Current Professional Staff

Rev. Nicole is also a clinically trained Chaplain who has completed 5 units of Clinical Pastoral Education and an additional year as a hospital Chaplain in Alabama. She lives with her extended family of husband, parents, and two adult children. Prior to moving to Alabama, Rev. Nicole lived for twenty years in Melbourne, FL so she brings familiarity and affection for Florida with her to Boca Raton.

Email Rev. Nicole at gro.r1790242950bfuu@1790242950retsi1790242950nim1790242950

Office Hours for Minister
Monday: Writing day
Tuesday: 10 AM – 4 PM
Wednesday: 10 AM – 4 PM
Thursday: 10 AM – 3 PM
Friday and Saturday: off
Sunday: click here
NOTE: to schedule a meeting with Rev. Nicole, please email gro.r1790242950bfuu@1790242950nimda1790242950 or call the office at 561-482-2001
Meetings are available on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Ruth began her service with UUFBR in February, 2023. She took over the position previously held by Karen Shelly. You will find Ruth a warm and caring person, willing and ready to help, and a quick study. Ruth comes to us from a solid background of administrative roles with an aviation company in Ft. Lauderdale and a real estate office in Boca Raton. Ruth holds a real estate license and is a notary. Her last job was a Process Server which makes her more than qualified to handle anything we at UUFBR might bring her as our administrative assistant!

Ruth was born in Massachusetts but has lived in Florida most of her life; she has lived in Boca Raton for the past 18 years. Ruth has four siblings and is very close to her parents. Her favorite pastime is traveling.

You can reach Ruth at the office phone 561-482-2001 or email gro.r1790242950bfuu@1790242950nimda1790242950 (contact Ruth here)

EBLAST AND UNICORN INFORMATION
Eblast and Unicorn information goes to gro.r1790242950bfuu@1790242950snoit1790242950acilb1790242950up1790242950 (PUBLICATIONS)
Eblast content should be limited to 200 words. Send artwork, masthead or photo in jpg format. If multiple posting dates are desired, please include that in your request. Flyers will have one mention in each edition and added up to two weeks in advance.
NOTE: Eblasts are to provide the congregation with current event information and notice of future events.

Sunday eblast deadline: Items must be received by Friday 10:00 am
Wednesday eblast deadline: Items must be received by Tuesday 10:00 am

Monthly UNICORN newsletter eadline: must be received by 25th of the month at 10:00 am (excluding late-month committee meeting reports)
UNICORN articles – 500 word limit. Items over 500 words should be sent as a pdf to be included as a link.

Please consult Policies & Procedures manual for additional information regarding content parameters for the UNICORN.

Robert is a long-time member of UUFBR, and currently assists with accounting services for UUFBR. He is the person who will confirm donation deposits and similar questions.

gro.r1790242950bfuu@1790242950gnitn1790242950uocca1790242950(Contact Robert here)

Our Music Director, Marina Machado. Pianist Marina Machado Gonzalez earned her Master of Music in Instrumental Collaborative Piano from Lynn University in Boca Raton (USA). Ms. Machado studied under Professor Lisa Leonard and received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Education. She completed her undergraduate studies in Music Performance with honors from the “Alfonso X el Sabio” University in Madrid (Spain), where she studied with Professor Leonel Morales.

She has performed in venues in Spain, Germany, and Austria, such as the Eutherpe hall in León (León, Spain), the American Institute Auditorium (Santa Fe, Spain), the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Aachen, Germany) and the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg (Salzburgo, Austria), with the Youth Orchestra of the Community of Madrid (JORCAM) in the National Auditorium of Music, the ‘Teatros del Canal’ in Madrid and the “Palau de les Arts” (Valencia, Spain), and with her Piano Trio ‘Aidoni’ in the Auditorium of the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), and the “Manuel de Falla” hall in the Longoria Palace (Madrid, Spain), current headquarters of the SGAE (General Society of Authors and Editors). She has attended masterclasses with some of the most renowned pianists in Europe and the US, such as Pavel Gililov, Mariana Gurkova, Wu Han, and William Wolfram as well as harpsichord masterclasses with Webb Wiggins.

She has won competitions collaborating with different instrumentalists, such as the NSAL Collaborative Piano and Brass Duo Competition (2023), and the John Oliveira String Competition (2023). In 2022 she was finalist of the Chamber Music Competition at Lynn Conservatory of Music with the Sapphire Quintet.

Ms. Machado currently also works as Education Program Manager at Volta Music Foundation and plays with the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club Choir in Boca Raton.

Office Hours for Music Director
Email Marina at gro.r1790242950bfuu@1790242950rotce1790242950ridci1790242950sum1790242950
MON: 6 PM – 7 PM
TUE: after 6 PM
WED: after 6 PM
THU: after 6 PM
FRI: 9 AM – 1 PM, after 4 PM
SAT: All day Saturday
SUN: All day Sunday

Retired Personnel

Our minister emeritus, The Reverend Ms. Harris Riordan (shown with her daughter, Margaret) retired in June of 2022. She accepted our invitation to be Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boca Raton in 1997. Harris earned her BA at the State University of New York, and her Masters of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

Harris grew up in The First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn. She was ordained by All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City in 1982. She has served as The Religious Education Director and Associate Minister of the Community Unitarian Church in White Plains, New York and Associate Minister of the First Unitarian Church in Brooklyn. Later she was the Interim minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Restoration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Interim Associate Minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Read more about the Rev. Harris in Excavating Treasure

On June 10,2018, Ellen celebrated her last “retirement” from a life-long teaching career as a reading specialist, and a special educator in public schools.

“Ten of those years I have been honored to be a Director of Religious Education: five in Sudbury, MA and five here at UUFBR. I thank all of you for your support, and love, and smiles. I thank each parent who placed trust in our programs, and I thank each of you who volunteered along the way. You understand how important our children are to UUFBR and to the greater world – as we try, at UUFBR, to give them tools to become respectful, questioning, thoughtful, and loving adults. It is my great honor to leave you in the capable and caring hands of Amy Wright Glenn. Amy is more than qualified to lead our children forward. Her wonderful energy and perspectives will generate new programming and more opportunities for our kids. It has been my great honor to work alongside Harris, who as a colleague encouraged me to fly! I cannot describe any better “boss” than Harris. I thank her very much for everything (especially her brownies!)”