At the 2026 UUCF Annual Meeting on June 7, UUCF members will vote to elect the following candidates for open positions on the Board of Directors and the Leadership and Nominations Committee (LNC). All terms of office will begin on July 1, 2026. Term lengths are included below.
Board of Directors Candidates
Christopher Doorley – to serve a 3-year term
Christopher has been part of the UUCF community since February 2023, drawn here by the congregation’s warmth, its commitment to families, and a sense that this was a place where faith and action genuinely belong together. He teaches religion and ethics at a local independent school, where his courses explore interfaith ethics, contemplative practice, and the kinds of moral questions that resist easy answers. Before finding his way into the classroom, he spent years in politics, activism, union work, startups, and technology. Those experiences deepened a conviction he still carries: that communities of faith have a vital role to play in the health of a democracy and the dignity of every person within it.
At UUCF, Christopher has served as a Religious Exploration teacher since 2023 and a Worship Associate since 2024. He taught an all-ages class on Democracy and Campaigns, and has served on the Intern Ministry Committee. Each of these has grown from the same root: a belief that a congregation like UUCF, one that actively values, supports, and welcomes all, is something worth tending with care and intention.
He is running for the Board because he wants to help continue that work. Christopher lives in Annandale with his partner, Nina, and their son, Bryce, both active members of the UUCF community.
Dillon Ginley – to serve a 3-year term
Dillon is currently president of the UUCF Board and is seeking a second term on the board.
Dillon Ginley joined the congregation as a young adult about 18 years ago. Former UUCF Assistant Minister Rev. Bill Welch officiated at his wedding to Jenny Holliday (with a Catholic priest in a Catholic church). Dillon served on the flower team and with the young adults group for his first few years at UUCF. He has also served as a longtime Religious Exploration teacher and former chair of the Religious Exploration Committee. He has met many lifelong friends at the UUCF and finds himself at home among its people and beautiful campus.
Matt Higgins – to serve a 1-year term
NOTE: Marcia Tugendhat was unable to complete her 3-year board term, so Matt has been nominated to fulfill the last year of her term.
Matt has been a member of UUCF since 2015, and he and his family have been active participants in the congregation ever since. His wife Laura has taught a variety of Religions Exploration classes over the years, and they have two children currently in RE. Matt previously served on the Board of Directors from 2019 to 2022 holding roles as secretary and vice president and has volunteered with the auction for many years. Matt works as an engineer and enjoys camping, biking, and drinking large amounts of coffee. He values the community at UUCF and is motivated by helping members, new and longtime alike, find ways to get more involved.
Laura Richardson – to serve a 3-year term
Laura Richardson has been a UUCF member since 2013, and is honored to be nominated for the UUCF board. Her UUCF work includes chairing the Endowment Fund Committee in 2022 (following 2 years on the committee), chairing the Auction party team in 2023 and 2024 (and she’s still an Auction team member), and a year or so on the Legacy Giving team. She also spent 4 years on the RE Committee, and taught RE for 3 years. Laura is currently involved in Act for Climate Today (ACT!) and UUs for Social Justice, educating the congregation about conscious consumption and organizing resistance activities. Her daughter, Carolyn Klein, is one of UUCF’s young adult members. Laura’s professional background includes working as a supervisory analyst in the US Department of the Treasury, and analyst/manager in several Wall Street investment banks and consulting firms.
Ashley Rothermel – to serve a 1-year term
NOTE: Raju Tonapi was unable to complete his 3-year board term, so Ashley has been nominated to fulfill the last year of his term.
I found my first UU family at age 7 when a friend’s mom invited me to join the junior choir at All Souls Church in Tulsa. I attended RE classes there for a couple of years before my parents started coming to services once a month to see me in the choir. By 4th grade, I was singing with that choir in UU congregations all over the country. Throughout high school, I attended youth rallies (conferences) across the southwestern United States, sleeping on UU church floors one weekend of almost every month for the next 4 years, forging friendships with youth and adults alike that helped ground me and form me into the person I am today.
