Introducing… UUCC’s New Executive Director

Dear UUCC Beloveds,

On behalf of our Board of Trustees, I am excited to announce that we have hired a new Executive Director! Laurice Grae (pronounced: LOR-ris GRAY, pronouns: she/they) will join our professional staff April 15.

UUCC’s Executive Director Search Team (Rev. Lisa, Jennie Fitzpatrick, Stuart TenHoor, Lorien Haavik, and myself) have been soliciting and interviewed multiple candidates since early 2025. When the Search Team interviewed Laurice, they found her easy to talk to, relaxed, poised, kind, and down-to-earth.  Her broad background (entrepreneurship, marketing, digital communication, program & financial management, fundraising, mentoring, human resources, conflict management) altogether make her a great fit for UUCC. And her familiarity and deep experience with UU spaces were unique among the candidates we considered. Her suitability for the position of UUCC’s Executive Director was confirmed by glowing reviews from the references that the team contacted.

Some of Laurice’s work will be remote until she, her 14-year-old daughter, and their furry and scaly family, have a chance to relocate to Maryland after the school year ends — definitely before the end of June. Until then, you may see Laurice on remote feed, or in visits she makes to us.

The Board of Trustees is confident that Laurice has the capacity and motivation relevant to UUCC’s current time of transition, and beyond in our next settled ministry. We hope you will welcome her warmly when she arrives.

And here is Laurice’s personal introduction:

Dear friends I’ve yet to meet,

I am thrilled to be joining the UUCC family as Executive Director. During my interview process, I was impressed with the curiosity and commitment the search team brought to challenges, vision, and growth. A special thank you to those who served on the search committee: Stuart TenHoor, Jennie Fitzpatrick, Laurie Coltri, and Rev. Lisa. I am excited to get to know you all.

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 (for the second time) 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 hope that love contributes to growth in UUCC’s religious education programming. 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) amidst 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. 

I am deeply invested in organizational transformation and strategic intent with the purposes of dismantling oppression. I credit Mark Hicks and The Fahs Collaborative for awakening this commitment within me. 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? 

I live in West Orange, New Jersey with my 14 year old daughter, Beatrice, Beary Poppins (our rescue Golden), Mokey and Gobo (our failed foster cats), and a bearded dragon named Rumble, all of whom will come along to Maryland this summer. I will most miss my garage workshop where I started Chez Grae Creations. I revel in time spent outdoors or around a crowded table with loved ones, am a resentful vegetarian (meaning I miss bacon daily but haven’t had any in many years), and am excited to join a new classical choral ensemble once we settle to “replace” my beloved NJ Choral Society.

I look forward to building Beloved community with you all.

In Faith and Gratitude, 

Laurice Grae
gender pronouns: she/they
pronounced: LOR-ris GRAY