Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner and Rev. Joel Miller, Co-Ministers
Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner and Rev. Joel Miller, Co-Ministers
Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner (she/her) and Rev. Joel Miller (he/him) are FUUSN’s senior co-ministers. They share worship responsibilities and pastoral care as well as working with the Operations Council and with the Board of Trustees. Rev. Joel serves the chief of staff and has primary responsibility for religious education, operations, building and supporting FUUSN’s Lay Ministers. Rev. Debra has primary responsibility for community relationships, stewardship, social justice, communications, and membership outreach.
Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner (she/hers) has been a UU minister for 23 years, and previously served congregations in Huntington, NY, Santa Cruz, CA, Reston, VA, Westport, CT, and Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. She is the President Emerita and co-founder of the Religious Institute and has written numerous books, including Beyond the Big Talk, From Diapers to Dating, and What Every 21st-Century Parent Needs to Know. She is the creator of the Sexually Safer Best Practices Initiative used by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the 2026 Minns Lecturer. She has her Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and her Doctorate in Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion.
Rev. Joel Miller (he/him) has been a UU minister for 34 years and has served many congregations in interim and settled ministry, including congregations in Morristown, NJ, Indianapolis, IN, Rochester, NY, Buffalo, NY, and Littleton, CO. He is a co-founder of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry and has been a thought leader in Unitarian Universalist Interim Ministry. His focus on trauma response ministry is rooted in Rev. Miller’s personal experience serving the Littleton, CO, Unitarian Universalist congregation during the aftermath of the Columbine High School mass shooting. He has his Master of Divinity from the Thomas Starr King School for the Ministry.