In 1999 I moved to New Orleans to study architecture at Tulane University. After college, I moved to Northern VA for a couple of years where I started up my architecture career. In early 2007, I joined All Souls DC, and helped the church plan their inaugural service trip to New Orleans that spring to assist with post-Katrina cleanup and rebuilding. Shortly after that I moved back to New Orleans where I worked as an architect for several years before having my daughter, Hayden, in 2011 and “retiring” to stay home with her. As a stay-at-home mom, I became close friends with a group of evangelical Baptists. Being in close relationship with these men and women (whose idea of what a spiritually fulfilled life entailed differed so greatly from mine) ignited an introspective spark in my mind. I began to reconnect with my UU community, in part, to ensure that my daughter would have the intellectual and moral grounding in her life that I was lucky enough to find. In 2014, we decided to move back to Northern VA and I returned to the architecture firm where I had started my career 10 years earlier. In the fall of 2015, we visited UUCF and felt we had finally found our new church home. We became members in spring 2016. Since then, I have been involved in many aspects of UUCF including singing in the choir, serving on the Worship Committee, the Board of Directors, the Leadership and Nominations Committee, teaching RE, representing UUCF as a delegate to UU General Assembly multiple times, and most recently serving as the Lay Minister for Family Ministry. I am excited to be nominated to serve again on the UUCF Board of Directors.
LNC Candidates – to serve 2-year terms
Rebecca Benner
I am a lifelong Unitarian Universalist, the daughter of a UU minister, and I was ordained as a UU minister in 1999. I served as the minister of the Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church in Burke, VA, from 2000-2007 before leaving active parish ministry to become a full-time parent. I live in Burke with my husband, Derek, and our three children – Alden (now almost 19 and in college!), Willow (15), and Jasper (12).
I have attended UUCF since 2008, joining in 2009. At UUCF, I have led a covenant group and taught various Religious Exploration classes including the 2- and 3-year-olds, “World of Wonder” for first graders, and “Coming of Age” for middle schoolers. I served as Lay Minister for Worship and Arts from 2020 to 2023. I also really enjoy the opportunity to preach now and again.
I am excited about the possibility of being a part of the Leadership and Nominations Committee, and in particular working with the group to explore how we develop and support leaders at UUCF. I am interested in how leadership connects with our deepest religious values and experiences and how the work we do together is grounded in our UU faith.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve UUCF in this new way.
Jim Gillespie
Jim Gillespie has been a UUCF member since 2003, and was married in the congregation in 1993. His wife, Andrea Loewenwarter, is also a member, and their children, Carlin and Jacqueline, participated in RE. Jim has volunteered for UUCF’s hypothermia shelter since the early 2000s. He had a career in social work and public administration and retired from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board in 2022. He and Andrea live in Fairfax City.
Megan Reynolds
I am excited to be considered for UUCF’s Leadership and Nominations Committee (LNC) this year. After recently serving on the Board of Directors, I am ready to devote my energy to “creating and maintaining an enduring culture of growth through service”, one of the major responsibilities of the LNC.
I began attending UUCF with my two children in 2017. As a former elementary school teacher and librarian, I happily volunteered as a teacher when enrolling my son and daughter in UUCF’s Religious Exploration (RE) program. Before long, we made friends and I somehow found myself teaching RE and serving on the RE Committee. And then helping with the Annual Auction. And then the Chili Cookoff. One volunteer role led to another, propelling me all the way to the Board of Directors, where I was honored to serve from 2021 to 2024.
Each volunteer opportunity introduced me to new faces within this beloved community. I have formed deep and lasting relationships with people who make me think, laugh, and grow. I do not doubt that my life is richer and more joyful because of my time at UUCF. As a result, I am happy to give back to this community by joining the LNC. I look forward to helping cultivate the next wave of leadership that will carry UUCF into the future.