Rev. Roberta Finkelstein is a life-long Unitarian Universalist. She was raised in the Community Church of New York where she was in the "Cradle Roll" as an infant and remained active through high school. She taught Sunday School with her mom and was inspired by the brave example of her youth minister, Rev. Richard Leonard, when he answered the call to join the civil rights march in Selma. Her early UU experiences taught her that the church could and should be a place of prophetic witness, courage, and transformation.

Ministry is a second career for Rev. Roberta. She was a nurse and certified nurse-midwife. She has a B.S.N. from Binghamton University and her M.S.N. from Georgetown University. Her midwifery practice centered around high-risk pregnant adolescents in Washington, D.C. During her nursing years Roberta and her husband Barry were active lay leaders in the UU Church of Arlington, Va. Her call to ministry emerged out of those years of professional care-taking and church volunteer work in all aspects of congregational life.

She earned her M.Div. from Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C. While a student she served as an extension intern minister for the Bull Run Unitarian Universalists for two years. At graduation she accepted the invitation to serve as their part-time consulting minister for another five years. At that point they had grown from fewer than 50 members to 125 and they entered the Extension Ministry Program of the UUA.

Rev. Finkelstein then became the New Congregation Minister for the Unitarian Universalists of Sterling, Va. where she remained for the five years of that appointment and then was called to be their settled minister. Following that settlement she was the Interim Minister in Frederick, Md. for a year, then went to Portsmouth, N.H. She is now an Accredited Interim Minister in Training (AIMIT), having completed two more years of interim ministry in Orlando, Fl. and Ridgewood, N.J.

Roberta has served our UU movement in a variety of ways. She was on the UUA Commission on Appraisal for six years and the Continuing Education Network for Training, Education and Renewal (CENTER) for four years. She has been Continuing Education Representative in several chapter execs, and was president of the Chesapeake UUMA. She was the chair of the UU Action Network of New Hampshire, a state-wide UUSC affiliated social justice organization and is currently on the slate for the Nominating Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Minister’s Association.

Rev. Roberta has been married to her husband Barry since 1974. They have one son, Danny, a product of the Religious Education program in Arlington, Va. Danny and his wife volunteer in the literacy program that he started working with while in UU Youth Group. They are also active in a dog rescue group. Danny recently joined Barry in his consulting business.

Roberta and Barry have two badly behaved cats named Bonnie and Clyde and one well behaved dog named Pepper.

Martha Dallas has been our Director of Religious Education (DRE) since 2006. She was formerly the DRE at a mid-sized UU congregation in Massachusetts and has directed several UU summer camps. She has taught religious studies at the high school level, and most recently worked at Burlington’s Edmunds Elementary School directing after school enrichment programs. Martha holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College and a Master’s in Theology and Education from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She lives with her partner, Lucy Gluck, in Burlington.

Christina has worked at the First UU Society in Burlington since 1998. Prior to working at the church, she was the Education/Volunteer Coordinator for Women Helping Battered Women where she provided volunteer management for over 100 volunteers and did school and community education about domestic violence.

Christina has also worked as an Office Manager for the Essex Vermont Police Department and for Mitsubishi Motors America headquarters in Southfield, Michigan. She has volunteered as a hotline worker at Women Helping Battered Women, as the board treasurer for SafeSpace and as the board co-chair for RU12? Community Center. Christina lives with her partner, Woody Fulton, in Burlington, Vermont and is a new grandmother!

Bob Furrer has recently joined the First UU Society staff as Facilities Manager. He was born and raised on the south shore of Nassau County, Long Island. After High School he attended Denver University, which was not particularly suited to his liking, so he decided to enroll in a one year apprenticeship as a high rise construction worker.

Later, Bob moved to Vermont where he was employed by the Shelburne Museum. During his 37 years of service at the museum, he worked primarily in the Buildings and Grounds Department and which became director in 2001.  

After leaving the museum, Bob felt the need to do something different. After considering the possibility some 40 years ago, he finally decided to join the Peace Corps. He served for two years in a tiny village in the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania where he did environmental work and was responsible for facilitating HIV/AIDS Prevention/Awareness programs.  While in Tanzania he became a proud grandfather!

Bob lives in Shelburne with two well-behaved cats, Suki and Strider. His interests include gardening, woodworking, archery, chess and reading.

He is pleased and proud to be employed by the First UU Society, grateful to share the responsibility of maintaining it’s beautiful meetinghouse designated as a National Historic Landmark,  and is looking forward to working with everyone involved with the Society in a positive and productive way.  

