Meet your candidates for General Assembly! Members vote for the slate on Sun., Feb. 26th (after service)

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1 Megan Munroe, Second Alternate Megan Munroe is from northern New York and has been a member of First UU since November She first began attending UU services at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Plattsburgh, and in her travels she has also attended the First Unitarian Society of Madison (WI) and the Newington Green Unitarian Church (London, UK). At First UU, she participates in a small group ministry, serves on the membership committee, and has used her Czech language skills to assist in Flower Communion services and visits from Czech guests each year. She works as a Quality Manager overseeing the translations of clinical trial materials, and in her free time enjoys reading, writing, baking, weight lifting, and hanging out with cats.

2 Katie Trossello, Delegate I started attending UU services at Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Monmouth Country when I was 10 years old, went through RE, and later became a member at First Unitarian Brooklyn. Guided by UU discussions, I further developed a sense of myself and an understanding that would, and continues to, shape my interactions with the world. I work as a family nurse practitioner with a predominately uninsured and immigrant population which not only nods in recognition to my UU principles but allows me to see just how hard belonging can be to find. I am an open and outgoing person naturally, but organizing for the young adults is more than a social interaction where I make new friends. I am offering a service and creating a space for others who also search for belonging. I am excited to be a delegate representing FUUB at the GA and bring back ideas to help us grow as a UU community.

3 Julie Bero, Delegate Julie Bero is a life-long UU who was dedicated and raised at FUUB. Julie has worn many hats in our congregation, working to grow the young adult community, leading summer services, and serving on a number of committees. She is currently on the Governance Team and in recent memory served on the Music Director Search and Worship Committees. In 2016, she was honored to receive the Unsung Unitarian Universalist Award from the District of Metropolitan New York. Julie and Katie Trosello have been chosen to lead a session at General Assembly that will focus on strategies for growing young adult community to strengthen and sustain a multi-generational congregation. In her role as Legislative Director for NYC Council Member Stephen Levin, Julie aims to live her values by moving forward progressive policies that make our city more equitable. She lives in Carroll Gardens with her partner, Rishi, and their two kittens. She also enjoys reading poetry, fire-escape gardening, and feminist cocktail nights.

4 Parrish Turner, Delegate I first discovered UU as part of an ethnography project in my freshman year of undergrad. I participated off and on with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro. I ended up working more with Rev. Jane Page with campus activities related to racial justice activities and my participation in the Gay- Straight Alliance. The UU became a refuge for LGBT people throughout the local areas, as it was the only place in town to wave a rainbow flag. As a transgender person, I had never expected to find a spiritual home which would accept all parts of me. Instead of attending Sunday service, I often found myself doing pub theology with my friends of various religions and Rev. Jane. When I moved to Brooklyn, one of my old pub theology friends pushed me to attend a UU in order to meet people and I never imagined just how inspired I would be. I love the conversations about activism, philosophy, theology, and pop culture that I am able to have with my friends at First U. I have even been able to get involved in the Queer Caucus. Other resume type notes: I am currently working on a Masters of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction. I have been working on getting a job in children s publishing but I currently work with Lambda Literary which promotes LGBT literature. I am a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient (which requires more work than the Eagle Scout Award, but who gets more credit? =P)

5 Juliana Paton, Youth Delegate I am a senior in at Edward R. Murrow High School. I have been a member of the youth group at First U since I moved to Brooklyn three years ago, and my family became members last year. With the church, I have volunteered, travelled to Romania, cooked and served a number of brunches, led services with the youth group, attended dinner with the local mosque through Weaving the Fabric of Diversity, and grown into the community I found so welcoming. I felt strongly about a community project I worked on with the local interfaith program and the youth group. We gathered school supplies to send to Central American refugee children in Long Island so they would feel welcome and supported after facing challenges integrating into the education system. I also had the amazing experience of travelling to Romania to learn about the cultural roots of Unitarian Universalism and connect with our sister church in the town of Sepsi-Saint George. I was able to listen to people about their lives as Unitarians and their experiences as the minority group in Romania, having grown up in a communist society, and how the Unitarian values are present in their day-to-day life. I gained a greater understanding of the history and values of Unitarianism, and a willingness to act. There are too many stories and lessons for me to tell here, but hopefully I will be able to sharing more of them as we grow a community further our values at General Assembly this year.

