Minister
The Reverend Melissa Carvill Ziemer
Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer (she/her) was called as the minister of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence on May 3, 2026. She begins her ministry with our congregation on August 4, 2026.
Rev. Carvill Ziemer has been a Unitarian Universalist minister for more than two decades doing a variety of different ministries, including serving as a settled minister at the UU Church of Kent in Kent, OH, and as the co-director of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association.
She lives in Easthampton with her spouse, Evin (they/any pronoun), who is also a UU Minister, and their two children.
[Learn more about Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer.]
For the time being, please direct any questions or requests for appointments to the office.
Manager of Congregational Operations
Michael Taylor
Michael has experience in managing community-based agencies, both large and small. His commitment to economic and social justice took hold years ago as he volunteered in a Catholic Workers soup kitchen, leading him to obtain a master’s in Community Economic Development
He has worked to provide affordable housing for a wide range of people, including seniors, families, people with disabilities, and low-income community members. Michael also served for several years as the Treasurer for Hartford’s Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). He relocated to Florence in 2017 to be with his wife, Val Nelson Taylor, a long time Northampton resident. They are active in their Rocky Hill Co-housing community.
Director of Faith Development and Community Engagement
Jessica Harwood, M. Ed.
Jessica's position covers lifespan faith development, crawling babies through adults. In terms of Community Engagement, she works with committees and teams that are directly involved in social justice and other aspects of congregational life, and works to strengthen connections both within and beyond the USNF community. Jessica (she/her) loves the myriad opportunities to connect people in our community, build relationships, learn together, and have fun. In any given day, she might get to play on the floor with a 3 year old, observe a group building game with middle schoolers, facilitate a racial justice planning meeting, and discuss sexuality with parents.
Jessica has worked in education for more than 20 years, as an environmental educator and administrator, a counselor for youth with mental illness, and an elementary classroom teacher. Community service, leadership development, and hands-on experiences are vital to her teaching. Learn more about our education programming.
Jessica lives in Easthampton with her wife and toddler.
Music Director
Ellen Cogen
Ellen Cogen is a Professor of Music at Holyoke Community College, where she directs the choral and musical theater ensembles and teaches jazz voice. She has years of experience as a church musician, singer, teacher, singing coach, accompanist, cellist, and choral director.
Ellen is proficient as an organist and pianist in a wide variety of genres, and has a special love of jazz. She served as Music Director at the Easthampton Congregational Church for over twenty years, and she has wonderful memories of serving as our pianist when we had a 4pm Sunday worship service—this was during the 1990s when we were a much larger congregation. Ellen holds a Master’s degree in Voice Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music.
Early Childhood Teacher
Dara Lum
Dara is excited to be at USNF as the early childhood teacher on Sundays. She provides children with a safe and rich learning environment where they can begin their spiritual journey and make connections with each other. Dara has experience in Northampton Public Schools as a paraprofessional for children with autism, and brings over 20 years of experience as a youth worker with children of all ages and as a trauma-informed homeschool parent of three amazing young people. She is passionate about kids learning from play, having a voice, and finding their own path in the world.
She relocated with her family to Leeds from Louisiana, and loves to be outdoors. They all miss the rich culture (food!) and diversity in southern Louisiana, but have found a wonderful new community in Western Massachusetts.
Custodian
Frank Taillon
Frank Taillon has been helping us keep our building clean and well-maintained since 2015. He is a resident of Easthampton.