Kathleen is our Administrative Assistant and has been with us since January of 2000. She has a B.S. in Business Administration from Trinity College and worked in various capacities at Digital Equipment Corporation, Bio-Tek Instruments, Inc. and Gardener’s Supply Company.

Conductor Lisa Wolff brings enthusiasm, expertise and a lifelong love of singing and the choral art to her position as Music Director of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington. A native Californian, she lived for many years in Manchester, New Hampshire, before moving to Vermont.

Among her numerous awards and honors are a Commendation from the Governor of New Hampshire and a Proclamation from the Mayor of Manchester celebrating her twentieth anniversary as Music Director of the Manchester Choral Society in 2002, and an Individual Artist Fellowship for 2002 from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts -- one of only six New Hampshire artists across all disciplines to be so honored. Under Wolff’s leadership, the Manchester Choral Society became a magnet for serious choral singers throughout southern New Hampshire, earning accolades from singers and audience alike, both regionally and on two European concert tours.

Wolff enjoyed a long tenure as Music Director of Grace Episcopal Church, Manchester, and served as Music Director of the Seacoast-based chamber chorus Amare Cantare for several seasons. Her guest conducting credits include University of New Hampshire Concert Choir, New Hampshire Music Educators Association Chamber Music Festival, New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, Portsmouth Women’s Chorus, and New Hampshire All-State Music Festival. She has conducted choirs and taught studio voice at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Vermont.

An accomplished soprano, Ms. Wolff has performed as soloist with Boston’s Cantata Singers and Masterworks Chorale, First Night Boston, White Mountain Bach Festival, Burlington Choral Society and many others. A frequent adjudicator and clinician for choral festivals and voice competitions, she taught voice at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, and privately. She has served as accompanist for numerous choirs, and as organist for several churches, most recently the Congregational Church of South Hero, Vermont.

Wolff is a summa cum laude graduate of Occidental College Phi Beta Kappa, with Departmental Honors in Music. Her M.M. degree is from Yale University where she studied conducting and voice through the Institute of Sacred Music. She holds a D.M.A. degree in Choral Conducting from Boston University. Her conducting teachers include Ann Howard Jones, David Hoose, and Henry Gibbons. She has also participated in workshops with Robert Shaw at Carnegie Hall and Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival.
 

Wayne Schneider is an Associate Professor in the University of Vermont's Department of Music where he teaches music history.  He lives with his spouse Paula and several cats.
 

Myra has been a member of our society scince 1999.  Employed as Caretaker scince August 2007, Myra takes both pride and pleasure in keeping our society's buildings clean and "green".  She resides in Burlington  with her son Joseph and has a large extended family here in Vermont.  Myra enjoys cooking for friends, all things nature, and reading and learning about other places.
 

Erika has been working in the nursery since 2009 and is now the childcare coordinator. She is also employed at Burlington Children's Space as an infant/toddler teacher.

Originally from Bangor, Maine, she has spent most of her adult life in New York City. She moved to Vermont shortly before the birth of her son, Max.

A chronic transfer student, she attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts; the University of Vermont; and Hunter College in New York City. More recently she has been taking courses at Childcare Resource of Chittenden County.

 A native New Englander, Tree has returned to her roots after living in various places around the country and the world. With degrees in environmental design and leadership studies, and lots of graduate work in anthropology and linguistics, she spent sixteen years working in Papua New Guinea.

Returning to the States to care for aging parents with three children in tow was quite an experience. Continuing along the lines of international work, she co-directed an international peacebuilding institute for five years and worked for a short time with The Rosetta Stone’s indigenous languages program.

Before moving to Burlington, Tree and her partner lived in Asheville, NC where she was an environmental real estate consultant and broker. She loved the environmental part more than the real estate part. Now she’s hoping to take a different track, following more creative and spiritual passions. Being a part of the First UU Society staff fits perfectly. Tree enjoys artistic pursuits, her yard, adventures in the kitchen, the outdoors, and all things green.

I have worked at the First UU Society as a part-time bookkeeper since 2001. I have met some wonderful people here over the years and enjoy working with Christina Fulton. I have been an insurance agent for 23 years and work for Smith, Bell & Thompson full time. I am married to a wonderful husband and have three children, a stepdaughter and five grandchildren. I enjoy spending time with family and friends and love to vacation in Maine.

 Hannah Kretvix is a sophomore Psychology major at the University of Vermont. Her family has always been involved in their local Unitarian Universalist congregations, in Albuquerque, NM and later in Rutland, VT. She was an active member of her youth group in high school, and was able to give a sermon and be involved in many services. Hannah is excited to be working with the campus UU group! She believes this group can foster a safe space on campus for the search for truth and meaning, as well as facilitate some activities on campus to involve the larger student body.