Meet the Board of Trustees

David Reitzell has been active at UUCSR since July 2015 when he moved to Sonoma County to continue a 28-year Social Work Career.  Prior to that, he and his wife, Mary Keefe, raised their three children in the UU Church of Greater Lansing, Michigan. While active for 16 years at UUCGL, he served on the Board of Trustees, was a Pastoral Assistant, and taught the middle school youth group Coming of Age program for three years, as well as singing in the choir. At UUCSR, David has enjoyed participating in the TIE / Soul Matters groups, being privileged to facilitate these wonderful small group ministry experiences three times. David loves to sing in the choir. He served in COSM and is looking forward to serving the congregation in any capacity that can most benefit the community, and being a Trustee during this time is an honor.

RICHARD J. SENGHAS has been a member of UUCSR since the late 1990s. He’s served on the Nominating Committee and has been a member of the Worship Associates since 2018. He joined UUCSR when he moved to Sonoma County to join the Department of Anthropology at Sonoma State University as a linguistic anthropologist. He currently serves as chair of that department. At SSU, he’s been active in faculty governance, including as Chair of the Faculty. Richard’s field research centers around the emergence of a new sign language in Nicaragua, exploring processes of community formation and language change. Before his academic career, he worked in Silicon Valley in various R&D startups. Richard is also a founding member of FrogSong Cohousing in Cotati, where he and his family have lived since 2003.

When circumstances made it possible, in 2011, for me to plan retirement in Santa Rosa, one of the first things I did was check to see if there was a UU congregation nearby. I was thrilled to see that there was one just blocks from the condo I was buying. I had attended First Unitarian Church of Dallas when I could, and I knew I wanted to find another such place. Since retiring and moving here from Texas in June 2015 I have been an active member, seeking and finding like-minded people who share my commitment to social justice and spiritual exploration free of dogma. I had been affiliated with no formal religious group since the age of 20, when I left the brand of Christianity I had grown up in, over its racism and anti-Catholicism and dodgy theology. Theater became my religion. I’ve been gratified to find that it’s not incompatible with UU’s eight principles.

A military brat, I moved often, attending twelve schools in five states and two countries. I got my first degree in New Jersey and the other two in California, then spent forty years teaching literature at the same small liberal arts college in a small town in Texas, just north of Dallas. But wanderlust, both intellectual and physical, had me. Through leaves and sabbaticals, I spent two years in Japan and about six in England—and those two countries are more alike than either wants to admit. Austin College allowed me the freedom to pursue and develop new interests and competencies. And if you say you are a literature specialist, it gives you an excuse to study and teach anything. That’s not unlike being UU. There are basic principles of integrity and humanity within which you can grow and change and learn. I did a lot of team teaching with the aim of showing students the value of differing perspectives within a clearly defined framework. I see a similar landscape at UUCSR—not without its bumps and the need to sometimes shift the framework a bit, but still, a landscape. A home, in fact.

I am happy to serve this Congregation in whatever way I can.

Born in Iowa after World War II, I grew up as a Baby Boomer, though I didn't know I was one until record companies started marketing "golden oldies" to me. I started my spiritual journey in the Baptist church, migrating to the Presbyterian, Lutheran and eventually Catholic churches. Then I found UUism. I discovered that I've been a UU all my life and didn't know I was one. It's similar to the Baby Boomer revelation. My wife and I joined UUCSR in 2015 and have sung in the choir ever since. I've also volunteered for work day, the web team, and the UU Christian project which is still developing. I have served on the boards of churches (twice) and the board of a community choir. I'm ready to offer my time and talent to the Board of UUCSR.

I grew up in a church-centered family and even went to a church-sponsored college for my first two years. Fortunately, it wasn't all that strict and I wasn't even required to take religion courses--which I didn't.

I drifted away from the church, but without hard feelings, as some people have when they reject their religious upbringing. Still, I was  missing some aspects of church-going --fellowship, dealing with existential questions, etc.--when we learned of a brand new UU congregation forming in Harrisonburg, Virginia where we were living at the time.

So, here we are, about 40 years later. We joined UUCSR in the mid-90s, but moved to Michigan for a job, then retuned to Santa Rosa in 2009. It's been "interesting times" since then, hasn't it?

Maria has attended UUCSR since 2017 and became a member in 2018. Maria grew up in Santa Rosa and moved away after finishing high school. After many years away, including ten years in NYC, she happily returned to the area to be closer to family in 2016. Maria works in the library technology field for the University of California, specializing in research data and developing tools supporting Open Science. Maria has served as Chair of COSM for the past two years. You may recognize Maria’s oldest child, Diana (13 years), who recently played The Grinch in UUCSR’s holiday pageant. Her son, Xavier (6 years), can generally be found in search of cookies after service on Sunday. 

Bio to come 

Beth began attending UUCSR in 2017 while searching for a youth program for her sons. She quickly immersed herself in the community, volunteering in various roles—including teaching OWL classes and helping as a dishwasher at the Saturday breakfasts. After several years of active participation, she formally became a congregational member in 2023.

Beth has been deeply engaged in the life of the congregation, serving on the Dismantling White Supremacy Culture (DWSC) committee and, most recently, as a member of the Ministerial Search Team. She brings a strong commitment to community service, social justice, and financial stewardship. Professionally, Beth is an independent marketing and graphic design consultant, primarily serving local non-profits.