Sofía Betancourt

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Sofía Betancourt
10th President of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Assumed office
July 8, 2023
Preceded bySusan Frederick-Gray
Personal details
SpouseSam Ames
Alma materCornell University
Starr King School for the Ministry
Yale University
WebsiteUUA President's pages

Sofía Betancourt is an American minister and professor who is the tenth president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The UUA president is the CEO and religious leader of Unitarian Universalism. Betancourt is the first woman of color and openly queer person to be elected to the office.[1]

Education and career[edit]

Betancourt graduated from Cornell University in 1997 with a bachelor of science in ethnobotany, from Starr King School for the Ministry in 2003 with a Master's of Divinity, and from Yale University in 2013 and 2020 with a Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy, and PhD in Religious Ethics and African American Studies.[2] While completing her MDiv, Betancourt served as intern minister at the UU Church of Berkeley, California.[3] She was ordained in 2004.

Betancourt was senior minister of the First UU Church of Stockton, California; consulting minister at the UU Fellowship of Storrs, Connecticut; and interim minister at the UU Church of Fresno, California.[4]

From 2005 to 2009 she served as Director of the UUA’s Office of Racial and Ethnic Concerns, and she has served on numerous appointed and elected UUA committees including the Appointments Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Cultural Misappropriation Task Force, and the Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee.[5]

From 2009 to 2022 Betancourt worked in academia. She began as a teaching fellow at Yale College and Yale Divinity School from 2009 to 2013.[citation needed] After an interim ministry, she worked as an Assistant Professor at Starr King in 2016 and served as Associate Professor and Acting President of Starr King from August 2020 to February 2021. In August 2021, she became an Associate Professor and the Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Drew University Theological School.[6] In these positions, she taught courses on ethics and liberation, womanism and Earth justice, Latina feminist theologies, and combating oppression.[citation needed]

In 2017, when the president of the Unitarian Universalist Association resigned a few months before the end of the term amid a call to reckon with the impacts of white supremacy culture on the systems and structures of Unitarian Universalism, the UUA Board appointed Betancourt, Leon Spencer, and William Sinkford as interim co-presidents.[7] Betancourt's focus in that role was as the leader of the Commission on Institutional Change.[8]

Most recently, Betancourt served as a Resident Scholar and Special Advisor on Justice and Equity at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.[9]

Presidency[edit]

Betancourt was nominated by the UUA Presidential Search Committee in November 2022.[10] The committee unanimously nominated two leaders to be candidates for President. One of those nominees declined the nomination.[11]

Betancourt's campaign centered around three priorities: communal care, collaborative leadership, and "facing the unknown together".[12] Betancourt was elected by 96.6% of delegate votes on June 24, 2023, at the UUA's General Assembly in Pittsburgh, PA. Her six-year term began on July 8, 2023.[citation needed]

Publications[edit]

Books by Betancourt[edit]

  • Ecowomanism at the Panamá Canal: Black Women, Labor, and Environmental Ethics (2022)

Books with contributions by Betancourt[edit]

  • Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry (2017)
  • Ecowomanism, Religion, and Ecology (2017)
  • Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment (2018)
  • BLUU Notes: An Anthology of Love, Justice, and Liberation (2021)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Post, Kathryn (2023-06-25). "Unitarian Universalists elect first woman of color, openly queer president". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  2. ^ "Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt". Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  3. ^ "Professional Experience". Rev. Sofía Betancourt, Ph.D. 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  4. ^ "myUUA: People". Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  5. ^ "Sofía Betancourt | UUA.org". www.uua.org. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  6. ^ "Drew University". Drew University. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  7. ^ "Three co-presidents to lead UUA until General Assembly 2017 | UU World Magazine". www.uuworld.org. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  8. ^ "Interim co-presidents see 'opportunity to re-center ourselves' | UU World Magazine". www.uuworld.org. 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  9. ^ "Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt". Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  10. ^ "Search Committee Nominates Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt for UUA President | UU World Magazine". www.uuworld.org. 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  11. ^ "Presidential Search Committee Nominates Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt for UUA President | Press Releases | UUA.org". www.uua.org. 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  12. ^ "Rev. Sofía Betancourt, Ph.D." Rev. Sofía Betancourt, Ph.D. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
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