Nominations For Election At GA 2024
The Nominating Committee submitted the following slate of nominees to the Board of Trustees. The election for these positions will take place at General Assembly (GA) 2024.
Photos and biographies for each candidate will be added to this page as they are received.
Board of Trustees
- Emily Jaworski Koriath - position #6 (3-year term ending at GA 2027) Emily Jaworski Koriath (DMA, PSEP, RYT-200) is the Music Director at the UU Church of Boulder, Colorado and the editor and primary author of Trauma and the Voice: A Guide for Singers, Teachers, and Other Practitioners. In addition to her congregational work, she teaches voice and works with singers on healing emotional trauma to facilitate more authentic artistry. Emily combines voice science, body awareness, Somatic Experiencing ®, and spiritual connection to help singers reclaim their joy and freedom in singing. Emily has been serving Unitarian Universalism for the past ten years, beginning with her appointment as the Director of Music Ministries at the UU Church of Concord, NH. During her doctoral studies, she stepped away from program leadership and served in supporting capacities at Arlington Street Church in Boston, and the Starr King Fellowship in Plymouth, NH. In 2019 Emily served as the Music Coordinator for the UUA's General Assembly in Spokane, and she has presented professional development workshops at the Association for UU Music Ministries' national conference every year since 2016. Emily's musical philosophy was profoundly shaped by Sarah Dan Jones, composer of the beloved "Meditation on Breathing" and the first music leader to serve on the UUA's Board of Trustees. From Sarah Dan, Emily witnessed singing that exists to build community, to connect us to our spirits, our values, and each other. Through her work in Unitarian Universalism, she has completed training in Systems Theory, Ethics, Multicultural Competency, and Examining White Supremacy Culture. She participated in "Undoing Racism for Community Organizers" presented by the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond in New Orleans. During her doctoral coursework at Boston University, she worked closely with choral conductor and human rights activist Andre de Quadros, studying his method of Empowering Song for choral organizations and disenfranchised populations, teaching music to incarcerated youth in Massachusetts, and touring with the social justice choir Voices 21C.
- John Simmonds - position #3 (3-year term ending at GA 2027) John Simmonds has served in a variety of lay leadership positions at the UUA and congregations where he was a member. His service included positions on the Panel on Theological Education, church Boards of Trustees, Task Forces, and Bylaws, Capital Campaign, Ministerial Search, Personnel, Stewardship and Worship Committees. Professionally, Simmonds is a software engineer at heart. He currently works in the financial industry and recently transitioned from managing technology teams and projects to working in the areas of technology contracts and client communications. Simmonds also served on the Acushnet Cultural Council, which is part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and more recently on the board of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. He lives in Rhode Island.
- Rev. Sam Trumbore - position #8 (3-year term ending at GA 2027) The Rev. Sam Trumbore was elected to the Board in June of 2021. Previously, he served on the UUA Electronic Communications Committee (1994-1998) and the Open UUA Committee (2011-2015). Rev. Trumbore retired in June 2023 from the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, NY after 24 years of ministry. He grew up UU in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark, DE. He moved to California to work in Silicon Valley and finish his Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Degree at UC Berkeley. While there, he was a member of the Palo Alto and Oakland UU Churches. The call to ministry came and he left his computer engineering career to enter Starr King School for the Ministry. He served in ministerial capacities at Rochester Unitarian (NY) as an Intern (1988-1989), Niagara Falls doing pulpit supply(1990-1993), and was ordained there in 1992. His first settled ministry was in Port Charlotte, Florida (1993-99). Rev. Trumbore also serves on the board of the UU Buddhist Fellowship and is a devoted practitioner of Insight Meditation (Theravadan 1984-present). He has been active in congregation-based community organizing (ARISE) and UU State Action Networks during his time in Albany. His most recent work was helping the NY UU Justice State Action Network get started in 2020. Philomena Moriarty and Sam have been married since 1990, and together they have an adult son, Andrew.
Commission on Appraisal
- Rachel A. Feltner (1-year term ending at GA 2025) Rachel was born in Dayton, Ohio, and has spent most of her life in southwestern Ohio. She currently lives in Cincinnati with her boyfriend, Demis, and pet chinchilla, Chili. Even so, Rachel spends much of her time in Dayton. For work, Rachel is a community organizer for Leaders for Equality and Action in Dayton where she is developing a parent leadership and advocacy initiative. Rachel has been a member of Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Dayton for nine years. She came to Unitarian Universalism in her early twenties while searching for a supportive community. Throughout her years at the Fellowship, Rachel has served in many leadership roles including President of the Board of Trustees, Social Action Representative to Program Council, member of the Ministerial Search Committee, and member of the Healing and Repair Taskforce. She also enjoys working on worship services, facilitating small groups, and organizing events for the church. As a humanist, Rachel finds her spiritual inspiration through our faith’s work for justice and the challenging work of living into covenant.
Nominating Committee
- cristy cardinal (3-year term ending at GA 2027) cristy cardinal (they/them) has been a member of the UUA Nominating Committee since GA 2021. They are a candidate for UU ministry, currently serving as a chaplain intern at St. Vincent Mercy Health in Toledo. They graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry in May 2023. They believe in a vision of Unitarian Universalism that is liberatory, with love at the center. They live in Southeast Michigan with their three children and two feline overlords, and they are a member of First UU of Ann Arbor.
- Andreas Rivera Young (3-year term ending at GA 2027) Andreas Rivera Young is a graduating senior at Brown University studying political science and history. He worked as a Connections Coordinator for GA Youth. He also previously served as the Junior/Senior Dean of GA Youth at the UUA. His home congregation is the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waynesboro.
The Election Campaign Practices Committee carries out the UUA's election campaign policies.