6 Hannah Mancini, Youth Delegate My Nana took me to UU service when I was younger during my visits but it wasn't until 4 years ago I began to attend weekly and considered myself a true UU. My Nana was the matriarch of our family, she was the closest thing to a saint, only with some dark humor. She is what allowed me to see beauty in everything and everyone. I lost my childhood home four years ago, but when I moved here, to New York City, I found a better one, First Brooklyn UU. I'm not one to try and define who I am with any labels, but being a UU is the only thing I feel safe defining myself as. My goal in life is to change the world, to become someone who can inspire and give strength to generations to follow. Unitarian Universalism is the first and only home where I feel empowered enough to achieve that goal. My church has allowed me to make the first steps towards becoming an individual who breathes life into that mission statement as I've always wanted to. I see participating in GA as one more step in that process.

7 Matthew Hawkins, Youth Alternate One of my favorite things about UU'ism is the sense of community. When I explain our religion to people who don't know about it, the thing I stress most is the sense of welcomeness and community I find. Yet sometimes it's hard to envision the many other communities that make up UU'ism and the world, especially living in the microcosm that is New York. Going to Transylvania this past summer opened my eyes to this, and I think that GA would be a similar experience. It's one thing to know your home well and feel a part of that, but to be a citizen and member of the world takes effort and reaching out. By going to GA I want to make that effort so that I can connect with fellow UU's to continue to fight for justice.

8 Mary Most, Delegate Born and raised Unitarian, my optimistic spirituality and quest for justice pervades everything I do. This is apparent in my own decision-making process: survey what others think and do, gather information, and then pull pieces from everyone else s answers to create my own path. I was raised in All Souls in Manhattan, where my parents were married and continued to attend even after they moved to New Jersey I now understand what having a church community meant to them. I was in the LRY youth group in Paramus NJ, and went to conferences at congregations throughout the Metro District. I also attended Homestead Camp (along with the current Executive Director of Unirondack), and have been active in organizing camp reunion weekends for the past 10 years. I ve been a member of our Brooklyn congregation since 1993 (when I was pregnant with Skylar) and served on the Board twice. I ve attended four GA s, twice as delegate (Boston, Ft Lauderdale), Salt Lake City as Skylar s (our youth delegate) sponsor, and once as an alternate called into service (Providence). My children are third generation Unitarians; this shows in their automatic questioning of authority, how readily they see both sides of any issue, and how INTOLERANT they are of, well, intolerance. I'm proud of my faith, my congregation, my family.

9 Skylar Salerno, Third Alternate I've been a member for several years, I attended GA as a youth delegate in 2009, I was an member of the metro-district youth-adult-committee for a few years in high school, which remains my biggest period of involvement in UU government. I am 23 years old, I like short walks on the beach, and crowds.

10 Robert Harper, First Alternate I consider myself mostly an atheist but have always flirted with agnosticism. Coming to First U has allowed me to explore the question of a higher power in a welcoming environment. I enjoy live music and dancing, and the jazz Sundays are what convinced my girlfriend that First U was a good fit for us. I came to First U through the Weaving the Fabric of Diversity committee. Their work with Kyam Livingston's mother and the commitment to anti-racism is what brought me around the church. The forums on Ferguson and the annual Juneteenth celebration allowed me a glimpse of the congregation and the struggle the church has been engaged in. After joining the WFD committee last year and now co-chairing this year I appreciate all the hard work that has gone into the programs we put on throughout the year. I am very happy to have found First U and been welcomed so warmly.

11 Chelsea Saunders, Delegate I m originally from Ellicott City, MD and relocated to New York City 4 years ago after deciding it was time for a new advantage and to start the new job I had just landed. I currently work in the Pharmaceutical Intelligence industry as a Product Manager. Growing up, church became an important foundation in my life. When I was younger, my family attended my neighborhood s local A.M.E church and as I got older we switched to the Baptist church. Both of these environments are where I developed my belief in community connection as well as my love for music and singing. When I am not working, I am usually out for karaoke and dancing. I think it is so important to work hard, play hard, and truly enjoy what you do and always be grateful. June 2016 was a great month; I moved in with my boyfriend in Jersey City and we both officially became members of First U after attending services and getting involved with the church s social justice work. Since coming to First U, I have been able to not only grow more spiritually but once again have found that community connection. I love the fact that First U is so welcoming and not only recognizes but cherishes the fact that everyone s religious path is different. By being one of the co-chairs of the Weaving the Fabric of Diversity committee, I have been able to get to know so many people within our congregation and work together to carry forth social justice events that help us to strengthen our community. This work has become so important to me over the past years and being able to learn more about the issues while having others around me who care just as much is truly empowering to know that together we can make a difference. I feel so lucky to have found and become a part of the First U community.