Meet Our New UUA President
Meet Our New UUA President!
The UUA put out the following press release introducing our new Association President: “Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt was elected to serve as President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) with the support of more than 2300 Unitarian Universalist (UU) delegates at the denomination’s annual General Assembly (GA) from June 21st to June 25th. Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt was appointed interim co-president of the UUA in 2017, and was the UUA’s first woman president. Now she will be both the first out queer individual and the first woman of color elected to the role. She succeeds the Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray and will begin her tenure on July 10th.
“Unitarian Universalism has a vital, liberating message for our time. Our nation and denomination are experiencing challenges in a time of significant division, change and radicalization,” said Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt. “But together, I know we can serve one another, organize for justice, widen the circle of concern, collectively imagine new ways forward in community, and grow spiritually. I am looking forward to the continued work of radical inclusion, faithful witness, and the embrace of a wide range of voices and leaders for our faith.”
The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt has served Unitarian Universalism for more than twenty years as a religious educator, minister, scholar, member of the UUA national staff and of many volunteer committees at regional and denominational levels, and as interim co-president of the UUA in the spring of 2017. She holds a Ph.D. in Religious Ethics and African American Studies from Yale University as well as an M.Div. from Starr King School for the Ministry. She is the author of Ecowomanism at the Panamá Canal: Black Women, Labor, and Environmental Ethics (2022). Rev. Dr. Betancourt, who identifies as queer, currently lives in the Washington DC area.” For more of her biography, see https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/uus-elected-rev-dr-sofia-betancourt.
The President’s Report from outgoing President, Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray can be found at https://www.uua.org/ga/off-site/2023/business/ii/presidents-report (video and transcript).
