Rev. Amelia Marie Petersen, MDiv, MASC

Motivated by a deep love of people, infinite possibility, teaching, learning, and service, Rev. Amelia is honored to be joining the UUCiL community. A lifelong UU who came of age in the Portland, OR congregation, Rev. Amelia attended seminary at the Graduate Theological Union, UC Berkeley, and graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry with both a Masters of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Social Change. Her 2016 ordination to Interfaith & Multireligious Ministry by leaders and mentors representing varied lineages and traditions, included our UUA President, the Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt.

In 2017, Amelia founded Dare to Bless the Love, an Interfaith, peacebuilding community centered in embodied practice and working to support cutting-edge religious leadership, collective liberation, and social change. She looks forward to growing the UUCiL community with you in a well-rounded, Interfaith way, with shared UU values and practices at the heart of how we move, gather, and govern. Rev. Amelia hopes and intends to co-ordain to UU ministry during and in service to the joyful years of life and work that lie ahead for us. She admires the lived values and unique contributions and opportunities of this wonderful, growing group of folx; she and her wife, Marianne, look forward to practicing with you and to developing and flourishing together spiritually, in service to a more just and peaceful world. She can be contacted here.

Michael J. Mares

Choir Director

Michael has been active in the Bay Area music scene working for the last 20 years as a public school music educator and a performing musician. He received his degree at Cal State university at Hayward in 2003, and received his California teaching credential the year later. His ensembles have received highest honors at the California Music Educators Association festivals for Choral and Orchestral music. He currently performs as a vocalist and keyboardist for local groups around the Bay Area as well as performs as a solo artist.

Austin Phillips

Piano Accompanist

Austin Phillips holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied under Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Over the course of his studies, he was also taught by Dr. Daniel Shapiro, Dr. Namiq Sultanov, Dr. Jed Galant, John McCarthy, and Zita Sandor.

From childhood through high school, Austin competed widely across the Bay Area, earning multiple awards, including the People’s Choice Award in KDFC’s Classical Star Search. His competition experience includes the Zeiter Competition, East Bay Music Festival, Ross McKee Piano Competition, and the U.S. Open Music Competition.

He has attended festivals such as the Colburn Music Academy Piano Festival and Summer Music West, with his piano duo featured at the Peggy and Malkin Festival at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Austin has performed in masterclasses with Pascal Nemirovski, Stephan Möller, and others. He is also a dedicated piano instructor and accompanist, passionate about teaching and sharing music through community outreach.

Hope Ringelin

Hope has been a member of UU Livermore for a little over a year. Her UU experience might be small, but it pales in comparison to her passion and experience caring for children.

Rosie Garnica-Ybanez

Rosie is a new edition to the childcare team and enjoys taking care of kids.

Bob Meiss

Executive Church Administrator

Bob Miess became our office manager in 2020. Ordained as a Lutheran minister over 45 years ago, he chose a secular career in technology after three years in the ministry. Bob became a member of the First Unitarian Church of San Jose in 1998, and has been Unitarian Universalist ever since. He works with a dynamic team of Office Associates to support the ministries of our congregation. He and the Office Associates can be reached by email here. If you would like some help with something, or you would like to be a part of the team, or if you have any questions about how we do what we do, he would be happy to help. Just email him here.

Terry Butler

Office Assistant

Terry Butler is a mother of two daughters and grandmother of four grandchildren. She loves to hang out with her grandkids and go to their soccer and football games. She enjoys craftwork and working with wood.

She has been the administrative assistant for UUCiL of Livermore since Jan. 4, 2025. Previously, she worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) until she retired in 2016. She has worked in facility management for 18 years and administrative management for 12. Also, she has been self-employed for 15 years. She can be reached here.

Ansel McGrew

Ansel is the AV tech and can usually be found in the back of the sanctuary during Sunday service.