Staff
Rev. Deborah Cayer, Lead Minister
Deborah Cayer is a graduate of Smith College and Harvard Divinity School. She was ordained in 1996 and served as minister for the Unitarian Church of Sharon, Massachusetts for twelve years. She has served the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship since August 2008, first as a part-time Consulting Assistant Minister, then as Acting Lead Minister for two years.
Rev. Jacqueline Brett, Minister of Congregational Engagement
Jacqueline Brett has been with ERUUF since 2012, first as member of the administrative staff then as student minister. In 2017 she received her M.Div. from Meadville Lombard Theological School where she was a member of the Board of Trustees, and recipient of the Charles Billings Prize in Preaching and the Faculty Prize for Religious Leadership. Rev. Brett was ordained by the members of ERUUF in Novermber 2017.
Read more: Rev. Jacqueline Brett, Minister of Congregational Engagement
Rev. Stacy Grove, Consulting Pastoral Care Minister
Stacy Grove is a Jewish Interfaith Minister and Spiritual Director with a background in pastoral care, hospice care, chaplaincy, and Red Cross disaster spiritual care. Her role providing pastoral care for the ERUUF community is part-time and involves working closely with the Pastoral Care Associates and the Care Ministries Team.
Rev. Dr. Arvid Straube, Minister Emeritus
Rev. Dr. Arvid Straube is a graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School and Meadville Lombard Theological School. He served as Lead Minister at ERUUF for 21 years from 1983 to 2004 and then as Lead Minister at First UU Church of San Diego until his retirement in 2014. Since retirement, he has devoted himself to teaching and to a ministry of spiritual direction. He has been an adjunct faculty member at Duke Divinity School and Starr King School for the Ministry. ERUUF voted to call Dr. Straube as its Minister Emeritus in 2014.
Michele Sager, Program Assistant
- Role: Program Assistant
- Email:
- Phone: 919-489-2575
- Staff Partner: Rev. Jacqueline Brett, Minister of Congregational Engagement
Jenny Jolly, Communications Coordinator
Jenny Jolly grew up overseas and moved to North Carolina as a teen. She is a graduate of UNC-Charlotte where she studied English Literature and Journalism. She has worked as a content creator and communicator for small and large organizations in North Carolina and Minnesota. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, yoga, and spending time outdoors with her husband and two dogs. Her special talent is passionate curiosity.
- Contact Person: Jenny Jolly
- Role: Communications Coordinator
- Email:
- Staff Partner: Daniel Trollinger, Director of Administration
Daniel Trollinger, Director of Administration
Daniel brings a varied background to ERUUF. He has worked as a Business Manager for a Holistic Health Organization, served as an editor at Duke University, and is also an ordained, interfaith minister. He holds an M.Div from Yale Divinity School. He has lived in Durham for over 20 years and has three teenage daughters.
Julia Tyler, Director of Religious Education
Shawn Trimble, Facilities Coordinator
Shawn Marie Trimble, was born in New Orleans, LA. Colorful as the city she is from, she is the mother of three. With a background in visual arts, Shawn received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from North Carolina Central University with plans to pursue her masters degree in career counseling and ordination as a minister of Spiritual Life Consciousness. Passionate about being an agent of change, she has worked with children and adults, facilitated workshops geared toward self-discovery, and has served as a community council organizer for the Durham/Chapel Hill areas (2011-2013).
Read more: Shawn Trimble, Facilities Coordinator
- Role: Office Assistant
- Email:
- Phone: 919-489-2575 x118
- Staff Partner: Daniel Trollinger, Director of Administration
Sheng Yang, Bookkeeper
Ms. Yang easily keeps our accounting and financial systems running smoothly and efficiently. We are glad to have her as part of our team.
- Role: Bookkeeper
- Email:
- Phone: 919-489-2575 x105
- Staff Partner: Daniel Trollinger, Director of Administration
David Scheidt, Facilities
- Role: Facilities Assistant
- Email:
- Phone: 919-489-2575 x115
- Staff Partner: Daniel Trollinger, Director of Administration
Alice Alexander, Planned Giving Coordinator
Alice has enjoyed a fantastic career in nonprofit management, primarily with Planned Parenthood. She recently stepped down as Executive Director of the Cohousing Association of the U.S., nurturing the growth of cohousing communities as an innovative response to social and environmental challenges. Alice discovered UUism straight out of college, belonging to congregations in Northern Virginia and Cincinnati, and joining ERUUF in 2001 after moving to Durham. She is proud to have served as Board President of SUUSI, the UU summer camp, which attracts the largest gathering of UU’s outside of GA. Alice is delighted to be supporting ERUUF in growing our culture of generosity.
- Contact Person: Alice Alexander
- Role: Planned Giving Coordinator
- Email:
- Staff Partner: Daniel Trollinger, Director of Administration