Michele Marie Andersen has lived in California, Oklahoma, and Virginia. Moving from a rural area in Oklahoma to Northern Virginia as a teenager was an exciting transition for her – getting to meet people from all over the world was thrilling and she continues to enjoy learning about other people and cultures.

Michele went to college at James Madison University where she fell in love with the Shenandoah Mountains and received a Bachelors in Psychology with a Minor in Family Issues. She then went on to obtain a Masters in K-12 School Counseling at Johns Hopkins University.

Michele has worked as a School Counselor and Parent Education Facilitator in Fairfax County Public Schools. Additionally she has worked with the Nurturing Parenting and Speak Up / Be Safe Programs; all which were targeted at helping children, youth, and families be safe, develop positive relationships, and be their best selves. Recently, Michele has served as the Youth Ministry Coordinator at All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington DC. While there, she worked with middle and high school youth to explore other faith congregations and their similarity and difference to Unitarian Universalism and conducted a Bridging program for Emerging Adults.

Michele has been an active member here at Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church since discovering AUUC through her children’s preschool, Spring-Mar Cooperative, 17 years ago. Learning about this life-saving faith gave her a sense of belonging that she hopes to share with everyone she meets. While at AUUC, Michele worked with the Religious Education program leading classes of all ages and serving as Chair of the Children and Youth Spiritual Development Committee.  She also spent time working on Covenant and Social Justice endeavors at Accotink. Michele led programs on Compassionate Communication and Racial Justice, helped the congregation to adopt the 8th Principle and served as a delegate at the General Assembly, developing suggestions for the proposed Article II changes. <

Michele was also a Girl Scout leader for 7 years. Her scout troop camped, went zip lining, attended theater productions, and helped out in their communities. Michele loves to support children and youth creating their own goals and then knocking them out of the park!

Michele has been married for 24 years and lives with her husband, two unique young adults, a service dog, two rambunctious cats, and lots of fish, near Burke Lake. She loves to read, dance, hike, and meditate out in nature.

Michele is starting with 10 hours a week at AUUC and 10 hours a week still at All Souls, helping them to transition while she also supports the families here. Michele will be moving into the full role (25 hours/week) of DSD at Accotink starting January 6th. Though transitioning from congregant to staff can take some getting used to, as boundaries among members are different than between staff and members, this is Michele’s spiritual home and she is thrilled to be back.

Posted November 2, 2024