Our Team
Unity is a worldwide movement focused on positive spiritual practices to enrich all aspects of your life. Unity is inclusive, honoring all people, and each unique person’s path to spiritual growth. Unity creates an affirming environment that fosters positive self-image, personal responsibility, and unconditional love and acceptance.
To make all of this possible, we are grateful to have a team of fantastic individuals who bless our community with their time, talent, and treasure, elevating our collective consciousness and propelling us forward.
Ministry Leadership
Rev. DeeAnn Weir Morency
Senior Minister
She/They
Originally from New York City, Rev. DeeAnn Weir Morency first fell in love with the San Francisco Bay Area at age 17. She split her time between both coasts until 2011, when she and her wife, Chris, put down roots in Oakland. A professional actor, fight choreographer, producer, and arts educator for over 20 years, Rev. DeeAnn brings creativity and enthusiasm to all she does.
Rev. DeeAnn first encountered Unity’s teachings while serving as the Spiritual Leader at Unity of Berkeley and then later as Associate Minister at Unity San Francisco. As an ordained Interfaith Minister and Agape Licensed Spiritual Practitioner, she brings a unique variety of teachings to her leadership at Unity In Marin. She became a Licensed Unity Teacher in 2016 and was ordained as a Unity Minister in March of 2020. She served as Associate Minister at Unity In Marin beginning in May of 2021 and was appointed to the position of Senior Minister at Unity In Marin in August of 2022.
Think Again
Rev. DeeAnn has a deep passion for prayer and promotes Affirmative Prayer for the Unity movement by teaching and leading retreats. Together, she and respected Unity leader Rev. Linda Martella-Whitsett co-authored Discover Your Divinity: A Modern Approach to Affirmative Prayer, the first book on Affirmative Prayer to be published by Unity in more than 50 years. They recently won a Silver Nautilus Book Award for Discover Your Divinity in the category of Religion/Spirituality of Western Thought in May of 2024. Additionally, Rev. DeeAnn serves on the Board for Unity’s West Central Region as President, is a regular contributor to Unity World Headquarters booklets and pamphlets, and is a national voice promoting inclusion, allyship, and education for the LGBTQ+ community.
Rev. DeeAnn is an impassioned and impactful speaker. A lifelong spiritual seeker, she is the founding minister of A Radiant Joy, a Unity Alternative Ministry, where she facilitates and leads retreats, teaches workshops and classes, provides spiritual direction, and officiates weddings and other life rituals.
Board of Trustees
Dr. Lynn Seaver-Forsey
Board Chair
She/Her
Dr. Seaver-Forsey has been a member at Unity In Marin since the New Year’s Burning Bowl Ceremony in 2015. She says, “We wanted to strengthen our involvement in our Novato community and found a loving spiritual home at Unity In Marin.” Since then, Lynn and wife, Keven, have volunteered with the Youth and Family Ministry events and programs. Prior to the pandemic, Lynn was a choir member for five years. She also served as co-leader of the Senior Minister Search team, organizing the process leading to the selection of Rev. Tim Lytle as Senior Minister.
As a Nurse Executive, Lynn brings decades of experience from prior non-profit Board service and hospital management to her role. Partnering with the Director of Finance and the Senior Minister, the re-establishment of the Finance committee has served to strengthen Unity In Marin’s financial stability.
Lynn and her wife reside in Novato and spend time with their daughter and two grandsons, Jayden and DJ. Her free time includes her Master’s swim team, golf, hikes with her dogs, and camping.
Barbara Cochran
Board Vice Chair
She/Her
Barbara has been a member of Unity In Marin for the past 20 years, and in addition to her current position as Board Vice Chair, she has served on the board in years past as well. She has always felt at home at UIM, loves our community, and was delighted to find a church that spoke about beliefs she already has. She feels and thinks that Unity teachings are truly helpful to building a community where we can share our authenticity and ourselves while feeling safe to do so.
She has worked as a school psychologist and in private practice for many years, in addition to leading team building with small corporations. She truly enjoys creative planning and problem solving, and she is happy to serve the UIM community to the best of her ability.
Barbara and her husband, Larry Gorski, have two adult children and three stepsons with eight grandchildren, who are a joy. She loves to play tennis, cook, play piano, dance, gather with friends, and read. She is also a student of A Course in Miracles. She has volunteered as an usher, worked on several committees, been a Prayer Chaplain, and is one of Unity In Marin’s Spiritual Counselors.
James Henry
Board Secretary
He/Him
James has lived in Marin since 1993 and has been an active member in the Unity community since 1996. He first served on the UIM Board of Trustees when Richard Mantei was our minister and we acquired our current church home. He has served on the board again since December 2020, serving as its Secretary for the past year. He also serves as an usher and Sunday Service Assistant.
