary Heafy – were elected to the Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA) Board of Trustees at the UUA’s General Assembly, which was held online and in-person in Baltimore, Maryland from June 18th to June 22nd.

The UUA Board of Trustees is the governing board of the Association, responsible for setting policies, overseeing the Association’s governance system and the business agenda of the General Assembly, and working with the UUA senior staff to lead the organization. Ten at-large Board members are elected by delegates to the General Assembly, which is where the UUA conducts business, gathers in community, learns and worships together, and emphasizes the Association’s mission and values. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern and Mary Heafy were elected to a three-year term that will end in 2028.

“Unitarian Universalists (UUs) hold sacred the practice of democracy, both within our faith tradition and in society, at large. Like so many of the important roles within our Association, UUs get to choose who will be members of the UUA’s Board of Trustees. We thank the thousands of UUs who participated in the election process this year, and we look forward to working with Mary Heafy and Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern,” said Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson and Bill Young, who were elected the UUA’s Co-Moderators in June.

Mary Heafy grew up in an Irish Catholic family but joined a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Waltham, MA in 1988. She has served as a religious exploration teacher, a choir member, and as congregational president. She has served the UUA as a district board member, district board president, and chair of the Northern New England District (NNED) leadership development team. Additionally, she has been a member of the District Presidents Association and the National Advisory Council. She is currently a member of the Keene (New Hampshire) UU congregation.

Professionally, Mary is the President and CEO of The Arc of Opportunity, a non-profit in Central Massachusetts supporting people with disabilities and their families. Mary’s family includes her husband, two amazing adult kids along with their delightful spouses, and the most wonderful 2 ½ year old granddaughter.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern is the Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco and has served congregations in Boston, MA; Washington, D.C.; and Summit, NJ. She is the author of three books, Little Did I Know, This Piece of Eden, and Miles of Dream, all published by Skinner House Books, a publishing arm of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and she has also been published in the Dallas Morning News, Scroll India, and Woman’s Day Magazine. She is outgoing president of the San Francisco Interfaith Council, an organization with 800 houses of worship, and religiously affiliated universities, nonprofits, and organizations in San Francisco.

She is married to Rohit Menezes, who serves on the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), and is mother to Leila Menezes. She believes we live on by the lives we loved and shaped and the institutions who will speak for and serve our values long after we are gone.

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About the UUA:

The UUA is the central organization for the Unitarian Universalist (UU) religious movement in the United States. Our faith is diverse and inclusive and the UUA’s 1000+ member congregations are committed to shared values and principles that hold closely the worthiness and dignity of each person as sacred, the need for justice and compassion, the right of conscience, and respect for the interdependent nature of all existence.