USR Staff Profiles

You may contact any member of the USR staff by calling the office at 201-444-6225 or by sending an email to  113cottage@gmail.com



Our Minister
The Reverend Doctor Sarah Lenzi was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist Ministry in 2012. Before turning full time to ministry, Rev. Lenzi, who holds a BA from Williams College and an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School, completed her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work, published as “The Stations of the Cross: The Placelessness of Medieval Christian Piety” focuses on ritual practice and the integration of imagination, memory, the physical, the visual and the aural in creating transcendent experience. Rev. Lenzi brings her academic study of ritual to her worship leadership.
Rev. Lenzi’s ministry focuses on the value of the worship experience as a means of community building and encouraging personal growth along the spiritual journey. She hopes that participation in the communities she serves will help individuals to realize their capacity for love and compassion, to strengthen their sense of justice and power, and to affirm their own and others beauty and worth.

Rev. Sarah’s Office Hours will be:
Rev. Sarah is on family leave and sabbatical until July 2024. Please contact the office for more information.


Our Director of Religious Education
Jeanne Nametz is a religious educator who has served in six different congregations as Director of Religious Education before coming to the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood.
Jeanne holds a Bachelor of Music with a double major in Religious Studies and Music Education from Marywood College. She was awarded a Graduate Fellowship and earned a Masters in Religious Education from Fordham University in Religious Education. Her work life includes several years in her own consulting practice facilitating organizational development with leaders across business and not-for-profit sectors. Jeanne’s philosophy of religious education seeks to strengthen faith identity of families as Unitarian Universalists: where kindness is practiced, questioning is encouraged and service to others is celebrated.
Summer Hours: Jeanne attends Sunday services when RE classes are not in session. (Classes run from September thru June). Email or call Jeanne at 845.594.2526 or jnametz@uuridgewood.org for a meeting by phone or to schedule an in-person meeting Sundays or weekdays at your convenience.
Summer Activities Include: a field trip to Blue Cliff Monastery for 6-8 graders, volunteer days: to create new bulletin boards for the coming year, re-furbish our Family Service paper quilt, create a cheat sheet for our smart tvs, and meet to create a strategic plan for establishing a social media presence.


Ann

Our Congregational Administrator
Ann Pareti joined the Society as the Membership/Communications Administrator. She brings with her 20 years of experience working in the fields of advertising, public relations and most recently as a project manager. Ann has worked with many Fortune 500 companies, including Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios, Sunshine Biscuits, Inc. and Fisher Price, to name a few. She is responsible for the bookkeeping, rentals, setups, weekly e-mail blast, newsletter, website, membership database and membership coordination.

Ann’s Office Hours:
Monday-Friday, 7:30-3 p.m.


Levy_smOur Music Director
Ron Levy, internationally acclaimed pianist, has been called “first-class” by the New York Times. He regularly appears in major venues, both as a soloist, and in partnership with many of the world’s leading singers and instrumentalists.  A graduate of Oberlin, Mr. Levy is a founding member of several chamber ensembles, including the Palisades Virtuosi, an award-winning trio dedicated to the commissioning of new music, and which enjoys residencies at Bergen Community College and the University of Hawaii on Oahu. He has been pianist and harpsichordist of the Oberlin Orchestra, the Westchester Symphony, and the Albany Symphony, among others. Presently, he is the pianist of the Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus and Associate Artist of the All Seasons Chamber Players.  For over 20 years, Mr. Levy was affiliated with the Manchester (VT) Music Festival, of which he was a faculty and Board member; while living in Vermont, he was also Music Director of the historic Equinox Hotel, Conductor of the Opera Theatre in Weston, and an impresario of the Southern Vermont Art Center.  Mr. Levy is currently on the faculty of Montclair University; he is a two-term President of the Professional Music Teachers Guild of New Jersey, and a contributing editor to BIM Music Publications, Switzerland.
Ron has been a guest artist for USR since 1974.


Our Tech Assistant
Lily Olasandra Carayannis started as a field ed student from Union Theological Seminary and stayed on to help with Zoom meeting technology (and occasional preaching).



                            

Our Nursery Care Assistant

                             Dawn Klemt provides capable and caring support in our nursery.