imported>Zackmann08: fixing infobox and removing deprecated parameters; Cleaning up syntax using indent.js

2026-04-01T04:17:02Z

fixing infobox and removing deprecated parameters; Cleaning up syntax using indent.js

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{{Short description|American minister}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = BetancourtAllSoulsNYC.jpg
| alt =
| honorific_prefix = The Reverend
| name = Sofía Betancourt
| order = 10th President of the
| office = Unitarian Universalist Association
| term_start = July 8, 2023
| predecessor = [[Susan Frederick-Gray]]
| partner =Sam Ames<ref>{{cite web |author= UUA Candidate Forum |date= March 18, 2023 |title= Presidential Candidate Forum |url=https://www.uua.org/files/2023-03/pres_cand_forum_03182023_1.pdf |website=[[Unitarian Universalist Association]] |location=[[Boston, MA]] |publisher= UUA.org |access-date=December 19, 2025}}</ref>
| education = [[Cornell University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]])<br> [[Starr King School for the Ministry]] ([[Master of Divinity|M.Div.]])<br> [[Yale University]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]], [[Master of Philosophy|M.Phil.]], [[Master of Arts|M.A.]])
| module = {{Infobox religious biography
| embed = yes
| background = #F3E5AB
| denomination = [[Unitarian Universalist Association]]
| profession = [[Clergy|Minister]]
| website = [http://www.uua.org/president/ UUA President's pages]
}}
}}
'''Sofía Betancourt''' is an American minister and professor who is the tenth president of the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]] (UUA). The UUA president is the CEO and religious leader of [[Unitarian Universalism]] in the USA. Betancourt is the first woman of color and openly queer person to be elected to the office.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Post |first=Kathryn |date=2023-06-25 |title=Unitarian Universalists elect first woman of color, openly queer president |url=https://religionnews.com/2023/06/25/unitarian-universalists-elect-first-woman-of-color-openly-queer-president/ |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=Religion News Service |language=en-US}}</ref>
{{Unitarian Universalist sidebar|influential people}}

== Education and career ==
Betancourt graduated from [[Cornell University]] with a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] in [[Ethnobotany]], [[Starr King School for the Ministry]] with a [[Master of Divinity|M.Div.]], and [[Yale University]] with [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] and [[Master of Philosophy|M.Phil.]] degrees as well as a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[Ethics in religion|Religious Ethics]] and [[African American Studies]].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |date= March 6, 2021 |title=Saturday Spotlight: Rev. Sofía Betancourt, Ph.D. |url=https://www.sksm.edu/saturday-spotlight-rev-sofia-betancourt-ph-d |access-date=December 19, 2025 |website=[[Starr King School for the Ministry]] - www.sksm.edu |language=en}}</ref> While completing her M.Div., Betancourt served as intern minister at the UU Church of [[Berkeley, California]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-04 |title=Professional Experience |url=https://sofiabetancourt.com/about/professional-experience/ |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=Rev. Sofía Betancourt, Ph.D. |language=en}}</ref> She was ordained in 2004.

Betancourt was senior minister of the First UU Church of [[Stockton, California]]; consulting minister at the UU Fellowship of [[Storrs, Connecticut]]; and interim minister at the UU Church of [[Fresno, California]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=myUUA: People |url=https://my.uua.org/directory/people/01357-079-0361140 |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) |language=en}}</ref>

From 2005 to 2009 she served as director of the UUA’s Office of Racial and Ethnic Concerns, and she has served on numerous appointed and elected UUA committees, including the Appointments Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Cultural Misappropriation Task Force, and the Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sofía Betancourt {{!}} UUA.org |url=https://www.uua.org/people/sofia-betancourt |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.uua.org |language=en}}</ref>

From 2009 to 2022 Betancourt worked in academia. She began as a teaching fellow at [[Yale College]] and [[Yale Divinity School]] from 2009 to 2013.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} After an interim ministry, she worked as an assistant professor at Starr King in 2016 and served as associate professor and acting president of Starr King from August 2020 to February 2021. In August 2021, she became an associate professor and the interim associate dean for academic affairs at [[Drew University]] Theological School.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drew University |url=https://drew.edu/theological-school/about/announcements/dean-letter/ |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=Drew University |language=en}}</ref> In these positions, she taught courses on ethics and liberation, [[womanism]] and Earth justice, Latina feminist theologies, and combating oppression.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

In 2017, when the president of the Unitarian Universalist Association resigned a few months before the end of the term amid a call to reckon with the impacts of [[white supremacy]] culture on the systems and structures of Unitarian Universalism, the UUA Board appointed Betancourt, Leon Spencer, and [[William G. Sinkford|William Sinkford]] as interim co-presidents.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-11 |title=Three co-presidents to lead UUA until General Assembly 2017 {{!}} UU World Magazine |url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/board-names-three-copresidents |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.uuworld.org |language=en}}</ref> Betancourt's focus in that role was as the leader of the Commission on Institutional Change.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-21 |title=Interim co-presidents see 'opportunity to re-center ourselves' {{!}} UU World Magazine |url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/interim-copresidents-describe-roles |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.uuworld.org |language=en}}</ref>

Most recently, Betancourt served as a Resident Scholar and Special Advisor on Justice and Equity at the [[Unitarian Universalist Service Committee]].<ref name="auto1"/>

== Presidency ==
Betancourt was nominated by the UUA Presidential Search Committee in November 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-29 |title=Search Committee Nominates Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt for UUA President {{!}} UU World Magazine |url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/betancourt-announcement |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.uuworld.org |language=en}}</ref> The committee unanimously nominated two leaders to be candidates for President. One of those nominees declined the nomination.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-15 |title=Presidential Search Committee Nominates Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt for UUA President {{!}} Press Releases {{!}} UUA.org |url=https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/psc-nominee-president |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.uua.org |language=en}}</ref>

Betancourt's campaign centered around three priorities: communal care, collaborative leadership, and "facing the unknown together".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rev. Sofía Betancourt, Ph.D. |url=https://sofiabetancourt.com/ |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=Rev. Sofía Betancourt, Ph.D. |language=en}}</ref> Betancourt was elected by 96.6% of delegate votes on June 24, 2023, at the UUA's [[General assembly|General Assembly]] in Pittsburgh, PA. She was installed as president June 25, 2023.<ref name="auto"/>

== Publications ==
=== Books by Betancourt===
*''Ecowomanism at the Panamá Canal: Black Women, Labor, and Environmental Ethics'' (2022)

=== Books with contributions by Betancourt===
*''Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry'' (2017)
*''Ecowomanism, Religion, and Ecology'' (2017)
*''Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment'' (2018)
*''BLUU Notes: An Anthology of Love, Justice, and Liberation'' (2021)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betancourt, Sofia}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Unitarian Universalists]]
[[Category:American Christian religious leaders]]
[[Category:American women religious leaders]]
[[Category:Unitarian Universalist clergy]]
[[Category:Female Unitarian Universalist clergy]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:Starr King School for the Ministry alumni]]
[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]
[[Category:American theologians]]
[[Category:LGBTQ Unitarian Universalists]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Sofía Betancourt - Revision history

imported>Zackmann08: fixing infobox and removing deprecated parameters; Cleaning up syntax using indent.js