James moved around alot in his early years, living in MA, CA, NY, NJ, FL and Japan. He worked in the telecommunications industry for 30 years and has an MBA in telecom management. His passion is in teaching karate. He is a lifelong martial artist and has owned and operated the Mojo Dojo Karate studio in Mill Valley since 2007 and teaching in Marin since 2000. Participation in book study groups have been instrumental in developing long lasting friendships in the UIM community, in fact, he met his wife at UIM and is grateful to be on this spiritual journey together.
Pete Abowd
Board Treasurer
He/Him
Pete’s membership in the spiritual community of Unity In Marin stems back over 10 years. He is deeply connected to the UIM community which, through its teaching, has created a path of spiritual growth. He has held several volunteer positions and supported UIM as a participant in Faith In Action and other financial gift efforts. He and his wife created a scholarship fund to be used to support Youth and Family Ministry. Pete also held the position as a Y.O.U sponsor for three years, and participated in and co-lead UIM Vision Quests. He assisted in the maintenance of UIM’s sacred garden for two years, and is currently a member of the UIM choir.
As a longtime resident of both San Francisco and Marin, Pete worked in the banking industry for 30 years, helped to establish a .com company, was on the board and assumed executive directorship for a nonprofit agency whose mission was to support breast cancer patients, and operated several senior balance programs, which were funded by both Marin General Hospital and the County of Marin. He also volunteered for Environmental Traveling Companion, whose mission is to provide outdoor experiences for people of all ages and disabilities. He was also involved with Big Brother and Big Sister of Marin for five years.
Pete and his wife Paula have a passion for animals, and they have three horses and two dogs. In addition, they love to kayak and mountain bike.
Tom McAuliffe
Board Member at Large
He/Him
Tom McAuliffe is a truth student with a deep and abiding love for the Unity In Marin community. He first came to UIM in the late 1980s.
Over the years he has been an usher, a class facilitator, an organizer, a board member, and he currently serves as a Sunday Service Assistant.
Monica Walsh
Board Member at Large
She/Her
Monica and her husband, Jim, began attending Unity In Marin in 2010 with their now-young adult children. Now that the children are grown and nearly flown, Monica has stepped into more active roles within the Unity community, serving as a Prayer Chaplain and on the Board of Trustees. Her service to the community has included hosting book groups, small groups, and being the force behind the man who ran the Faith In Action campaign during the first year of the pandemic.
With her background as a telecom executive, Monica brings a wealth of business perspective to the board. Her extensive study and practice in the art and science of affirmative prayer allows her to confidently hold the high watch for Unity In Marin.
Nancy Foster
Board Member at Large
She/Her
Nancy first attended a service at Unity In Marin in October 2000 and in short order realized that there was a lot of life, light, love, and joy here. After being raised Catholic and not attending a church for decades, Unity grabbed her spiritual imagination and curiosity and felt like such a breath of fresh air. She has been an active student of Truth ever since.
Nancy previously served on the Board of Trustees for 7 years between 2001 and 2008 and has volunteered in many capacities, including singing in the choir for 10 years, being a prayer chaplain, running the welcome team, facilitating several different book study groups, serving on the charitable contributions committee and the program steering team, teaching communication, meditation, and Enneagram classes, and ushering.
Now retired, Nancy was an attorney-mediator and trainer in conflict resolution for 30 years while also running a non-profit mediation center. She is also certified as an Enneagram Coach by the Deep Coaching Institute.
Nancy and her husband, Donn Davy (whom she met at Unity in 2002), live in Novato, just four blocks from Unity In Marin. She has two adult step children with whom she is quite close. Some of her current passions are nature (botany, birding, animal tracking, hiking, walking in the Hamilton Wetlands), art (drawing, creative coloring, Zen tangle), the Enneagram, creating haikus, and listening to audiobooks.
Lucille Allison
Board Member at Large
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In 1970, Lucille transferred from Boston College to the University of San Francisco and fell in love with The City. After college, Lucille started her career in New York City, working for Loew’s Corporation. In 1980, Lucille came home to her beloved City By the Bay. In 2003, after 20 years of living in Greenbrae, Lucille and her husband John moved into a new home in Sunny Cove Hamilton, and in February of 2004, on a rainy Sunday, Lucille decided to meander down to the new Unity Church at the bottom of the hill. The talk struck the right note, and Lucille decided to return the following Sunday. Soon, Lucille was a regular at Unity In Marin and took her first commitment as an Usher. The amazingly welcoming community, the classes, the Sunday talks, the book studies, and the fun fundraising events kept Lucille coming back for more. Since 2009, Lucille has served the Unity Community as a Prayer Chaplain. Lucille can also be seen singing with the UIM choir.
Recently, Lucille retired after 50 years of working in the technology field. She has held a variety of roles as her career grew alongside the rapidly developing world of tech. Lucille and John happily downsized to Marin Valley and are enjoying their new 55+ community.
Office Staff
Zach Nelson
Audio/Visual and Administrative Associate
He/Him
Zach is a native San Franciscan who loves spending time with friends and family, listening to music, watching sports, and being outdoors. He graduated from Redwood High School in 2012 and has worked in kitchens for over 6 years. He has learned much about sound and technology since joining Unity In Marin, and is excited to keep expanding that knowledge and continuing this new chapter in his career.
