Meet the Office of Youth Ministries
Rev. Mara Dowdall—Interim Director of Youth Ministry
mdowdall @ uua.org (617) 948-4359
Mara Dowdall came to
the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in July 2008, having most recently served our congregation in
Wellesley Hills,
MA, as Assistant Minister and Senior
Youth Advisor. Mara grew up in Philadelphia’s Unitarian Society of Germantown, the
congregation which ordained her this past spring, and she served the First
Parish in Cambridge, MA as intern minister while attending Harvard Divinity School. Mara brings to the role of
Interim Director prior experience with both youth and campus ministries, and a
passion for working with and supporting Unitarian Universalist (UU) youth, as well as those who serve and
minister to them. During this transformational year, Mara is supervising
the day-to-day operations of the office and its staff, while working to
facilitate the transition in our Association’s ministry to and with
youth.
Jeremie Giacoia—Program Associate
jgiacoia @ uua.org (617) 948-4352
Jeremie Giacoia joined the staff in August 2008 after having just completed his Master of Theological Studies Degree at Harvard Divinity School where he focused on Religion, Gender and Sexuality. He brings many years of experience in youth leadership organizations as both a participant and an advisor, having served on and mentored numerous leadership teams. Jeremie has also been actively involved in anti-oppression advocacy and holds a strong commitment to helping create and sustain welcoming religious communities.
Jeremie’s responsibilities this year include the Chrysalis Training Program and the Youth Ministry Working Group.
India McKnight—Program Associate
imcknight @ uua.org (617) 948-4351
India Danielle McKnight is in her second year with the Office of Youth Ministries. She is 21 years old and was born and raised in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD. She attended the youth group at Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring and has worked as an R.E. Assistant at Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church. She has been involved in Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM) and their Youth and Young Adult Steering Committee.
India works with the DRUUMM YaYA SC (Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries Youth and Young Adult Steering Committee) and General Assembly Youth Caucus. DRUUMM YaYA is the youth and young adult contingent to the continental organization DRUUMM. Both organizations work towards developing a sustainable, comprehensive ministry and identity development for People of Color in Unitarian Universalism. GA Youth Caucus is youth-focused programming at General Assembly, for which India provides logistical support for the leadership body.
Sarah Prager—Youth Office Administrator
sprager @ uua.org (617) 948-4355
Sarah Prager graduated from Boston University in May 2008 with a B.A. in Spanish and joined the Office of Youth Ministries in the same month. Originally from Connecticut, she completed several internships from Paraguay to Bulgaria dealing with various social justice issues before settling in the Boston area with her girlfriend. Sarah handles the administrative support for the office, including handling the details of its finances and training the new staff. She also handles major communications—answering the phones, replying to emails sent to youth @ uua.org and yruu @ uua.org, connecting people with appropriate staff or resources, managing the youth-related email lists, and updating our website.
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
