Endorsements

“Sofía’s vision for Unitarian Universalism in the twenty-first century immediately captured my imagination and my heart. She has the compassion, clarity, wisdom, and prophetic voice to lead us in these uncertain times, when the world deeply needs our liberating, life-giving faith!”

—Rev. Cecilia Kingman

^{Campaign Manager, Sofía Betancourt for UUA President}

“Sofía Betancourt’s ministry, presence, and embodiment of the best of our UU values give me hope for our movement and, honestly, our world. I could not be more enthusiastic about her candidacy for UUA President.”

—Alex Kapitan

^{Co-leader, Transforming Hearts Collective}

“Sofía Betancourt is the gifted leader who can support us in moving our movement forward along the path that we have been working toward for decades. She brings the skill, knowledge, experience, and heart that are required for this moment. I am thrilled that Sofía is offering this gift to us all!”

—Rev. Eric Kaminetzky

^{Minister, Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Edmonds, WA}

“I’m used to being in awe of Sofía’s vision, but the humility and intentionality with which she approached her discernment about serving in this role made me prouder than I knew I could be. Even if I hadn’t witnessed that journey, even if I’d never met her, I’d know she’s the leader we need right now. The next six years are going to ask a lot of us—especially in the United States, especially in bodies being targeted. There’s no one I trust more to answer this call, or to lead us into our own.”

—Sam Ames

^{LGBTQ Civil Rights Lawyer and Suicide Prevention Advocate}

“This moment calls us to elect a leader whose integrity, vision, call, and prophetic voice will challenge us to live deep into our values and move boldly into the future. Sofía Betancourt’s thoughtful discernment, academic training as an ethicist, and experience at multiple levels of UUA and congregational leadership make her the perfect candidate to embrace this pivotal moment for our faith.”

—rev. mandi huizenga

^{Minister, DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church, Naperville, IL}

“In a time of painful societal division and increasing climate devastation, Sofía Betancourt is a nationally experienced, visionary leader who will help Unitarian Universalism meaningfully impact the needs of our day. She is lovingly inclusive, fiercely justice-oriented, and a prophetic academic. Sofía is the president that Unitarian Universalism needs.”

—Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti

^{Parish Minister and Co-Editor, Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment}

“I 100% trust Sofía to lead us, because Sofia already has. In the aftermath of Peter Morales resigning, Sofía was part of the UUA leadership team that helped us navigate that difficult and painful time. Sofía is grounded and fierce and loving and I cannot wait to see the UUA under her very capable leadership.”

—Alexandra Dixon

I do not know anyone whose gifts inspire more than Sofía’s. Sofía holds a rarest combination of sheer brilliance, beauty-weaving, soul-tending, and reaching into the depths of devastation and bringing spirit there toward repair and transformation presence. Her work as an ecowomanist theologian, spiritual leader, professor, author, and scholar pulses with fierce and nuanced critique and abundant and prophetic blessing. It is my immense pleasure—through tears—to share my joy, celebration, and affirmation in support of the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt for UUA President. 

—Taya Mâ Shere

^{Rav Kohenet, Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute}

“Sofía brings a breadth and a depth of UU leadership experience, scholarship, and wisdom to her candidacy for President. She is the leader we need for such a time as this.”

—Rev. Dr. Wayne Arnason

^{Board of Trustees, UU Retired Ministers and Partners Association}

“Sofía Betancourt is a person of tremendous integrity, wisdom and vision. I can’t imagine a better leader for our movement at this critical juncture.”

—Rev. Dr. Robert M. Hardies

^{Minister, First Parish in Cambridge, MA}

“Rev. Dr. Betancourt has everything needed to lead the UUA into its next bold steps in our faith journey.”

—Joshua Searle-White

^{Former UUA Staff Member}

“Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt possesses the qualities necessary to represent Unitarian Universalists as our President. She is a pastor, scholar, activist, collaborator, and visionary. She is respected among her peers, colleagues, and those she encounters. She embodies a wealth of experience shaped by her spirit of discernment, humility, passion, and love for Unitarian Universalism. I have no doubt that she will represent us well and with the same integrity, professionalism, and humanity she has demonstrated over the years.”

—Rev. Qiyamah A. Rahman

^{Spiritual Counselor, Continuum Care Hospice, St. Croix, VI}

“Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt’s wisdom, leadership, and theology are just what Unitarian Universalism needs at this moment in our history. Her combination of truth, hope, and ethics will ground our work in this troubled world. How lucky we are to have the opportunity to elect someone with such a beautiful vision of a just, loving, interdependent world, as well as a practical understanding of the relational work we need to do to move towards that world.”

—Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom

^{Senior Minister, First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, WI}

“I have been a UU for 20 years and known Sofía for most of those years. Sofía was always a natural leader and incredibly deep and grounded in our UU faith. I trust her knowledge, skill, and ability to lead us into new spaces we cannot fully fathom and I hope the UU world comes to see what I know—that Sofía is the right person at the right time for our UU world.”

—Rev. John T. Crestwell, Jr.

^{Co-Executive / Co-Minister, UU Church of Annapolis, MD}

“I couldn’t be more thrilled by the prospect of Sofía as our next UUA president. She is brilliant, courageous, compassionate, kind, deeply spiritual, politically savvy, funny, and blessedly fierce when she needs to be. She is exactly the leader we need at this critical moment in our history.”

—Rev. Theresa Novak

^{Minister Emerita, UU Church of Ogden, UT}

“Sofía is an extraordinary person and leader with a rare breadth and depth of understanding and experience of our faith tradition, both our struggles and our potential. Her ongoing commitment to who and how we can be as we move forward through this period of our evolution is absolutely what we need in this moment.”

—Rev. Leela Sinha

^{Entrepreneurial Community Minister, The Intensives Institute, Berkeley, CA}

“Sofía was the interim minister when I chaired our congregation’s search committee. I cannot imagine a better interim minister to help us through the transition process from one beloved settled minister to the next. Sofía sees the big picture and can lead from that perspective beautifully, but she never fails to remember the small, intimate, human acts of connection. She will be a leader we can be proud of.”

—Linda Tolladay

^{Member and Lay Leader, Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno, CA}

“I have been in awe of Sofía’s depth, wisdom, scholarship, warmth, and humor since I first sat across a table from her in a theology class at Starr King School for the Ministry more than two decades ago. She is just the right person at just the right time to serve as president of our Association.”

—Rev. Dana Worsnop

^{Minister, UU Church of Ventura, CA}

“In this time of radical transition, both within our faith and in the greater world around us, our new UUA president will need to have tremendous faith, strength, compassion, and a fire of commitment to ushering in a spirit of unity. The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt embodies these attributes! She is a visionary with integrity who has the unique ability see the big picture while intuitively noting the small details to attain the goal. She will lead with the benefit of institutional knowledge, thoughtful collaboration, love, and grace. I wholeheartedly endorse the Rev. Dr. Sofìa Betancourt for UUA President.

—Amanda M. Thomas

^{UU Musician/Troubadour}

“Rev. Sofía Betancourt has proven herself to be a prophetic leader in our faith. She has deep understanding of the historical issues that have held us back and the many tools that have moved us forward towards the religious community we seek to be.”

—Rev. Ali K.C. Bell

^{Unitarian Universalist Minister}

“As she did before, Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt will bring grounded wisdom to the presidency of the UUA and a caring, thoughtful, and collaborative style. Sofía understands the intersectionality of class, race, gender, and ability—as well as immigration, racial capitalism, colonialism, and the climate crisis—through the intersectionality of her own lived experiences and identities. She brings a depth and gravitas that will call in each of us as Unitarian Universalists to live into our better selves and possibilities during these changing, challenging, and acute times.”

—Rev. Dr. Michelle A. Walsh, PhD, LICSW

^{Lead Minister, First Parish Church in Taunton, MA}

“I have known Rev. Dr. Betancourt for many years now. She has always been a thoughtful and generous colleague and leader. Her experience, serving in our congregations, teaching in our seminaries, and leading in our administration has provided her with the practical experience necessary for leading our faith in the 21st century. She is also wise, insightful, and grounded and brings to our faith the kind of vision we need in this moment. I am pleased to endorse her for our next UUA president.”

—Rev. Paul Langston-Daley

^{Minister of Social Justice, First Parish in Concord, MA}

“At Starr King School for the Ministry I was blessed to be witness to Sofía’s prophetic justice centered ministry, her deeply healing presence, and her ability to lift others as she rises. As a Queer Filipino American UU Minister-To-Be, I know she lives and breaths the intersectionality that is our faith’s greatest gift. Most of all, it is her joy, her laughter, and her fierce love and commitment for our faith that I am most inspired by. In our quest for collective liberation, healing, and wholeness there is no one better to lead us into the next six years than Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt!”

—Kevin Alan Mann, MDiv

^{Hospice Chaplain, Ministerial Candidate, Member, First Unitarian Church of Oakland}

“Sofía bestows generosity and kindness in her interactions with others. She lives what she preaches about love. As a theologian and ethicist, I believe Sofía will bring to the presidency a religiously grounded vision for how we can be Unitarian Universalists that bring more love and justice to our shared world.” 

—Rev. Dr. Stephanie May

^{Minister, First Parish in Wayland}

“I cannot think of anyone who is better qualified, more committed, or better suited to lead the UUA in its next chapter than the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt.”

