Happy New Year to you!
I am the new Executive Director of your Long Island Area Council of UU Congregations. I am honored to be joining the executive leadership team of this Council. During my interview process, I was impressed with the openness and commitment of the search team to perceived challenges, vision, and growth. With a background in nonprofit, membership, and UU organizations, I hope to bring my passion and knowledge to the success of our Council. A special thanks goes out to those who served on the search committee, John Roleke, Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson, Deb Little, and Sharon Pataky for my role and the new administrator.
I am excited to get to know you and invite you to join me in a virtual meet and greet in the coming weeks. I look forward to hearing from area members about things that excite you about this collaborative work, challenges, or programs you’d like to see developed. You know your congregations and neighbors and it is a large part of my role to learn, so I welcome the conversation and insight that you can provide. Communication and visibility of the Council and our programs are a top priority. This is a top priority now so we can tell the LIAC story to make fundraising a priority in the future.
I grew up in Nebraska and Iowa, then moved to NYC in 1999 with the dream of becoming a star on Broadway. I was blessed to spend my early career with some of the country’s leading theatre companies, including Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Jujamcyn Theaters in a multitude of roles ranging from company management to scenic painting. As a choreographer, working with show choirs helped pay for college. I also coached a college dance team (including a ballet boot camp for football players) and served as dance captain on numerous shows. After blowing out a knee (again) during a production of A Chorus Line in California, I moved into administration.
For sixteen years I was a member of the volunteer staff of the Youth Leadership and Diversity Conference, a project of Civitan International. I love working with teenagers and am excited to expand LIAC’s youth programming in an effort to grow our faith movement. At YLDC and elsewhere, I have done prevention education in the areas of sexual and intimate partner violence, a cause I am passionately committed to.
Unitarian Universalism found its way into my life at the UU Congregation at Montclair (NJ) during a difficult time as a single mom to a toddler. During my first visit, a woman turned around in her seat after the first hymn and said, “You know, we have a choir.” Two years later I found myself producing the first annual NJ MUUsic Festival as a fundraiser for the UU Legislative Ministry of NJ. In its second year, we had thirteen congregations and over 120 singers and a dozen instrumentalists on stage together. Though the pandemic prevented in person production of this event, the 6th festival took place in November. This event is evidence of how collaboration builds Beloved community.
I am deeply invested in organizational transformation and strategic intent with the purposes of dismantling white supremacy culture and elevating all voices. I credit Mark Hicks and The Fahs Collaborative for awakening this commitment within. If I am not working through a JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) lens at all times, I don’t think I’m doing my job. This ultimately fosters Belonging, and if we can’t belong to and within our faith communities, where can we?
While I plan on being in person regularly around Long Island, I live in West Orange, New Jersey with my 13 year old daughter, Beatrice, Beary Poppins (our rescue Golden), Mokey and Gobo (our failed foster kittens), a bearded dragon named Rumble, and any number of foster critters from a local shelter. I love to build in my garage workshop where I started Chez Grae Creations, am restoring our 100 years old Sears & Roebuck bungalow, and revel in time spent outdoors or around a crowded table with loved ones. I am also an active member of the New Jersey Choral Society and a resentful vegetarian (meaning I miss bacon daily but haven’t had any in many years).
I look forward to building Beloved community with you all.
In Faith and Gratitude,
Laurice GraeExecutive Director
gender pronouns: she/they
pronounced: LOR-ris GRAY