Dori Eisenhauer
Office Manager
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Originally a native of Pennsylvania, Dori is happy to be settled here in Northern California. When not working at Unity In Marin, she can be found making jewelry, writing short stories, recording audiobooks, or resting at home with Fosse, her beloved black cat, and Pixie Jane, the nutty Pomeranian who rules her human. She has lived, studied, and worked in Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, New York, and Oakland, but loves her serene home here at Unity In Marin most of all, and is grateful to the kind people who make her workplace a home.
Veronica Piedra
Assistant to the Minister
She/Her
Veronica was born and raised in the Bay Area, most recently living in Las Vegas for four years. She loves being with her family, two adult daughters and fur babies. She loves to do and try everything from surfing to figure skating, playing video games, and even Taiko drumming!
Over the years, she has done a significant amount of work in the tech sphere, working in the video game industry, making websites, graphic design, and something totally different – working in a Chiropractic office! Currently, she works full time at Marin Humane in the development department. She is also very happy to be a part of Unity In Marin. You may not see her much as she’s in the background most of the time, but just know she’s smiling at you from afar!
Linda Anderson Henry, MBA
Director of Finance
She/Her
After attending Unity In Marin for the first time in December 2001, Linda told her mom that she got her Christmas present early: She’d found her spiritual home.
As the founder of Prosperity Circles, Linda is a business thinking partner, strategist, and financial consultant. Her life’s work has been to weave together her business and financial expertise with ongoing studies in somatic psychology, self-esteem, and prosperity consciousness. She helps business owners and leaders build transformational businesses that are sustainable, personally and financially.
For over 10 years, Linda has put her financial expertise and prosperity consciousness into practice as the Director of Finance for Unity In Marin. Her pioneering spirit and heart-centered values come naturally having grown up on a farm in South Dakota. She and her husband James met at Unity In Marin, and Universal Spiritual Principles and practices provide a strong foundation for their relationship. They live in Marin with their beloved Bernese Mountan Dog, Gracie.
Brandon Connaughton
Facilities & Events Manager
He/Him
Brandon grew up in the North Bay and attended College of Marin and SRJC. His father’s family settled in the area in the late 60s when his Grandfather, Michael Joseph Connaughton, was stationed at Hamilton Field. They settled and bought a home in Petaluma and became members of the St Vincent’s Catholic Church. Brandon himself is a Buddhist of 14+ years.
In 2022, he won a 6 month battle with Follicular Lymphoma and decided he wanted to do something more exciting and fulfilling in life than staring at Excel Sheets and Delivery Maps.
He brings a diverse set of skills and patience from his time in technology education, print & sign making, local agriculture & tourism, plus a decade in the service industry to help you plan and implement the perfect event.
Brandon lives in Petaluma, enjoys cooking and photography, loves heavy metal, and is often accompanied by his dog, Lina.
Ministry Staff
Carolyn Gauthier
Music Director
She/Her
Carolyn Gauthier, Music Director of Unity In Marin, came out of the womb singing! Her father was a professor of music and choir director at the family’s church. Her mother played piano and sang at home as well as in the sanctuary. From the time Carolyn could see over the pews she was singing in the children’s choir.
As an adult, Carolyn sang with the nationally renowned gospel choir, The Lighthouse Singers of Marin, for 20 years, had her own band Full Circle for 30 years, and played various instruments including guitar, mandolin, and cello.
Unity In Marin has been her spiritual home for 25 years, and she has volunteered in many capacities including prayer chaplain, member and coordinator of worship assistants, choir member, Sunday service coordinator, and event producer. She enjoys being the music director and sometimes guest speaker. Carolyn believes that the Unity teachings keep her in harmony with Spirit and the world.
Dr. Cindy Acker
Choir Director
Church DEI Educator
School Overseer/Consultant
She/Her
Dr. Cindy Acker, Ed.D. (Playwright and Director) is a five-time award-winning educator, author, and playwright. She was vocally trained by the late Johnny Land, and has sung with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, the Glide Ensemble, Unity In Marin, and the MCC Worship and Praise Choir of San Francisco. She has led and toured three choirs, performing in the Governor’s chambers on behalf of marriage equality. Cindy has produced an Emmy award-winning feature entitled Creative Parenting, and has written several plays, performed in the US and a Canada, including an award-winning musical entitled, In Our Hands.
Melissa Masters
Director of Family Ministry
She/Her
Melissa became a member of Unity In Marin in 2018. She immediately got involved with the Youth and Family program and soon after took the position of Program Director. Her background in the arts and education spans decades. Presently, Melissa also works as an art therapist and expressive arts workshop facilitator, weaving holistic consciousness and empowerment of the Divine Feminine. Melissa enjoys sharing her professional skills as a fine artist, singer/songwriter, and writer. Her muse is the beauty and heartbeat of the natural world.