Our Leadership Team
Rev. Shige Sakurai (they/them)
Shige is a transgender Asian American, social justice advocate, transformative spiritual leader, professor, and artist. Shige has been quoted by CNN, Washington Post, Reuters, and BBC, and an invited speaker for Princeton, Yale, and Cornell.
Shige founded International Pronouns Day, which has been celebrated by the U.S. Department of State and UN Women and has held a number one globally trending hashtag. Shige’s website, Pronouns.org, has reached over 15 million people and was archived by the Library of Congress. Through their advocacy, Shige received the first officially nonbinary, X-marker driver’s license in the United States.
Shige is an alum of University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, American University, IE University, and Harvard Divinity School. They have certificates from University of Miami, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Parsons School of Design. Shige has been a visiting scholar at University of Oxford and they are retired from a diversity leadership role at University of Maryland, College Park. The Reverend Shige Sakurai is ordained Druid clergy and a senior executive in the Unitarian Universalist denomination.
Rev. Ron Padrón (he/him)
Ron is a graduate of Cherry Hill Seminary, having completed a Community Ministry Certificate. He completed additional training and is ordained through Sacred Well Congregation. His ministry focuses on queer-centered and queer-affirming spiritualities. His work centers justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (JEDIA).
He has presented locally and nationally on inclusive practices and the physical, embodied impact of diversity work. He is dedicated to the development, implementation, and assessment of equitable institutional practices that foster diversity and inclusion. This commitment to JEDIA extends to his presence in interfaith and spiritual spaces, and he has served as an advocate and consultant in making communities and events more accessible.