Ministry for me is a second career. My first career was spent doing the work of an organizational development consultant. My career allowed me to work in the areas of strategic planning, entrepreneurship and fundraising. I moved to the Cleveland Ohio area in the summer of 2008 to start a new life with my partner and a few years later started a consulting business. In September of 2013 I made the decision to become a Unitarian Universalist Minister. My ministry career has allowed me to serve as a Chaplin at the VA Hospital in Cleveland, and as an Interim minister at the Kent UU church, Cape Town South Africa Unitarian Church, Peoria Il, and now at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Rosa.

Currently I am serving as the Director of the Interim Ministers Network (IMN) annual conference and have written and published a book about my experiences of living and working as a full time Unitarian minister in Cape Town South Africa called, “When the Elephant Laughed.” Living, and serving as a Minister outside of my native country has been and continues to be a life changing experience. As an Interim Minister it is always exciting to learn new ways to engage the congregation especially fostering deep and spiritual connections during this unique time of COVID-19 and after COVID as we our reinventing and reimaging church and ways to make it relevant in our world today.

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Aphrodite has been a member of UUCSR since 2007. She was a Worship Associate at UUCSR for over 4 years and also helped lead the CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) group for many years. In the winter of 2021 she became the new Congregational Administrator as a full time employee and is happy to serve UUCSR in this new way!

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Era Capone (she/they) has worked with children of all ages throughout their career, with a background in early childhood education and childhood development. They earned their bachelor’s in Developmental Psychology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and was a preschool teacher for over five years before becoming the Director of Religious Education here at UUCSR. Era believes passionately in an ecological model of development, which posits that a child’s growth is fundamentally tied to the community and world that surrounds them. Because of this, Era strives to support not only kids, but their families and teachers as well, by building an environment of inclusivity, support, and love.

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Roger Corman has played piano professionally in Sonoma County for over 30 years.  He studied music at Sonoma State University and SRJC, and studied piano privately with Larry Snyder and Peggy Donovan-Jeffry.

Roger specializes in improvised music of all types: including jazz, blues, Latin and world music.

Roger was the pianist for the Santa Rosa “Wednesday Night” jazz band for 15 years, and accompanied jazz artists including Joe Pass, Louie Bellson and Richie Cole.  He leads a local jazz quartet, and has performed for various UUCSR services since 2005.

Gage Purdy believes that music is a way by which to unite people in the human experience of being close and harmonious with one another – that music fundamentally shapes the mind and changes the heart to be more joyful, more passionate, and perhaps a little better equipped to find light in our world. Gage was born and raised in Sonoma County and is thrilled to be taking on a role supporting this vibrant community through fellowship and music! Outside of UUCSR, Gage directs two other local choirs, the California Redwood Chorale and the Occidental Community Choir, and lives in Santa Rosa with his darling wife Crystal and their two sons, Bodhi and Finn.

Manny started as the Sexton here at UUCSR in spring of 2022 as our Congregation was returning to more in-person services. He is a huge help to our Sunday morning hub of activity as well as helping to maintain the building a few days throughout the week.