—Rev. Kristin Grassel Schmidt

^{Parish Minister}

“I have worked with Sofía for years. She is visionary and collaborative, dedicated to enlarging our community and staying connected with those already here, able to see and understand both large ideas of faith and grace and individual needs for nourishment and support.”

—Ted Fetter

“In times that call for a leader who will radically nourish, fight, and care for the expansive love capacity that lies within each heart, I can not think of anyone better prepared in all dimensions than Rev. Sofía Betancourt to move our faith forward with diligence, courage, and compassion.”

—Francisco Ruiz

^{AUUMM Program Director of Spiritual Practice and Worship}

“What I’m most excited about as I envision Sofía’s presidency is the deep theological grounding that I know she will bring to the role—and to our movement. The world is hurting, and the world is trying to imagine a different way forward. I believe that Sofía will help Unitarian Universalism to give language to this longing, and to be one of the ways the world re-creates itself again.

—Rev. Amanda Poppei

^{Senior Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA}

“I cannot imagine a better statement of priorities than the one Rev. Betancourt has put forward as her vision. I think she is outstanding in every respect. I enthusiastically endorse and support her and look forward to her leadership!”

—Don Manning-Miller

“Sofía has the theological depth to ground our faith, the creative spark to help us imagine together the future we want to build, the relational capacity to invite us to move into that future together, and the administrative sharpness to make it happen. I am thrilled to support her candidacy and will be thrilled to work alongside her to make Unitarian Universalism a liberatory, loving force in our world.”

—Rev. Dr. Michael Tino

^{Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship}

“I’m delighted by Rev. Sofía Betancourt’s nomination to be UUA President, and look forward to her service. She has already led us in the direction we need to be going. We need to all join our hopes and hearts with her and flow together into the future.”

—Rev. Tom Schade

“Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt is the experienced, compassionate, visionary leader we need in this critical moment in Unitarian Universalism. Her commitments to community care and collaborative leadership will bring us together and carry us forward into the future. I am thrilled to support her candidacy for UUA President!”

—Rev. Rebecca Hinds

^{Minister, The Unitarian Church in Charleston, SC}

“I have known Rev. Sofía since seminary. She is brilliant, deeply committed to Unitarian Universalism, highly principled, spiritually grounded, passionate about social justice, and comes with an unparalleled record of experience. We are lucky that she feels called to this new and important role.”

—Rev. Barbara F. Meyers

^{Affiliated Community Minister, Mission Peak UU Congregation, Fremont, CA}

“UUSC has had the honor of working with the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt throughout this year, and we celebrate her nomination by the UUA Presidential Search Committee. In a short time at UUSC, Sofía’s brave, inspired, and embodied theological leadership among us has made us stronger. Working closely with her over this past year has been a tremendous privilege. I have seen the impact of her abundant talent and wisdom in navigating change and building radical inclusion, faithful witness, and the embrace of a wide range of voices guiding our shared work. I look forward to witnessing and supporting her leadership of our Unitarian Universalist Association.”

—Mary Katherine Morn

^{President, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee}

“Rev. Dr. Sofía’s deep compassion and wisdom are an incredible gift to our association. I am so grateful for the understanding and fierce love she brings and her grounded forward looking leadership!”

—Rev. Caitlin Cotter Coillberg

^{Minister of Spiritual Growth, UU Church of Silver Spring, MD}

“Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt is the collaborative leader that our movement needs at this moment in history. She has the vision, knowledge, and skills that are required to inspire and support us as we experience the wonder and joy of generative love, and live out, with compassion and creativity, an ethic of gratitude, responsibility, reciprocity, and risk.”

—Dr. Sharon D. Welch

^{Unitarian Universalist social ethicist}

“I met Sofía years ago through a mutual friend. Since then, as I have deepened my understanding of Unitarian Universalism through the UUA and through my exploration of the UU multicultural spaces available online, it seems whenever I turn around I encounter Sofía. As a founder, a leader, a speaker, an activist. In the overwhelming process of dismantling the bonds of white supremacy within myself, my faith community(s), and society at large, hearing her speak and engaging in her vision always inspires me with clarity, courage, and hope.”

—Nicole Thibadeaux

^{Free-range Unitarian Universalist}

“The depth and breadth of Rev. Sofía’s thought and leadership cannot be underestimated. Her collaborative leadership as interim co-president enabled our movement to navigate challenges in a way that helped us imagine new possibilities for ourselves. She is the leader right now: as we continue to imagine how our movement will stay relevant in the 21st century, we need Rev. Sofía’s leadership.”

—Rev. Chris Rothbauer

^{Minister, Auburn UU Fellowship, Auburn, AL}