Our Staff
Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons, Senior Minister
Rev. Ana is Senior Minister at First Unitarian. She brings to her ministry a passion for social and environmental justice and a belief in the power of liberal religion to transform our world. She also brings a love of creative, embodied, music-centered worship from a previous life as a musician. More
Meagan Henry, Director of Education & Family Ministry
Meagan has two decades of experience in Religious Education. She studied World Religions in college and has a Master’s Degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of TN, Knoxville. She was an adjunct professor at UTK for three years after graduation and taught several classes on Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. While attending the University and teaching religion classes, she served as the part-time Youth Ministry Coordinator at the Tennessee Valley UU Church. Meagan and her husband, James, were married at TVUUC and her daughter, Starling, grew up in the RE program. In July of 2006, Meagan and James moved to Alexandria, VA where she served as the Director of Religious Education (DRE) at the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church for 6 years. Following that, she served as the DRE at All Souls Unitarian in Washington, DC for 15 months before moving to Brooklyn. More
Adam Podd, Director of Music
Adam is a Vermont-bred, Brooklyn-based music director, pianist, organist, bassist, composer and arranger. His first connection to church music started at age eleven, when he played for a Christmas Eve service in the sleepy town of Holland, VT.
He has worked with some of the top artists and organizations in his field including The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, New York Pops, Houston Symphony, Idina Menzel, Megan Hilty, Darlene Love, James Monroe Iglehart, Frankie Moreno, Stephen Kellogg, Milton Delugg, Macy’s Entertainment and The Young People’s Chorus of New York City in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Symphony Space, New World Stages, and others.
As a pianist, Adam specializes in blues, jazz, and gospel. He plays every Sunday night at the Rum House here in NYC with his twin brother Matt, and their jazz and blues band Mimi and the Podd Brothers. He also plays keys, bass and music directs for singer/songwriter Dan Mills.
Adam studied classical and jazz piano, organ, orchestration, conducting, and music production at The Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT where he received his Bachelors of Music.
Click here to watch videos of Adam’s work with the choir and musicians here at First U. Click here to read more about Adam’s approach to music in worship.
Garnett Losak, Director of Congregational Life
Garnett has been a member of First U for 30 years. She raised her now grown children, Katie Falzetta-Murray and Joseph Falzetta, in our Sunday school, and has served the congregation as a volunteer in more ways than she can remember. Garnett is here to help newcomers find their way. She loves hearing the many stories that our visitors bring with them. Nothing makes her happier than when a newcomer connects deeply with our congregation and becomes a voting member. Garnett Lives in Bay Ridge with her dog, McKenzie, is an avid Yogini, and loves visits from her two adorable grandsons, Simon and Micah.
Kevin Brunson, Director of Facilities
Kevin Joined the staff in September 2021. He is a native Brooklynite with over 30 years of experience in building maintenance and construction. He has an 11 year old son, Abdu, who occasionally joins him in the Sexton’s apartment. Kevin is excited to be part of the First Unitarian family.
Wendy Russell, Office Manager/Bookkeeper
office@fuub.org 718-624-5466
Wendy is a working singer, songwriter, voice teacher, organizer, and bookkeeper. She is also a part time innkeeper who supports her mother’s B & B in the Berkshires on summer weekends.
In Wendy’s words, “I am a native New Yorker. I have 2 amazing daughters and 3 delicious grandchildren. One of my favorite places to have worked was Brooklyn Botanic Garden; walking through the gardens every day was heavenly and life affirming. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the First Unitarian Congregational Society.”
Daniel Lawlor, Community Minister djlawlr@gmail.com
Daniel is a graduate of Brown University, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and most recently Boston University School of Theology, graduating in May 2021. At BU, he was inspired by the ongoing legacy of Howard Thurman, a 20th Century Civil Rights leader and teacher who was committed to inter-faith, inter-racial work for justice and healing. Daniel and his wife Yumi live in Brooklyn. Read Daniel’s letter to the congregation here.
Tasha Brownfield, Intern Minister, intern@fuub.org
Tasha is an M.Div student at Yale Divinity School. She will serve First Unitarian half time from August 2021 to June 2023. Read more about Tasha here.
Sophie Major, Religious Education Assistant, sophie@fuub.org
Sophie graduated from SUNY New Paltz in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Sociology.
She attended the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation in White Plains where she started going to RE classes as a student and later taught and worked in childcare. Throughout the years Sophie has continued to work with youth of all ages in different environments like swim instructing, babysitting, and camp counseling.
Sophie is super excited to be part of First Unitarian Congregational Society. She looks forward to becoming a better advocate and ally for our UU community in Brooklyn and continuing her passion for working with children! She can’t wait to connect with like-minded folks but also learn from those that have walked a different path.
Nicole Tuszynski, Ceremonies Coordinator
nicole@fuub.org, 718-404-2348
Nicole comes to First Unitarian with a passion for event planning! With over five years of professional planning experience for a renowned global legal advocacy organization, she looks forward to combining her expertise in event design and implementation with the creativity and joy inherent in weddings and dedication ceremonies. Nicole has an MA from New York University in Human Rights Studies and a BA in Political Science from Stonehill College. When she’s not at First U, you will find Nicole working on her latest DIY project or jogging laps around McCarren park with her pomeranian, Emmit.
Bobby Blackman, Custodian
Trackbacks and Pingbacks
Comments are closed.