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Ministers & Staff

The ministers and staff at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder are here for you!

Our lead minister, the Rev. David Schwartz (he/him), came to the congregation in the summer of 2021 with a spirit of curiosity, play, excitement and a deep hope for the future of our congregation.
 
From 2013-2021, he served in co-ministry with his wife Rev. Teri Schwartz at the First Unitarian Church of Chicago. He also served as minister at Beverly Unitarian Church in Chicago from 2017-2021 and from 2018-2022 as adjunct professor of preaching at Meadville Lombard Theological School.
 
David grew up outside Boston. He did his BA at Tufts and MDiv at Harvard before spending seven years in St. Paul and Minneapolis, then eight years in Chicago. Before full-time ministry, Rev. David spent a decade in corporate HR with Target as a senior consultant in learning and development. He lives with Rev. Teri, their two kids, three cats, and one truly enormous dog.
 

Rachel (she/her) is thrilled to bring her passions, experience, and skills together in service to such a beautiful community.  Raised Catholic in Northern Virginia, she’s always had a deep yearning for connection to the Sacred.  This yearning has led her to study a variety of religious traditions and find spiritual riches available in them.

She has her MA in theology and ministry from Boston College with an emphasis in faith development and her BA in Theatre from Northwestern University focused on theatre in education.  Prior to coming to UUCB, Rachel taught in a variety of settings to a variety of age groups, ranging from being the education director of a children’s theatre company, to being an instructor in Boston College’s theology and philosophy departments, to teaching religious education for ages 7 to 87.

Rachel finds delight and spiritual connection through the arts, especially playing piano, singing, and dance.  She adores her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Loki, and she recently started learning to skateboard (please send good vibes/prayers for no broken bones).

Email: dre@uuchurchofboulder.org

Emily Koriath (she/her) 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. It’s this energy that she plans to bring to her work at UUCB, along with nearly twenty years as a professional educator in a variety of settings. Emily’s arrival at UUCB marks the end of an eleven-year career teaching vocal studies at the university level in New Hampshire and Birmingham, Alabama.

Email: music@uuchurchofboulder.org

Irene Kirschenbaum (she/her) joins UUCB as a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. Born and raised in Cleveland OH, Irene originally moved to Boulder in 2010 before relocating to Austin TX in 2013. She is thrilled to be back in Colorado and close to the mountains again! Irene is also a Montessori guide, specializing in early childhood and teaching children ages 2.5-6. Outside of teaching and Montessori, she also brings experience in nonprofit marketing and communication, as well as executive assistant and administrative support.

Irene enjoys anything that pertains to the creative arts — theatre, dance, music, etc. She also really enjoys reading, hiking and traveling, and is fascinated with anything related to astronomy. Irene is a proud mom to her cat, Benny, who has traveled with her from Ohio to Colorado to Texas and now back to Colorado!

Irene is elated to be joining UUCB as the membership coordinator. She looks forward to getting to know and supporting this community, and to continuing her own journey of growth with Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder.

Email: membership@uuchurchofboulder.org

A recent graduate of CU Boulder with a Master’s degree in Music Composition, Sam Henderson (any) feels boundless passion for both individual expression and collaborative support. They have an extensive musical background that spans vocal and choral performance, songwriting, and even vocal percussion! Since 2015, Sam has been hired by a number of churches and a synagogue to help facilitate worship and spiritual growth, primarily through their musical expression. However, this background also introduced Sam to the enriching world of non-profit administration when he was hired in 2018 by Austin-based Grammy Award-winning choral ensemble Conspirare, an organization she works with to this day.

In their off-time, they enjoy a variety of hobbies from gaming, to dining, to shopping, to traveling and attending live shows.

Email: office@uuchurchofboulder.org

Emily (she/her) loves working with children and is excited to join the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder community with her son, Tae. She has always cared for children in some capacity, starting with babysitting at the age of 12. As a teacher, Emily has worked with students of all ages. However, becoming a parent has been the greatest and most loving learning experience of all. She moved to Boulder in 2022 after many years abroad and is happy to be near family and raise her son in such a welcoming and beautiful place.

Since September 2022, Ted (he/him) has taken the lead caring for our buildings and grounds. Ted’s previous work with hospitals has helped to hone his approach to maintenance projects both big and small. Throughout his life, he has made a point to explore his passions for not only handiwork but music and travel as well.

Email:  buildingsandgrounds@uuchurchofboulder.org

Renee (she/her) has been our bookkeeper since June 2003. She works closely with our Treasurer, Finance Council, and Board of Trustees, and sends out regular pledge statements to pledging members and friends. She started her business, Bottom Line Bookkeeping and Billing, in 2000.

