Member congregations of the UUA, through their delegates, elect the UUA President. The campaign for President will take place throughout the first half of 2023 and conclude with an election at our multiplatform General Assembly, online and in Pittsburgh, PA, June 21-25.
The President of the Unitarian Universalist Association is the primary public and spiritual leader of Unitarian Universalism, as well as the UUA’s Chief Executive Officer. They are tasked with helping to lead our Association on a path to Beloved Community, in which people of diverse backgrounds, identities and theological beliefs can thrive.
Voting will open in early June. Public forums for the presidential candidate will be hosted in 2023. Dates and times are available below. Registration information will be announced when it becomes available.
Who is Running for UUA President
One candidate for election was announced by the Presidential Search Committee (PSC) on November 15, 2022: the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt. Read the PSC announcement and the UUA Board of Trustees' statement on the nomination.
No additional candidates were nominated by petition. Read UUA Secretary, Bill Young's statement announcing the 2023 UUA Presidential election with a single candidate.
Presidential Candidate Forums
Presidential Candidate Forums will be held to allow UUs to learn more about the candidate. Forums will be held in-person and livestreamed. Register to participate using the links below.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Meet the candidate in presidential forums to be held in congregations across the U.S. in spring 2023. Share this graphic (right click to Save Image As...) to help spread the word.
UU Church of Arlington: 4444 Arlington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22204
1pm ET/ 12pm CT / 11am MT / 10am PTSaturday, April 29, 2023
Unitarian Church of Evanston: 1330 Ridge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
2pm ET / 1pm CT/12pm MT / 11am PTSaturday, May 20, 2023
Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara: 1535 Santa Barbara St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
4pm ET / 3pm CT / 2pm MT / 1pm PT- Saturday, June 3, 2023 - Cancelled
First Unitarian Church of Dallas: 4015 Normandy Ave, Dallas, TX 75205
2pm ET / 1pm CT/ 12pm MT / 11am PT
Recordings of Presidential Candidate Forums
How To Run for UUA President
Learn more about the two ways to become a candidate for UUA President outlined in our UUA Bylaws:
- By nomination of the Presidential Search Committee - Deadline passed
- Through nomination by petition - Deadline passed
Each nomination pathway has its own procedures, though all nominees must be a member of a UUA congregation. UUA Secretary, Bill Young, oversees the election nomination process (PDF, 2 pages).
UUA Support for Presidential Candidates
Once a candidate has been nominated for UUA President, the UUA will provide some communications and marketing support. As part of the array of support provided, each certified candidate is offered a complimentary full-page ad in UU World’s Spring/Summer 2023 print issue. It is the responsibility of candidates to meet the ad reservation deadline (January 17) and ad delivery deadline (January 24); if these deadlines are not met, materials may not appear in print. Contact world@uua.org with questions.
The UUA also administers the third-party, secure elections software for delegate voting.
Reporting and Announcements
The UUA will keep Unitarian Universalists informed about the 2023 presidential election by sharing information across all its communications platforms, including UUA.org, UUA social media and direct emails to congregations and their leaders.
UU World will cover election campaigns as news. Check out their reporting so far:
- Announcing the initial presidential nomination process and timeline in April 2022.
- Feature on Presidential Search Committee nominee, the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt in November 2022.