UUMA Nominations 2024
The Nominating Committee recruits and selects nominees for UUMA elected leadership, and strives to balance demographic factors such as gender, gender orientation, ethnicity, abilities, cultural competency, age, geography, and ministry type. Members hold 12 conference call meetings each year in addition to meetings during Ministry Days. Nominating Committee Members: Margalie Belizaire (Co-Chair), Ali KC Bell (Co-Chair), DC Fortune, Cynthia Landrum, Edith Love
The UUMA Nominating Committee submit the following list of nominees for the UUMA Board and the Nominating Committee:
Rev. Robin Tanner, Board President: Rev. Dr. Robin Tanner is a member of the Lead Ministry Team at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit, NJ. She holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a Doctorate in Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion. Dr. Tanner was part of a 2016 effort in North Carolina that successfully overturned restrictions on clergy members marrying same-gender couples. She previously served as the lead of the National Faith Team for the Poor People’s Campaign and was a senior fellow with Salvation and Social Justice. She is President of the Summit Interfaith Council and a board member of Community Change, a national organizing body empowering people for lasting change especially people of color, women, immigrants, and people struggling to make ends meet. She believes in social change through spiritual transformation. When not protesting and preaching, she enjoys baking bread and playing board games with her wife, Rev. Ann Marie Alderman and their five children ages 18 to 5.
Rev. Chris Rothbauer, Board Secretary: Rev. Chris Rothbauer (they/them) is a parish and community minister currently serving as the Senior Minister at Horizon Unitarian Universalist Church in Carrollton, Texas. Chris’s calling towards ministry, faith formation, and spirituality means they wear many hats as a trained spiritual director; a certified dream worker; a coach; a peer support advocate; and an adjunct professor at Cherry Hill Seminary. They currently serve on the Board of Trustees of the UU Mental Health Network and previously served on the Steering Committee of TRUUsT and the Advisory Committee of UU Class Conversations. Chris lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with a partner, Calvin; a senior rescue beagle; and a spoiled rotten cat, where they enjoy hiking, tabletop RPGs at the local game shop, and traveling to see people and attractions near and afar.
Rev. Wendy Bartel, Board Member At Large: Rev. Wendy Bartel (name/not pronouns/please) currently serves our UU congregation in Schenectady, NY alongside Wendy’s beloved, the Rev. Lynn Gardner, as Co-ministers. Wendy likes building garden beds, prepping for the growth of flowers, veggies, patience, and ongoing learning; walking Luna (the small, shy dog) observing the subtle and large changes in the neighborhood over the course of the year; eating fair trade dark chocolate; exploring governance as playground; and making music with others, preferably while dismantling white supremacy culture and deconstructing the hetero-patriarchy through rhythm and our raised voices!
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, Nominating Committee: Rev. Abhi Janamanchi (he/him) serves as Senior Minister at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, MD. Prior to his current role, Abhi served congregations in Clearwater, FL, Madison, WI, and Park Forest, IL. He holds a Master of Divinity degree and an honorary degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, IL. For over three decades, Abhi has been deeply involved in international interfaith and multicultural work. He currently serves as UUA Ambassador to the Unitarian Union of Northeast India and the Chennai Unitarian Church, the Executive Council of Religions for Peace USA, and on the Advisory Board of Hindus for Human Rights. He enjoys British and Nordic mysteries, poetry, listening to Qawwalis, watching cricket, and parenting two amazing young adults and dogs with his beloved.
Rev. Nic Filzen, Nominating Committee: Rev. Nic Filzen serves as Lead Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta, Georgia. He also currently serves as the Vice President of the Southeast Chapter of the UUMA. He lives in Augusta with his spouse Janeya and two stepchildren, Noe and Charlie. Together they care for a German Shepherd Dog, a Standard Schnauzer, and two ball pythons. Nic plays basketball at least once a week as a spiritual practice and source of joy. He is also part of a local improv comedy group called Schrodinger’s Cat with whom he performs monthly to sold out shows. As a “retired” professional musician, all styles of music remain integral to Nic’s life. Regardless of the medium, Nic finds the sacred through play and tries to bring a play-full ministry with him wherever he goes.