Email: bookkeeper@uuchurchofboulder.org

Ella (they/them) is in their my final year of music school at Metropolitan State University of Denver, studying Jazz and American Improvised Music. They spent the last three years at University of Northern Colorado in the Jazz Studies program, and recently moved down to Denver to be closer to my fiance and friends. I am super excited to return to the Unitarian Universalist church and give back to the community that I grew up in down in Durango, CO. Piano has been my passion since I was the ripe age of 4, and my love for the instrument and music all around has only blossomed since then. I am thrilled to play for the congregation and begin my musical journey in the UUCB! 

Our Affiliated Community Ministers

Community ministers are connected with the church, but carry out their ministry outside our walls. We usually see them preaching once a year and periodically running a program or activity.

Rev. Barbara Eaton Molfese is a retired community minister and chaplain endorsed by our congregation. She serves in cooperation with the parish minister and is currently on the Caring Ministry Team and the Immigration Ministry, and occasionally assists with pastoral care.

E-mail: barbaramolfese@gmail.com

Rev. Dr. Amy Rowland is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister affiliated with our congregation. She is a coach and facilitator and serves as a member of the Ministerial Transitions Team for the Pacific Western Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Amy supports the congregation by providing pastoral care and officiating at weddings and memorial services as requested.

E-mail: amy.rowland@comcast.net

Rev. Jeremy D. Nickel (he/him) thrives at the intersection of spirituality and technology. A lifelong spiritual adventurer and entrepreneur, after Graduate School in Berkeley, CA and jobs in the tech world, Jeremy was Ordained by Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Fremont, CA and served seven years as their Minister.

In 2017 he left to launch EvolVR, a secular/spiritual community creating personal growth experiences in Virtual and Augmented Reality. EvolVR was recently acquired by the leading VR Meditation app Tripp, where he is now the V.P. of Community and Social. He also spent the 2020-21 Congregational Year as our Consulting Lead Minister here at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder. When un-plugged from his ministry, Jeremy enjoys spending time exploring the great outdoors of Colorado with his wife Nicole (a UCC minister here in Boulder) and daughter Eliza.

Rev. Kristen Psaki (she/her) is lifelong seeker of the sacred called to tend to the thresholds of life & death through ritual, practice, and community. She believes that healing is possible, love is transformative, and that all of us need all of us to be free. Kristen did her graduate work at Union Theological Seminary with a concentration in Depth Theology, a Jungian-rooted approach to unlocking the mysteries of psyche & soul. Prior to moving fully into community ministry Kristen served as Assistant Minister for Beloved Community at Foothills Unitarian Church and as a hospital chaplain.

Her current ministry focuses on psychedelic spiritual care and psychedelic chaplaincy at the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness, a mindfulness-based psychedelic therapy clinic in Boulder that works with Cannabis and Ketamine. Kristen also offers 1:1 and group spiritual care & companionship through death, dying, grief, loss and all of life’s many sacred thresholds. Learn more at waterandbones.org. Kristen lives in the mountains of Gold Hill with her partner Andie, their beloved young child Kairos and pup Amos.

Rev. Teri Schwartz (she/her) served as Senior Co-Minister of First Unitarian Church of Chicago from 2013-2021, along with Rev. David, until moving to Colorado for Rev. David’s call here at the UUCB. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School and Brown University, Teri has also served as chaplain to students at the Meadville Lombard Theological School and as a professional hospital and hospice chaplain.

Inside and outside of the church, Rev. Teri believes in the transformational power of narrative for both the individual and the community. With poignancy and irreverence, she examines themes of wholeness and brokenness, despair and possibility, in body, mind, and spirit. Revs. Teri and David live in Longmont, with their two kids, a giant dog who is much larger than Teri is, chaos, lots of fur, and even more love.

Email: tschwartz@uuma.org

Rev. Randy Spaulding was born in Kokomo, Indiana. His education includes: Ball State University, BS: Music, 1983; University of South Florida, Master of Music, 1998; Yale Divinity School, Master of Divinity, 2014. He has served congregations in Indiana, Florida, Connecticut and now Colorado. He was installed as pastor at Boulder Mennonite Church in February 2018 and ordained by Mountain States Mennonite Conference on February 17, 2019. He is also an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and serves as a Community Minister with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder. Randy is a board-certified Chaplain and most recently was the oncology chaplain at Yale-New Haven Hospital (New Haven, CT).

Pastor Randy has had a life-long love of music and has taught piano and voice throughout his life. He served as the Project Editor for the Mennonite hymnal supplements, Sing the Journey and Sing the Story and has led music and worship workshops around the U.S.

Randy and his husband, Gary Stephens, live in Boulder, CO and are the companions to two happy labs. They enjoy their many nieces and nephews and previously served as foster parents to two young boys.

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