Advisory Group & Founding Board

Reverend Justine Magara

Reverend Justine Magara is the minister of the Kisii and Maasai Unitarian Universalist congregations in Kenya. One of 5 siblings and children of Rev. Patrick Onchomba Magara and Teresa Kerubo in Kisii, Western Kenya, Rev. Magara grew up Christian until introduced to UU by his father.

In college he undertook computer and Bible studies. In 2014 he joined Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, Illinois (USA) for a short time to study Global Religion and Media. He subsequently returned to Meadville Lombard Theological School to further his education in Leadership Studies with a concentration in community lay ministry.

Mrs. Wildah Siro

Wildah Siro is a Unitarian Universalist leader from the Maasai community in Kenya whose ministry centers on women's empowerment, cultural dignity, and the creation of compassionate, justice-rooted communities. A respected voice in African Unitarianism, she brings together traditional wisdom and modern spiritual leadership, lifting up the stories and strengths of her people while building bridges across borders and generations.

Wildah has represented her community in international UU gatherings, contributing to a global vision of faith that honors diversity, equity, and shared humanity. Her leadership is marked by courage, clarity, and a deep commitment to the flourishing of women and youth.

Reverend Aryanto Nugroho

Reverend Aryanto Nugroho is President of the National Board of Unitarian Christian Church of Indonesia and is active in the inter-religious dialogue and movement in Indonesia, especially in his home province of Central Java.

His experiences include leading the youth organization of UCCI, providing public training in leadership and personality development, and bible studies particularly relating to early Christianity, theology and interpretation of the prophecy book. He has a Bachelor and Master degree in Management, Internal theology and church-service training in UCCI before being ordained as a minister.

Dr. Gabor Kiss

Dr. Gabor Kiss is a Budapest-born Unitarian who has been active in international Unitarian circles for decades. He chairs his congregation's Partner Church Committee, maintaining long-standing relationships with their partner congregation in Sinfalva, Romania (Transylvania).

Dr. Kiss has served as his congregation's envoy to the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU/UNO) and has been active with the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women (ICUUW), which maintains deep roots in Transylvania. A licensed pilot and retired scientist/engineer, Dr. Kiss also brings a distinguished career in science and engineering in the fields of fiber optics and software.

John Eichrodt

John Eichrodt is a distinguished Unitarian Universalist leader whose ministry, international organizing, and lifelong commitment to liberal religion have shaped the global UU movement for more than fifty years. His work spans Europe, Africa, and North America, and reflects a deep dedication to helping individuals and communities claim and strengthen their UU identity across borders.

John's formation as a Unitarian began in the United States, but his theological and ministerial development took on a global dimension when he served in the Peace Corps in Togo. In 1969, he immigrated to France, where he confronted the existential challenge of living in a country with no Unitarian presence at the time — a period that became the catalyst for his lifelong commitment to establishing and nurturing UU communities abroad.

John helped bring together UUs from across Europe in 1982, creating the European Unitarian Universalists (EUU), and helped establish the Association Unitarienne Française — the first Unitarian body in France. He was present at the landmark 1990 Hamburg gathering where global Unitarians first envisioned a worldwide UU body, and participated in the founding of ICUU in 1995.

Finn Prem

Finn Prem is a graduate of Heidelberg University in Germany, a graduate student of mathematical physics at Tübingen University in Germany, a board member of UUWYN and the leader of the Bund eigenständiger unitarischer Jugend (BeuJ) — the German Unitarian youth organization. He is also part of the Development Committee (Geistiger Rat) of the German Unitarian Association (URFG), a board of advisors to preserve and further develop the spiritual-religious foundations and objectives of the organization.

In 2024 he participated in the UU Youth Exchange program, visiting the US. He likes to spend his free time mountain biking, reading or kayaking.

Dr. Karsten Urban

Dr. Karsten Urban is a full professor of Numerical Mathematics at Ulm University in Germany. He has been President of the German Unitarian Association (URFG) since 2015 and has been several times a member of the URFG board. He is a lay leader of the local congregation in his home town.

Many years ago, he was president of the German Unitarian Youth Organization (BeuJ).

Raquel Guillen

Raquel is interested in growing UU globally and particularly the Latin American world. She splits her time between Lima, Peru and the countryside. Raquel and her children (now grown) have participated actively in the UU congregations in San Mateo and San Francisco, California, USA.

She speaks English, Spanish and Quechua, a major indigenous language of the Andes, spoken by about 7–10 million people across Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile and historically associated with the Inca Empire.

Bianca Noroñas

Bianca Noroñas was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and works in an organization which provides support and home visits to families from pregnancy through age five. A certified doula and doula trainer, Bianca holds a master's degree in Public Health, inspired by witnessing health and social disparities in communities of color.

She is passionate about social justice, actively involved in community groups, and hopes to help more people connect with the message and values of UU.

Shahan Islam

Shahan was partner at two large New York law firms, working in the field of international intellectual property and then for over twenty years as a corporate lawyer at a large pharmaceutical company, responsible for intellectual property enforcement in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

He has held Board positions at a UU congregation and is co-chair of a congregation's Committee of Ministry and is Director of Religious Education at another congregation. Prior to founding UUWYN, he created and ran an international UU youth exchange program (still ongoing), connecting youth/young adults and families on both sides of the Atlantic.

Bruce Knotts

As a young adult, Bruce studied in Heidelberg, Germany and later joined the U.S. Peace Corps in Ethiopia. Subsequently, he taught in Saudi Arabia and Somalia. From 1984 through 2007, Bruce worked as a diplomat.

In 2008 he was posted as Executive Director of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) and organized the first United Nations sponsored workshops on LGBTIQ+ human rights in Paris at the UN Human Rights Conference at UNESCO Headquarters. He was instrumental in mainstreaming LGBTIQ+ and human rights at the United Nations and helped convince then UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to tell the press that LGBTIQ+ rights are Human Rights. Bruce also lobbied political and religious leaders in Taiwan to enact same-sex marriage, making Taiwan the first nation in Asia to do so.